After driving around the Lake for a few hours on Sunday morning, we dropped the hounds off at the cottage, and meandered around looking for a place to eat. As we were getting close to town, I saw a sign proclaiming "Breakfast Until 3pm Daily!" Never one to shirk breakfast no matter the time of day, we hastily swung into an open parking spot and hopped out.
The Sawtooth Ridge Cafe is not, from the outside, what you'd call "welcoming". It's on a stretch of North Lake Blvd that houses a Safeway, dry cleaners and CPA offices. As we crept up the stairs, C said, "uh-oh... looks like the place is empty... that's never a good sign." Undaunted, we swung open the massive wooden door to find a cozy little restaurant with a gorgeous view of the lake & mountains filled to about 2/3 capacity.
Bud Davis, the proprietor, (who, at age 70 or so, looks like he's never missed a day of exercise in his life), swept us to our table and offered up menus. The moment I saw Biscuits & Gravy, I was sold.
We ordered up two B&Gs, a Fat Tire for C, Black Butte Porter for me (what, you've never had beer with breakfast?) and a side order of sweet potato fries that seemed to be going to every table.
Now, let me just state for the record that my hubby is from the South. So, Biscuits & Gravy is no joking matter... these were good. Really good. The biscuits were light and fluffy (if I wanted a doughy hockey puck, I'd bake it myself, thank you very much) while the gravy was simple and creamy (again, don't go getting all Iron Chef with my gravy... sausage, cream, flour, fat... that's really all I want in it).
The eggs were clearly fresh and simply scrambled, and the potatoes were great. Fried in a cast iron skillet with onions, bell pepper and simple seasoning, the skin-on reds were exactly what breakfast potatoes should be.
Finally... those sweet potato fries... wow... soooo simple and delicious. A hair thicker than "matchstick", fried, buttered and seasoned with real sea salt... they were crisp outside, sweet & tender inside, and needed no condiments whatsoever.
We really loved this place, and would heartily recommend it for anyone looking for great, simple All-American fare in Tahoe City.