This weeks featured restaurant – The Homeplace in Sonora...
If sporting a name like ‘The Homeplace’ leads you to believe that this is a restaurant where you will dine on hearty home-style meals in an atmosphere that exudes country warmth, then your instincts are spot on. If the name also implies that you may need to unbutton the top button of your trousers so you can eat more, you may be right…then again maybe that’s just me, I’ve learned to wear my ‘stretchy’ pants when dining here.
My favorite haunt after a long strenuous trip to Walmart with a little JoAnns thrown in for good measure - and maybe a bit of the Tractor Supply Store - is hands down the Homeplace. Featuring mouthwatering burgers made with their own Montezuma grass-finished beef , served with a choice of fries, kettle chips or salad, their burger plates are a meal big enough for two or one teen aged boy – you know the ones with the hollow leg and the words always coming out of their mouths “when do we eat?”
I would love to tell you how delicious their fries are yet unfortunately I am shamefully addicted to their kettle chips, freshly made and served hot , they are simply delicious. It might be against all rules of etiquette, but I dip my kettle chips in ranch…scrumptious! Seriously folks, those etiquette classes that my mother, much to my dismay, forced me to attend at a very young age went out the window when my plate was served. Not to say I don’t know when to employ the proper rules, but sometimes…rules were meant to be broken.
The menu is not limited to their delectable burgers though. On their long list of country sized sandwiches to fit every taste is everything from Pulled pork sloppy joes to the ranchers Rueben, from a veggie sandwich to a Diestel turkey club and everything in between. Specialty salads are also on the list with my favorite of all being Angela’s Apple Cranberry Blue with smoked chicken. If you don’t see what you like you can build your own, but beware, their sandwiches are not for those counting calories, no, their sandwiches are rich and filled to the brim with layers and layers of meat, cheese and more!
If this hasn’t made you want to stop in and say ‘hi’ this just might…there is not a single item on the menu that has a price tag over $9.99. Yup, you read right.
Oh wait! Deserts! Did I forget to mention their homemade tarts? Strawberry rhubarb, apple, peach, to name a few. And homemade cookies and chocolates. P.S. They can pack these to go, I know this from experience:)
The walls covered in historic foothill memorabilia – photos, news articles, cattle brands – take you back to a time when life was a bit more slow - meals with family and friends were enjoyed. So don’t be surprised that this is not fast food, it comes quickly enough, but as each order is cooked to order, there may be a bit of a wait.
In the winter it is not uncommon to wait for a seat, yet you can sit in a rocker by the fire and enjoy the smells coming from the kitchen as you wait. In the summer the rocking chair in front – seating for two - is a welcome rest prior to or after a meal.
Sorry folks, no down side at all to this restaurant, not a one.
Located right across from the street from the Savemart shopping center on Sanguinetti Road, The Homeplace is open M-F 11 am – 7 pm and S-S 6 am to 7 pm. 532-4113.
By, Charity Maness
(My little disclaimer: 'To dine or not to dine' is meant to be a helpful - and humorous - informational piece only. I receive no monetary compensation for this column nor do I endorse any one eatery. This is simply my opinion. My tastes will be different from others and I readily admit that I have no culinary background, but I am pretty confident I know when food is cooked correctly or not, whether a drink is poured well or not and especially whether wait staff is first-rate or in need of a career change.)
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