Wildflower Café

By Katherine E. Hill

“Wildflower has been a staple of down-home cuisine for 26 years.”

Wildflower Café in Incline Village has been a staple of down-home cuisine for 26 years. The Toto family – Ellen, George and Sara – have been serving delicious, home cooked breakfast and lunch to a loyal following of locals and visitors, who come back time and again.

I recently enjoyed breakfast with my sister Michelle Allen at Wildflower where we enjoyed many of our favorites. Wildflower offers a fantastic selection of breakfast items, along with daily specials, so we ordered coffee while we looked over the menu.

From the Belgian waffles to the house specialties to the omelette creations, it was hard to pick one entrée. “I hope you came with an appetite,” joked George as he suggested trying everything on the menu.

Our first agreement was the homemade Cinnamon Roll, which we split. Think grandma’s cinnamon roll. The enormous cinnamon roll was the perfect melding of cinnamon and perfectly chewy dough with a generous topping of icing.

For breakfast, Michelle went for the Walnut Belgian Waffle, while I ordered a house favorite – the Wildflower Potatoes.

Their Belgian waffles are made to order with a delicious batter that is soft on the inside, but with a nice outer crust. The mild flavor of the walnuts were a perfect complement to the batter. They also offer the plain, fruit and combination of fruit and nuts.

I was glad I ordered a half-order of the Wildflower Potatoes. My breakfast featured a generous heap of tasty diced potatoes topped with veggie sausage and a medley of tomatoes, green onions and mushrooms with melted Swiss cheese and served with a side of salsa and sour cream. They are amazing and filling. Michelle and I agreed that we could have split my half-order and been satiated.

One of my favorite things at Wildflower Café has always been that they offer veggie sausage on the menu, something I haven’t found elsewhere.

The Wildflower Potatoes come with your choice of meat, which includes Polish, Italian, chorizo and chicken sausage.

Breakfast entrees also include French Toast, along with the Cinnamon-Orange French Toast; Pancakes such as chocolate chip, nut, fruit and the Sugar ‘n’ Spice; and a variety of omelettes and scramble.
House breakfast specials include the Biscuits & Gravy, the Breakfast Muffin Sandwich, Pigs in the Blanket with two pancakes wrapped around sausages, the Bagel Melt, Eggs and Veggie Benedict, and the Breakfast Burrito, among many others.

The homemade Pecan Roll was also calling to me, so I saved room to end with something sweet. They split the Pecan Roll for us, but Michelle as too full from her waffle to eat hers, so I was able to take half of it home along with my potatoes. It was wonderfully delicious with a generous topping of cinnamon-pecan icing.

The lunch selections are as plentiful as breakfast, featuring homemade soups and chili, burgers and sandwiches, including the Wildflower Philly, Polish Sausage Sandwich, Roast Beef or Turkey Melt, Reuben and Durango Club, among many other selections.

George credits the good food and friendly atmosphere to their longevity in Incline, noting that his wife, Ellen, owned the former Fat Charlie’s Pizza for seven years before the couple opened the Wildflower Café 26 years ago. During our visit, the regular Thursday morning coffee klatch of Incline locals were enjoying their morning meeting at one of the front tables.

Wildflower Café serves breakfast and lunch daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. Wildflower Café is located at 869 Tahoe Blvd., Incline Village. Call (775) 831-8072.