Just about any good diner
serves a bountiful breakfast, but mostly the tried-and-true menu
items look and taste the same wherever you go: scrambled eggs
are scrambled, pancakes are light and fluffy, and toast comes with
butter and jam. So when we try a new place, we hunt for
unique breakfast stand-outs as we scan the menu or gaze at other
customers’ orders before we tell the waiter what we want. 
It didn’t take long to
figure it out at Frank’s
Diner, located in a turn-of-the-century
presidential railway car in Spokane, Washington. Almost as
soon as we were seated at the counter where we had a front-row
position for the cooking action, we struck up a conversation with
the customer next to us — a chef from Seattle getting ready to
open his own restaurant. He was in Spokane to pick up some
custom-made sinks, but said he never misses a chance to eat at
Frank’s. We asked him what he was ordering.
Every time I come here, I think
I’ll order something else, but I get the same thing: Corned
Beef Hash and Eggs with the big side of hashbrowns, he
confessed. Sure ‘nough. About that time, the cook poured out
a stack of hashbrowns, flattening the pile with a turner.
(Sorry about the blurred picture, but it’s a candid of this
constant-motion cook moving from flipping omelettes to spreading
out the taters!)
A cook at Frank’s spreads
out a mound of hashbrowns on the griddle.
then, the waiter brought out the order for the chef seated next to
us: two cooked-to-perfection eggs atop a mound of corned beef hash
with almost a foot-long stack of golden hashbrowns snugged right
beside!
Corned Beef Hash and Eggs,
Frank’s Diner
was eating, but still felt compelled to check out the menu with an
eye toward what was unusual or unique at Frank’s. It wasn’t
hard to find. I even liked the name of
it: Gourmet Purple Oatmeal –
Snoqualmie Falls Oatmeal with huckleberries served with toast,
raisins, brown sugar, butter or milk. Tempting. But I decided
to duplicate the chef’s order, and husband Bert decided on a cheese
and bacon omelette. Both came with those toasty, hot hashbrowns!
Meat & Cheese
Omelette with a side of hashbrowns
orders, we took a look around. The place has back-in-time ambiance.
To our left was a long counter where customers sipped good
strong coffee and watched as two quick-action cooks fired out
orders with an enviable rhythm known only to folks who work
together well.
Eating at the counter at
Frank’s gives you a front row seat for the cooking
frenzy.
eager diners and waitresses pacing up and down the classy
checkerboard floors.
A waitress takes breakfast
orders at Frank’s.
coffee mugs full and then handed over our
big-enough-for-two-but-we’re-not-sharing breakfasts with a smile!
Friendly, organized
waitresses never missed a beat.
sat. We ordered and watched. Then we dined in style!
And if we ever come back, we just might try some of these other
interesting-sounding favorites:
Great Nana’s Meatloaf
Benedict, Hobo
Scramble, Grilled Banana Nut
Bread, or Frank’s Special French
Toast. But for now, I’m just tweeting what made us
sit up and take notice:
Great #hashbrowns at
Frank’s Diner. You betcha!
Frank’s
Diner
1516 West 2nd Avenue Spokane, WA 509-747-8798
http://franksdiner.com
“Voted Best Breakfast 14 Years
Running!” And where have you eaten great hashbrowns?
Would love to hear from you. Just leave us a comment at
the end of this post. For more posts on our trip to Idaho,
Washington, and Montana, click on the page labeled Inland
Northwest located at the top of this
post.
carol miras
There breakfast is amazing, the hash browns are absolutely the best ! I have never had before or after hash browns that were so good. I would love to have the recipe
CCRD17
I flew there for the first time this summer from Salt Lake City. I started talking to this woman from Colorado on the flight, who mentioned Frank’s randomly (after I mentioned I was hungry). At the time I didn’t take much notice. I got off the flight and met my friend and asked “Can we go to Frank’s for breakfast?”
I was referring them to places in their own city! The cheek of it! They’d never been there before even though they live there, and so we went. I did not regret it, and I would pay double the price to have it again. I thank this random woman from Colorado for that recommendation. Best breakfast I’ve ever had!
P.S. Spokane is beautiful and amazing.
Rusha Sams
I agree about Spokane being beautiful and amazing. You may have seen my post with a picture of the running artwork downtown! So interesting! Glad you enjoyed Frank’s. We did as well! Thanks for reading and commenting!
Bruce Thiesen
Nice post – there are good things going on in Spokane. You just have to poke around.
Rusha Sams
Thanks for reading and commenting! We had a good time in Spokane — just not long enough. Will be back a couple more times this winter, so maybe I can explore more eateries.
ididitforjohnny
Love Frank’s Diner! So glad you discovered it – and the hashbrowns are among the best. I could eat them with every meal.
gallivance.net
Rusha, we have Huddle House on our island. Now I know that the HH is not as major league as a place like Frank’s, but I do get a kick watching the cooks at the grill. I’m convinced that it takes a certain personality and skill set to be a really good short-order cook. They juggle 5-10 meals simultaneously, pre-cook food for upcoming meals, and pull it all together while everything is still hot. The two guys that I watched were a well-oiled machine. And if that isn’t enough, at HH you can get any meal, anytime of day. In fact, I’m not ashamed to say that I had a patty-melt for breakfast … bliss. ~James
Rusha Sams
OMG! We haven’t thought about Huddle House for years, but it was our first cafe experience. Now, we have Waffle House all over the South. But it’s the same great cookin’ on the fly! Also love the shouting of orders across the kitchen area: another order of browns, covered and smothered! Gotta love it!
suzjones
Sounds like an awesome place to visit. One day…. 🙂
Rusha Sams
We love to eat. We love to travel. So, it’s just natural for those two likes to come together at a good spot!