Food & Drink Feb 12, 2009 at 4:00 am

A Review of the Free Breakfast at Denny's

The multimillion-dollar gift of breakfast. Bev Sykes

Comments

1
Kudos on the Grapes of Wrath bit. It warmed my lit nerd heart!
2
My father enthusiastically exhorted me to join him at the Issaquah Dennys, where the waitress graciously allowed me to substitute hashbrowns for the meat for a mere $1.00.

My mother had shoved ten bucks into my pocket before Dad and I headed out, whispering, "Give it all to the waitress." Not only were the eggs surprisingly good - better than Sheri's! - but you're so right: the pancakes were way better than the ones I make.

And the waitress was even cheery, despite being bleary-eyed from working a double shift. She earned those ten bucks.
3
my first reaction to the denny's fiasco: "those poor servers!" i waited tables for eight years, and i feel for those people--rarely do patrons tip on free or comped food. especially the elderly.

but from what i've seen here, there might have been enough people dropping exorbitant that day to make up for it. thanks for sharing, good tippers--may the gods smile upon thee.
4
Why did The Stranger send a vegetarian to review a meal that specifically involves bacon and sausage? Makes no sense.
5
I do not understand vegetarians who don't want to eat food that has touched meat, or been cooked on the same grill as meat. It seems ridiculous to me, unless you're a vegetarian for religious reasons...
6
I couldn't bring myself to down grade from IHOP to Denny's. I barely can stand IHOP as it is.

Nice piece.
7
Anyone have any notion of how much Denny's racked up in selling drinks to all those hungry folks? I hope they made back that $5Million and then some. Not only was this a generous decision by Denny's, but even tiny profits are still profits, and this could be a lesson to some of the other major corporations out there.
8
real vegetarians do not eat eggs
9
@Itinerant Julie: I think it's just the sqee factor. After you haven't eaten meat for a while, you really taste it when it's touched, say, your scrambled eggs. And you also develop a powerful aversion to it. Plus, a little bacon grease in a gut that hasn't seen meat for several years does TERRIBLE THINGS.
10
Why would u send a vegitarian to eat a meal that has meat in it because it was FREE! And pancakes are delicious.
11
Sarah Dickerman. I miss her. I remember happily waiting for the new paper just for that column..well okay and Savage and the horoscope and I, Anonymous... then she disappeared. And I found her again on Bon Appetit. sniffle. not the same.
12
Vegetarians suck.
13
vegetarians are broken down into different catagories. meat and poultry flesh is the main no-no. there is ovo-lacto, lacto only, ovo only, pesco only and any combination of those types with vegans being the most strict. i'm a line cook and a server. i am so glad i didn't have to cook for that many people. esp with how stingy servers can be if there isn't a tip out policy.
14
yummy yummy yummy i've got grand slam in my tummy! Thank god for Denny's they feed the homless for a day, and let them coffee camp at night year round. All you free loaders should send a thank you card to dennys, next time you go bring me i'll eat the bacon and sausage, dead animals are yummy! EAT MEAT! Thanks Denny's
15
I haven't found Village Inn to be cheaper than Denny's and with their newly revamped menu, it's got some good stuff I can't wait to try. Unfortunately, diners like Village Inn don't seem to exist in the city. Heck, I have to drive to Shoreline or Kirkland just to hit northwest-owned Shari's.

Really enjoyed the article! :) I had a (non-free) Grand Slam later in the week. I thought it was good, too. And, there's a TON of options now for $5.99.
16
I was unfortunate enough to hang out with an eat-anything-free-participant after the fact. Seems it was a plot to douse the world in HORRIBLE SMELLING GASSES re: Denny's CEO's = possible terrorists. I don't care how good it tasted going in, or how free it was, it makes your asshole smell very very bad.
17
A decent diner in Seattle is Turf, which, though located directly in front of Pike Place, is not clogged with tourists or douchebags; I swear it's located in some kind of wormhole. It's the closest I've had to the diner food that I grew up with in the northeast, they've been there forever, and the price is more than fair.

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