Last month Jake and I had to head out to Alpine. Jake said he wanted to take me to Janet’s Montana Cafe for breakfast, so off we went for a lovely breakfast in Alpine.
Janet’s Montana Cafe really fits the bill for Alpine. It looks like a big log cabin on the inside and outside! We asked for the first available seats and after about a 20 minute wait we were sat outside.
Jake was off trying to park the car since the front lot was full. While I waited for him to come back, I ogled the bakery case that was full of house made pies. MY GOODNESS.
Just peering into this case I knew I would be getting a slice!
Our waitress mentioned to us that they have large portions at Janet’s Montana Cafe. She also mentioned a Cinnamon Roll [$5.95] and Jake ordered that for us immediately. And HOLY COW she wasn’t joking about the large portions. This cinnamon roll is almost as big as the DINNER PLATE.
Jake and I only managed to eat about half of this sucker. What I liked about it was that it wasn’t overtly punch-you-in-the-face sweet. The cream cheese icing on top still has a tangy flavor to it even though it has some sweetness. It paired so nicely with the soft, fluffy cinnamon roll that it made me think of it as more like a bread roll. It’s not super gooey with tooth-achingly sweet bits to it – more like a nicer bread. Janet’s Montana Cafe uses their cinnamon roll in one their French toasts!
Here’s a peek at our full breakfast, with my little Ugly Doll pop in the mix for an extra nerdy factor. Jake and I split the Chicken Fried Steak [$13.95]. You have the option of getting a split plate for $2 more, or just getting one breakfast to share between you two. Our waitress explained if you get the split plate, then you get a little “extra” on the side.
We decided on the split plate because I wanted my own set of hash browns. And I was glad I did it that way because these hash browns were AMAZING.
There used to be this restaurant on Miramar Road called Keith’s. It was open 24 hours and Alyssa and I used to go there a lot for late night breakfast specials ($5!) and play scrabble. Their rent was raised and it was too costly to run the restaurant, so they closed and now it’s an IHOP. I always get a little sad when I see it. But the thing about Keith’s and why I’m mentioning it now is that Keith’s had the best hash browns on the planet and I feel like I’ve been on a quest for a replacement ever since they closed. A lot of places have come close. But after I ate the hash brown’s at Janet’s, I looked at Jake and I almost cried when I said “These are exactly like Keith’s!!!” I was so happy to have finally found something just like what I remembered – too bad it’s all the way out in Alpine BUT I WILL TAKE IT. I also like that it’s in a neat square shape. That makes me happy.
The chicken fried steak was excellent but what we really loved was the GRAVY at Janet’s Montana Cafe. We loved it so much we asked for a side of it and our waitress brought us a bowl of it!!
For our side we had the choice of toast, buttermilk biscuit, muffin, or pancakes. I picked the buttermilk biscuit. LOOK AT THIS THING. It practically has it’s own zip code it’s so big! And it was incredibly light and fluffy and we basically split it with the extra gravy we got and made our own side of biscuits and gravy.
I was so full after this breakfast but man was it incredible. Everything tasted homemade and fresh here at Janet’s Montana Cafe and I was really impressed with our meal. Jake thinks it’s one of the best places we’ve ever gone for breakfast and I say it’s definitely top 10 worthy.
Since I was full but I still wanted to try Janet’s pie, I got two slices of pie to go. Slices of pie are $5 and you can get a whole pie for $16. One was slices I got was the Key Lime Pie.
And the other was the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream. The Key Lime is definitely the lighter of the two but the PB Chocolate Cream was LUSCIOUS. Very rich though! And can I just say that these slices are humongous?! Our waitress really wasn’t kidding about the portion sizes here. Goodness. These slices were enough to feed multiple people.
Writing this post has suddenly made me crave hash browns again. I might have to go again this weekend! I read online that there’s another Janet’s in El Cajon and one in Santee, so I’m not sure if the restaurants are all related or not. Maybe I’ll need to compare hash browns at these different locations!
Janet’s Montana Cafe (Yelp)
2506 Alpine Blvd
Alpine, CA 91901
We’ve been going to Janet’s for years and love everything about it; the atmosphere, the staff and of course, the food! I like ordering the pork chop breakfast because it isn’t something you see on the menu very often. Instead of the biscuit, try the pancakes as your side. You can even order cinnamon swirl pancakes as the side. Also, try their peach tea. It tastes like real peaches.
Does azul still work with you guys? I really wanted to thank him for the amazing service on my 3 year old son Michaels birthday. Azul is an amazing worker and really cheered up Michale.