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It had been far too long since I'd had the pleasure to dine at Awful Annie's Restaurant, located in Auburn, CA, and I hadn't had a chance to visit since Annie's moved from their downtown location to their "new" location - as of 2016 - on Lincoln Way. Annie's is considered by the Auburn locals to be one of the best restaurants in town, especially for breakfast lovers, and since I'm a "foodie" and a breakfast lover, I just "had" to check out their "new' location... As with all restaurant reviews I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's just a little past the 8:00 in the morning opening time on Tuesday, December 08, 2020, and I've arrived at Awful Annie's Restaurant, located in Auburn, CA, to enjoy one of the best breakfasts in town. If the building looks familiar, Awful Annie's moved to the former Lou La Bonte's location, back in 2016. Click on the link to review my dining experience at Lou's. Awful Annie's Restaurant has a second location, in nearby Lincoln, which I visited a few weeks ago; of course I published an article on my dining experience at Awful Annie's Lincoln location. Both locations offer nearly identical menu choices, but there are a few minor differences between locations.
Photo: Annie's has always given diners the choice of enjoying your fine meal in the dining room, or outside on the patio. During the 2020 days of COVID-19, the patio has been expanded, and as of this writing, indoor dining is still allowed. Sadly, as of Friday, December 11, 2020, Placer County has been forced to adhere to the state mandate, which has forbidden all restaurant dining, both indoors and patio, in an effort to bring the virus under control.
Photo: As you enter the restaurant, you'll be treated to a very spacious entry way, with plenty of benches for comfortable waiting, during busy hours. In the center of the aisle, is the cashier's counter, where you'll be "meeted, greeted and seated" by today's friendly staff member, Shiela.
Photo: There is a small white board, near the cashier's station, that lists daily specials. The "White Bean with Polish Sausage and Cabbage" soup certainly looks tempting for lunch!
Photo: The main dining room is spacious, comfortable, and well-lighted, with windows looking outside to the patio. On this early December morning, the gas fireplace is lit, which provides cheery warmth. The decor is very simple, yet quite elegant, and could be described as "country." It's just a couple of weeks until Christmas, and the dining room is decorated with a Christmas tree, which adds a nice, "homy" touch. Tables have been widely spaced to allow for "social distancing" during these COVID-19 virus days.
Photo: Awful Annie's Restaurant is serious about breakfast, and the menu features all of your breakfast favorites. This is fine breakfast cuisine, not diner selections, which is definitely a "step up" from my usual breakfast fare. Annie's is open for breakfast and lunch, and any selection listed on the menu is available any time the restaurant is open. You can view the complete menu by clicking on THIS LINK on my web site.
Photo: Next to the dining room, Awful Annie's features a complete bar, which can mix any drink for you breakfast or lunch enoyment. Like the main dining room, it's decorated for Christmas.
Photo: The restaurant had just openend, and was lightly seated, and this gentleman had the whole bar to himself, as he placed himself in front of the fireplace, and sipped his coffee. The decor in the bar is modest, "country" and elegant!
Photo: My friendly server, Liz, along with Shela, pose for my camera. Liz was my server, but Shela seated me, set my table, poured coffee, and seemed to do just about everything. Both ladies were super friendly!
Photo: Meet Liz, my friendly server, as she presents my "Carnitas Benedict" to me with a smile. Both Liz and Shiela were super friendly and treated me like family.
Photo: Thanks, Liz, for snapping my photo, as I prepare to enjoy my delicious breakfast of "Carnitas Benedict."
Photo: From the breakfast section of the menu, I went with "Carnitas Benedict," which seemed like a great way to warm up on this chilly December morning. The menu describes this amazing selection as, "Lean shredded pork on an English muffin, topped with two poached eggs and Chipotle Hollaindase. Served with fruit or potatoes." My sinple description was delicious. The "Carnitas Breakfast" was the first item on the menu, so I flet that was a great place to start for today's breakfast. This breakfast selection was both delicious and interesting, and was very different from what I normally order. The breakfast is layered, in that it starts with an English muffin, a generous helping of carnitas are placed on the muffin, with two poached eggs on top of the carnitas, and the "layer" is topped with Hollandaise sauce. Home style potatoes are served on the side. Annie's gives you a generous helping of tender, seasoned carnitas - shredded pork - placed on top of the English muffin, which is split into halves. The carnitas were tender, juicy and simply delicious. It was difficult to tell if the carnitas had been baked or grilled... it didn't matter as they were delicious! The poached eggs were perfect, but I'm not a great judge of poached eggs, as I rarely order them. I'm not particularly knowlegeable in French cuisine or Hollandaise sauce, but I loved it, as it was creamy and delicious. Seasoned salt and diced green onion topped my breakfast, which added to the taste and the beautiful presentation. Curiously, Awful Annie's menu doesn't offer hash brown potatoes - this restaurant is NOT a diner - and if you order potatoes, they're home style, which works perfectly with this fine breakfast. I loved the potatoes as they were cut into bite-size pieces, seasoned and griddle-fried to a perfect, golden brown. The potatoes were the Russett variety, which offer an "earthy" flavor, and make for amazing fried potatoes. Annie's chef has talent, as these potatoes were perfect! No wonder Awful Annie's Restaurant is a favorite of the Auburn locals, as the food is delicious, the dining is comfortable, the prices are reasonable, and the staff is super friendly. When you're in the mood for an amazing breakfast or lunch, think of Awful Annie's Restaurant, located in Auburn, CA. Let's go back to Friday morning, November 14, 2014 and visit Awful Annie's Restaurant, when they were at their old location, on Sacramento Street, in downtown Auburn. Everybody raves about Awful Annie's Restaurant, and it's been on my "radar" for a long time, but every time I've been by, there was a line of hungry diners out the front door. This morning, we had a couple of hours on our hands, and weren't in a hurry for anything, so Friday, November 14, 2014 marked the day we got to enjoy this fine restaurant for the first time.
Photo: Awful Annie's Restaurant is located in historic Old Town Auburn, which abounds with charm, and is a very interesting place to explore. The restaurant is in a rather long, narrow building, and features lots of patio dining with a great view of the historic Placer County courthouse. On this lovely fall morning, Friday, November 14, 2014, we elected to dine on the patio. If you're in the mood for pizza, note there is a pizza restaurant located below Annie's. As of 2016, Awful Annie's Restaurant has moved to the new location on Lincoln Way, and this building now is the home of Old Town Grill, which I had the pleasure to visit on March 10, 2020.
Photo: Weekday mornings, Awful Annie's Restaurant is truly a busy place, and often has a line of people waiting outside to be seated. Annie's has a reputation of being one of the best breakfast restaurants in Placer County, and is a favorite of the Auburn locals, and everybody knows everybody else. You enter the restaurant at the patio, and you need to enter your name in a book in order to get a seat, as per the sign that greets you. We had some time on our hands today, so the 15-minute wait to be seated wasn't a problem. After enjoying a delicious breakfast at Annie's, even if you have to wait a bit, the wait is worth it, as the food is marvelous. The gentleman in the forefront is a host/greeter/seater, and also kept the coffee mug full of delicious coffee.
Photo: If you're not in the mood to enjoy the patio, Awful Annie's offers plenty of indoor dining, in a dining room that features rather quaint decor. The door to the right leads to the busy kitchen. Annie's is open for breakfast and lunch, and any item on the extensive menu can be ordered any time the restaurant is open.
Photo: The patio dining room was packed today at breakfast. Heaters are built in, and I suspect the clear blinds to the left can be rolled up on warm days. Today was a beautiful fall morning, but we were glad the blinds were rolled down and a number of the heaters were on. We could have dined inside, but we prefer the patio, and the great view it offers of Old Town Auburn.
Photo: Our super friendly server, Kayla, brings our orders to the table. When she first greeted us, I let her know that I was planning to take photos, in order to do a write-up on this web site, and my Facebook page, and she replied with, "Awesome!" I love a server who is enthusiastic, attentive, friendly, and open to my photo taking and endless questions. For Kayla's exceptional service and enthusiastic attitude, she was rewarded with a generous tip, and she deserved every dollar of it.
Photo: My wife, Sharlene, and I are both happy as Kayla snaps our photo.
Photo: Sharlene ordered a "Dan's Scramble," which is three eggs scrambled with spinach, green onions, mushrooms and chicken apple sausage. You get the choice between fruit or home fried potatoes. Potatoes, of course! Annie's is open for breakfast and lunch, and you can order any item from the menu, any time the restaurant is open. If you don't have to drive, you can order a "Bloody Mary" cocktail for breakfast... too bad I had to drive! Sharlene loved her breakfast, and she took half of it home to eat for dinner.
Photo: Annie's menu offers a vast array of breakfast and lunch choices, and everything on the menu looks fantastic. However, I quickly homed-in on the "Scrambles" section of the breakfast menu, and then stopped at the "Migas," as I love anything even remotely Mexican. The menu describes "Migas" as, "Three eggs scrambled with tortilla chips, bacon, chorizo, green peppers, tomatoes, Serrano chillis, red onion and salsa. Topped with cheese, sour cream and salsa. Served with flour tortilla and your choice of fruit or potatoes." Potatoes, of course! As you can see in the photo, the presentation is beautiful, but the breakfast tasted BETTER than the photos show. No wonder everybody raves about Awful Annie's Restaurant! Awful Annie's Restaurant was truly a pleasant breakfast experience. I understand why every raves about the food, as it is absolutely fantastic and priced right. The staff is friendly and attentive, and the service is outstanding. When you're in the mood for a delicious breakfast in the quaint foothill town of Auburn, pay a visit to Awful Annie's Restaurant. Awful Annie's Restaurant Copyright(c) 2020 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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