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Restaurant Talk: Enjoy a Driller burger and freedom fries at
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Posted by lward Fri Jan 14, 2005 13:16:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Pappy's Coffee Shop on Rosedale Highway looks deceptively plain from the street.

Although perhaps the grand piano sitting on the patio should have been a clue...

Stepping inside, one is greeted by an embarrassment of riches. Pictures of oil derricks, license plates, a wood paddle reading "bald man's brush" and a large picture of Marilyn Monroe line the walls. Antique typewriters fill the shelves. A walk-in telephone booth sits next to the bar. A life-size cardboard figure of John Wayne stands guard outside an outhouse toward the back of the restaurant. Old-style Coke bottles sit on the floor.

And then there are the mounts: three buffalo heads from Canada and Wyoming, as well as a large elk, a raccoon, a bobcat and a wild boar with a prominent pink tongue protruding from its lips.

"The tongue's fake. People at the counter tend to take it out and play with it, but I try to discourage that," said Anthony Cisneros, whose father, Pete, started the restaurant in 1999.

It's 2 p.m., closing time, and the place has cleared out, leaving the interior free for inspection. The local antique collection rivals the Kern County Museum. The animal re-creations make for a taxidermist's paradise.

Besides photos, hundreds of business cards underneath the glass tables make it easy to network over lunch.

And rumor has it the food isn't bad, either.

Pete, otherwise known as "Pappy," worked at Denny's and Happy Steak out of high school before embarking on a long career in the oil business. After it ended, he saw potential for a restaurant in the location of the old Center Market.

"He wanted to open a place where you could get a good meal at a good price. We have big portions. Here you leave full -- and ready for a nap," said Anthony.

Pappy's opens at 5:30 a.m. for breakfast, and, according to Anthony, is usually frequented by oil field workers, hunters and construction workers.

"And we have a group of about 20 guys who just like to sit in the back and read the Bible," said Anthony, who works alongside his father as well as his brother, Thomas, and sister, Sarah.

"Sarah will waitress, clean tables -- she's the most dedicated employee. She'll do anything my dad needs," said Anthony.

Pappy's serves breakfast and lunch. Breakfast items, served all day, include the popular chile verde omelet ($7.99), taco omelet ($7.45) and snake bite omelet ($7.69), which consists of chunks of polish sausage, pickled jalapenos, yellow pepper rings and Monterey jack cheese.

Other breakfast items, served with a number of sides, include ham steak and eggs ($7.69), described as "one of the biggest in town," strawberry pancakes with glazed strawberries ($5.99), and "krazy" waffles ($5.50) or "krazy krunchy" freedom toast ($5.49), dipped in egg batter and a special mix of walnuts, butter and caramel.

"We changed the ‘French' to ‘freedom.' I guess that's the politically correct thing to do," said Anthony.

It is at Pappy's, anyway.

Senior and kids' breakfast items are also available.

Pappy's hearty lunches, served with freedom fries and other sides, include the Driller burger ($7.45), two bacon strips, cheese and onion rings on grilled sourdough, and the grilled Reuben ($7.45). Dinners include the meat loaf dinner ($7.69) and popcorn shrimp basket ($7.45).

Pappy's has recently introduced low-carb, high-protein plates, like Pappy's bacon cheddar salad ($3.99) with low-carb dressing and the Santa Fe chicken dinner ($6.95).

Senior lunches are also available.

Pappy's Coffee Shop
10595 Rosedale Highway
587-8954
Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily

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