217 Broadway Ave E
Seattle 98102


Average Overall Rating:

(4 out of 5)

Average Coffee Refill Rating:

(3 out of 5)

(2 out of 5)

Review by: ZenOut on 10/20/2007

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Coffee Refill Rating:

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Charlie's is an institution: I've been eating here since high school (early-80s). It's one of those down home yet not quite so greasy spoon type of places you take your mom and dad to.

Review #11678Review by: andrewmudd on 5/22/2006

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Coffee Refill Rating:

Doesn't Apply

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Betsy and I (she's the girlfriend, you know), we were looking for a restaurant that we hadn't been to before to have some breakfast at. We parked the car and wandered a bit, since it was such a nice day, and the cute little pomeranian tied to a parking meter made us stop and take a look at the menu (don't look for him; he's probably not going to be there all the time).

So we see the faire, and see the prices, and we say to each other, "Are you ready for this? Let’s do this thing!" (It’s a thing we have. Don’t try to understand. Couple stuff.)

We go in and take a look around and lo, the place looks straight out of an artist’s interpretation of the 1920s, in a very good way! Elevated booths line the dining room, which is divided by a glass and wood partition into two sections. The super-laid-back waiter seated us and I ordered a Bloody Mary (because I’m stupid and always forget that I don’t like Bloody Marys), which came out quickly and was piled high with greens and very spicy. I ordered the chicken-fried steak and Betsy? She got the Santa Fe eggs. I was curious what the difference between regular bacon and the "ranch-style" bacon they had on their menu was. So I asked our waiter and he replied, "It’s just an adjective." and left it at that. This made me laugh. We ordered a side of ranch-style bacon.

We chatted for a while (about things that you’re really not interested in, I can assure you -- see, Betsy and I are disgustingly cute together, and we like to chit-chat about the silliest of things) and then -- you guessed it -— the food arrived. My steak was accompanied by two perfect over-easy eggs, sourdough toast with strawberry preserves, and a pile of hash browns that were perfectly shredded and crisp-on-the-outside while being soft-on-the-inside as all-hash-browns-should-be. Betsy’s eggs were redolent with peppers and what looked to be at least half of an avocado sliced over the top. The afore-mentioned hash browns and toast (a very nutty wheat-bread toast, in her case) also graced her plate.

Oh my god. Easily the best chicken-fried steak I’ve ever had. Easily. It was crisp and juicy and spicy and tender. And the sausage gravy? Are you going to ask about the sausage gravy? Hell yes you are. It was delicious. Just the right amount, too (although I suspect that some may complain that it’s a little on the stingy side -- I am not one of those, since I believe that sausage gravy will be my undoing). Betsy’s eggs were done to perfection, being just ever-so slightly custardy inside and firm outside.

Now, I don’t want to disappoint you about the ranch-style bacon, because it’s good bacon. But he was right; it really was just and adjective. It's just bacon, folks. Just bacon. The bacon is, however, excellent and the lack of any so-called ranchiness shouldn’t dissuade you from trying it.

Look, friend. Here’s the bottom line: This is a damned good breakfast and at a pretty damned good price, too. All told, it was $22 plus tip for us, and that’s not bad. It’s fantastic considering this was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever been party to.

I have just one, small, teeny-tiny complaint. And that is that none of my friends have taken me there prior to this date. I mean, seriously. What the hell, guys? What the hell.

Go to Charlie’s. You will not be disappointed.

Award Nomination: Best Breakfast Ever

Review #7548


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Reviews submitted here are meant to pertain to breakfast only. While Mr Breakfast cannot vouch for the validity of each restaurant review, he feels pretty good vouching for the excellent character of the residents of Seattle, Washington - who are primarily responsible for the review(s) you see above for Charlie's on Broadway.