A Fresh Start: Walla Walla in the Morning

Like many of the restaurants around Walla Walla, dining at the Maple Counter Cafe often comes with a wait. Especially on sunny weekend mornings, the line can stretch out the door and spill out onto the sidewalk. "It’s a classic American diner," you might think as you drive past and see the long line. "What’s all the fuss about?"

But if you endure the wait and get a table, you’ll quickly find out – maybe even before you get your food. Just watch as the waitresses walk past carrying huge plates of blueberry cobbler French toast, or mugs of hot chocolate heaped with fresh whipped cream, or gigantic apple pancakes over 3 inches tall and the width of a dinner plate.

"Anytime anyone talks about breakfast in Walla Walla, this place is always mentioned on the list," said one customer when the Washington Grown TV team visited in Season 12. "It’s one of those quintessential breakfast places where you just kind of feel like home cooking but elevated. All of the traditional dishes you love, but more."

Maple Counter Cafe is perfectly, delightfully familiar, which is part of its charm. But every single dish on the menu has been amplified in some way. They have pancakes, for instance, because all diners must have pancakes. But their pancakes are impossibly fluffy and buttery. You can order an eggs Benedict, certainly, because it’s a classic. But their homemade hollandaise is perfectly rich and tangy. They have savory scrambles, obviously, because a plate of potatoes, sausage, and eggs is a perfect way to prepare for a day of wine tastings. But their scrambles are huge and are made with an expertise that produces crispy potatoes and fluffy, creamy eggs.

"There was already such a great food culture, and the agriculture around the area means that people are using local and fresh ingredients," said owner Kory Nagler. "When you know where something came from and you have an emotional connection to it, it does make the food taste better. But, when the food actually does taste better, then it’s a win-win."

The beauty of a place like Walla Walla is not only the natural bounty of the agricultural land around the city, but also the small-town connections and relationships between businesses in town.

"During the spring and summer, we get a huge influx of different vegetables and fruits. We’re in a big wheat area, and we actually hooked up with a local wheat farmer," said Nagler. "Also, one of our neighbors is a butcher here in town, and we get all our chorizo from him. It’s just a guy walking over from the butcher shop with a (box of meats), waving to the folks in back. There's a great small town feel."

Nagler comes to the restaurant business as a third–generation restaurateur. His parents own the popular Oak Table Cafe in Sequim, Washington, and his grandparents owned a diner in Chicago since the 1970s. Nagler says that they share a lot of recipes, and several of the Maple Counter Cafe’s most popular dishes come from his grandmother’s recipes. Their batters and doughs use those authentic recipes and an old-fashioned sourdough barrel to make fine, fluffy breads and cakes. "Honestly, the pancakes are some of the best I’ve ever had in my life," said one customer. "Ultra decadent, rich, amazing – it’s hard to beat. It’s like home cooking, but better than mom can even do."