The Half Way House Cafe

Located on a stretch of the Sierra Highway that’s dotted with feed and tack stores, VFW posts, an Elks Lodge and little league baseball fields, the Halfway House takes visitors all the way back to a time where men were men and eggs were eggs. Egg white-porcini mushroom-omelets? Tofu? Please. This is a destination restaurant where you stop to refuel the three C’s: carbs, caffeine and cholesterol. Comfort foods fill the menu: real blueberry pancakes with Knott’s Berry Farm Blueberry Syrup; a variety of omelets and egg dishes served with potatoes and either toast or biscuits swimming in gravy; and even a Porterhouse steak with two eggs—one of the priciest items on the menu at $21.95. In addition to old-fashioned breakfast links, the café offers Portuguese linguica, kielbasa and Polish sausage as well. When the Halfway House opened in 1931, it marked the approximate halfway point on US 6 for travelers between Los Angeles and Palmdale. There weren’t a lot of eating options on the highway back then, and even today the Backwoods Inn is one of only a few eating establishments along the road. But this is definitely a road trip waiting to happen for old-school breakfast aficionados. Just don’t forget to take your Lipitor along for the ride.

TIPS: If you’re in a hurry, then the Halfway House isn’t for you. It’s not that the service is slow – just the drive and the wait for a breakfast table on weekends might be. While the café is open for breakfast and lunch from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., the café does stay open until 9 p.m. on Friday for dinner.