The Hockinson Cafe moved to Battle Ground years ago, but retained the name of its original location. I’ve always thought of the cafe as a great place for breakfast, even though it offers full-service lunch and dinner.
Given that the restaurant closes at 3 p.m., dinner is primarily for the more seasoned citizens that like a (very) early evening meal. For this review I opted for breakfast, which the cafe serves all day. The cozy place has the reputation of being one of the best places for that in Clark County.
Kountry Breakfast Platters include a protein (top sirloin, chicken-fried steak, ham, bacon, sausage patties or links), eggs done your way, country potatoes or hash browns, and toast or biscuits. Platters range from $7.49 to $13.09 for the steak option.
Let’s stop the train right here. Order the biscuits! I described them to a friend as “biting into a small cloud.” They are big, made fresh in-house, tender and flaky — sooo flaky.
Dining out guide: Hockinson Cafe
Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Where: 219 N.W. 20th Ave., Suite 100, Battle Ground.
Contact: 360-687-2700; hockinsonkountrycafe.com
Health score: Hockinson Cafe received a score of 10 on Sept. 25. Zero is a perfect score, and Clark County Public Health closes restaurants with a score of 100 or higher. For information, call 360-397-8428.
The cafe offers seven varieties of Kountry Omelets: Denver, taco, farmers, spinach, chili-and-cheese, meat (bacon or ham or sausage) with cheese, and veggie. Prices range from $10.39 to $11.89.
Then we have the Kountry Fare (16 choices) which includes pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, eggs Benedict, scrambles and those delightful soft cloud biscuits. Prices here begin at $5.39 and go up to $11.89 (the eggs Benedict).
I ordered the half-order Biscuits & Gravy Platter ($9.99), a split biscuit covered in delicious not-too thick gravy, two eggs, two links or patties, and cleaned up every drop and crumb.
My foodie companion went for the French Toast Platter ($9.99). He selected bacon to go with his two eggs. The plate looked like it was for a cover of a breakfast cookbook and tasted like the best recipe inside. His plate was white and shiny afterward, too.
As I mentioned initially, Hockinson Cafe also serves lunch and an early dinner. Lunch includes sandwiches (Monte Cristo, BLT and Reuben), burgers, fish and chips, several enticing salads and homemade soup.
Dinners feature steaks, chicken, shrimp, halibut, scallops, salmon and chicken-fried steak.
Pay attention here: No matter the meal, you must leave room for the housemade pies. The chef makes several varieties each day from a list too long to print but incudes blueberry, rhubarb, marionberry, lemon cream and coconut pecan. All are $4.49 per slice.
And no, I didn’t take a slice home after our breakfast. And hated myself all the pie-less way home.
