I’m trying my best not to write the obvious taglines and clichés: Mary’s Gold Miner Café—“Breakfast Has Gone to the Greeks”; or, “My Big Fat Greek Breakfast.” But neither of those would be accurate, because although Mary’s has plenty of authentic Greek dishes, I’m going to have to come back to try them. 

I asked our friendly server, Nikole, which dishes are their most popular and as per her suggestion, we began the morning with a gargantuan, buttery and flaky house-made buttermilk biscuit. Standing three-to-four inches tall, it was like starting breakfast with a cake, a whole cake. 

After a sip of their signature fresh-squeezed orange juice, I ventured south, as in south of the border, with their equally massive, four egg, chile verde omelet. I have to deliver a confession here: I’m not an omelet fan. Too often they’re dry and overcooked or dripping with…orange stuff. But this was neither. Instead, it was full of tender, mouthwatering pork, simmered to perfection in Mary’s tomatillo-green chile sauce, and absolutely as good a rendition of chile verde that you’ll find in any Greek-American breakfast café—and it was in an omelet. Consider the irony.

Finally, we had to try something on the sweeter side (the biscuit really didn’t count), so in keeping with the day’s theme, we opted for the blueberry and cream cheese stuffed French toast. Now if you think that’s a mouthful to say, just wait until it lands on your table. By now our table looked as if Paul Bunyan and a few of his axe-wielding pals stopped by after fasting all winter. The plate was piled high with three hefty planks of Texas toast, loaded with sweet cream cheese and topped with whipped cream and fresh blueberries (or strawberries). That dish alone would feed a camp full of seriously hungry, modern-day gold miners. Since it was just two of us, and all of that food, we packed out several to-go containers for delivery to the homestead.

The décor is rustic and 49er-themed, and includes wall murals and ceiling lamps that portray an iconic time in local history. Nice ambiance, I just have to remember to get “back to the Greek.”

by Lorn Randall  //  photos by Dante Fontana

Mary’s Gold Miner Café, 426 East Bidwell Street, Folsom, 916-984-4181.