Beth's Cafe

(Second Review -- May 2013)

Beth's Cafe is a 24-hour diner/dive joint located in Seattle, Washington. They were further popularized when featured on the Travel Channel's hit series "Man v. Food." In the show's first season, Adam Richman attempted to eat Beth's 12-egg Southwestern Exposure omelet, but failed with just a couple bites left.

I took my friend to this place on a Friday night, eager to try one of Beth's signature omelets. The walls were completely laced with drawings. To me, it felt like a sea of graffiti, with maybe one or two really talented drawings sprinkled in. The claustrophobic effect of all that artwork really turned me off to the cafe's interior.

Cooking up some hash browns on the flattop!

You can see the artwork all on the walls....

A sea of drawings....

Even the college kids are getting into it!

Who drew this? Now THIS is great. One of the few eye-appealing ones on the wall....

The place was busy on a Friday night, with several college students dropping by to get their food fix before going out to party. Since there's no prize for finishing a 12-egg omelet, I was content with just splitting one of the six-egg varieties with my friend. We got the six-egg Northwestern Exposure omelet: smoked salmon, green onions, and cream cheese inside six eggs, with unlimited hash browns and toast (we got sourdough).

Six-egg Northwestern Exposure omelet with sourdough toast
(Beth's Cafe)

Inside the omelet...smoked salmon, green onion, and cream cheese!

The omelet was fantastic. The cream cheese and the smokiness of the salmon popped in my mouth. The onion added color and more pleasing flavor here. Perhaps a little too much cream cheese for me, though. The hash browns were cooked well: golden brown exterior from the flattop and soft on the inside. Unfortunately, the hash browns needed more seasoning (salt and pepper would suffice). The toast was fine, but probably too much butter on there for me. We received two types of jelly on the side. One was strawberry, and the other appeared to be blueberry (or another type of berry). Both were very good.

Unfortunately, what will stick out in my mind more is the subpar service. It's not the server's fault here; it appeared she had to cover about 12-15 tables by herself. We had small cups of water, and despite our attempts for refills, they never came. We did manage more coffee, but overall, I felt like we were abandoned in the back corner of the house. This was not worth the $16 and change spent here.

At least I can say Beth's Cafe has a good omelet.