Breakfast at Rosie’s

We are in Woodland, WA, just twenty miles north of the Oregon/Washington border. Our RV park is located on the Columbia River, and we are here to explore the Columbia River Gorge. Only one problem. Constant rain. (Have we mentioned how much rain we’ve had lately?)

So if we can’t go the Gorge, what do we do? Go out for breakfast, of course. But one thing I have learned about restaurants in small towns (Woodland’s population is 5,540) is that few have websites; few newspaper reviewers have written about them; and few bloggers have blogged about them. So, except for some comments on yelp.com, urbanspoon.com, or tripadvisor.com, you are in the dark. But Rosie’s came in as the Number Two spot on tripadvisor.com, so with only that information at hand, we set off for breakfast.

Rosie’s occupies a pad in a strip mall parking lot. In the mall are the Hi-School Pharmacy (What’s with that name?), an Ace Hardware where you can order a ton of wood pellets for your stove, a Thai restaurant, and a laundromat.

Rosie’s is unusual for a small town restaurant in that it’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We have found that most close at 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. But, as we took our seats, I looked at the specials board and said to Chuck, “I’m certainly glad we didn’t come for dinner.” It was Monday and look at the special.

Yes, two people at the table would need to order the liver and onions to get the “specials” price. Do you even know two people who like liver and onions?

About all that passed for décor

were the three large reproductions of scenes from “times gone-by” in Woodland.

One showed men paving a street.

One depicted the Woodland Concert Band in full concert regalia.

And one showed the Mascot, a stern wheel passenger and freight ferry that was constructed in Portland for the Lewis and Lake River trade.

“The MASCOT was the finest boat ever put on the Lewis River run. She was fast, had elegant quarters on the passenger deck and was queen of the Lewis River steamboats. In her 21 years on Lewis River she exerted a great influence on the fortunes of the Lewis River people. She was the first boat to establish a daily, except Sunday, round trip service to Portland, leaving Woodland at 5:00 a.m. and returning usually about 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. On Sundays when water permitted and when there was freight to move, the MASCOT ran to Etna…” (lewisriver.com).

So renowned was the Mascot that a metal replica now sits at Hoffman Plaza in Woodland.

I had been warned by on-line reviewers that portion sizes at Rosie’s are large. So, with that in mind, I ordered the half size of the Grandma’s Special.

(Yes, that is the half.) This was a combination of hash browns, onions, peppers, ham, and sausage all covered with Rosie’s country sausage gravy. This was a soul-satisfying plate of old-fashioned comfort food. Nothing gourmet. Nothing au courant. And the half order was more than enough.

In making his choices, Chuck was (gently) guided by our friendly server. When he was about to order the full stack of pancakes, she suggested that perhaps the short stack would be plenty. When he was about to choose a full order of hash browns, she suggested that the half might be the better choice.

The short stack was two cakes at least eight inches in diameter and a third of an inch thick. Somehow Rosie’s managed to make them light without over leavening. Still, half the pancakes came home with us and we shared them the next morning.

I am sure that the hash browns came into the restaurant frozen (The neat rectangular shape is a give-a-way.), but were still nice and crisp.

To all of this Chuck also added a side of sausage. I am not sure whether this is the same sausage as was used in my country sausage gravy. If so, it tasted better in the gravy.

The breakfast was satisfying and filling but not really memorable. Our rating? 3.0 Addies.

To review the role of Adler, Kitty Humbug, and the Addie rating system, read the November 14, 2011 blog.