Ellie’s a perfect stop to fuel up for exploring north county

Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.

The old lyrics from the TV show “Cheers” comes to mind when I think of Ellie’s in Arlington.

Ellie’s serves breakfast and lunch just off the freeway close to the Arlington airport. Ellie’s has a rustic log cabin feel and your classic breakfast and lunch menu.

All the waitresses are super friendly and know all the regulars by name. When my family and I arrived we were promptly seated and had our drink orders taken. We could tell the Seahawks game was on in the kitchen by the occasional loud cheers that came from there.

My husband ordered the ham and egg breakfast; I ordered the corned beef and hash, and my son ordered French toast with bacon and eggs.

While we waited, I took note of our surroundings. The walls are wood with timber running across the ceiling and there are a few handmade gifts at the front counter. All this added up to creating a wonderful cozy place to have breakfast.

Our meal arrived quickly. My corned beef and hash meal was huge. The hash was all brown and crisp on the outside but nice and tender on the inside. It was good but I could tell it was not made in house. No matter, it was still the perfect base for my poached eggs, which were just the right amount of runny, just the way I like them.

The shredded hash browns were superfluous but I liked them and they would have been great on their own, all nice and brown, and I think that they must cut them in house every morning. They had that homemade taste. Lovely.

Toast comes with the meal but I ordered a biscuit instead. The biscuit was clearly made on the premises. It was a medium size and very light and fluffy. Baking powder biscuits perhaps?

The cook splits them and browns the cut side on the griddle. Perfect with butter and jam; I would have been perfectly happy ordering a biscuit and an egg for breakfast. They were that good!

My husband’s meal was similar to mine but he had ham instead of hash and fresh fruit. It must have been good because he didn’t say anything for 10 minutes while he cleared his plate.

My son’s meal was a hearty size — so big that I ended up sharing his French toast with him. This was classic French toast, flavored with cinnamon.

One note: I think the scrambled eggs are cooked with a lot of butter. My son couldn’t finish his eggs because they were too rich. Maybe not a problem for most kids, but for my son they were a little heavy.

The meal also came with two slices of bacon and a glass of juice.

I really liked Ellie’s, mostly for the fact that they do the classic American breakfast really well and they also have a basic lunch menu: burgers, fries, sandwiches and such.

I also love that Ellie’s is the perfect place to get a quick food fix to start your day if you are going out exploring the wonderful recreation areas that are available north of Everett.

Ellie’s Restaurant

3525 168th St. NE, Arlington; 360-658-0696 (Previously Linda’s Restaurant).

Specialty: American breakfast.

Hours: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday

Vegetarian options: Yes.

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