The sandwich was a triple decker with turkey, ham and Swiss cheese dipped in egg batter and cooked on the griddle.
It was soft, moist and flavorful. No way could it get more perfect.
Or so I thought as I dug into the mound of my Monte Cristo at Mukilteo’s Weller’s Cafe.
“Try some strawberry jelly on it. It’s what the French do,” suggested the friendly waitress on a stop to fill our water glasses.
The table had a stack of packets of jelly at the ready. My husband Max was right on it, slathering on the berry … on my sandwich.
Well, it started as mine, but I had given him half because there was no way I could eat the entire mega Monte Cristo.
“How can anything not be good with jelly?” Max said.
His eyes lit up and he said I must try it.
It was amazing.
No wonder Weller’s Cafe is so popular.
I had driven by it hundreds of times coming and going but never stopped. It occupies the front of an office building on Mukilteo Speedway east of where Highway 526 intersects. It’s only open for breakfast and lunch.
I went shortly before noon on a recent Friday. The place was hopping. So was the sole waitress. I saw one man cooking in the back. A two-person show with a lots of hungry mouths to feed.
“Bummer, I bet we’re going to have to wait a long time,” I mumbled to Max and our daughter-in-law, Ayako.
I was so wrong. The waitress was there within a minute to bring menus, explain the daily specials and fill our water cups. She was back a few minutes later to take our orders, then delivered the food about 10 minutes later.
Max got the daily special fish sandwich with clam chowder ($6.75). Ayako ordered the roast beef special with barley soup ($6.75).
“It was just cheddar cheese, roast beef and tomatoes, but it was really good,” she said. “It’s not a special thing, but it tasted special.”
The Monte Cristo ($10.50) was served with crinkle-cut fries.
“The meat just melted in my mouth,” said Max of my Monte Cristo.
I tried a bite of his fish sandwich, then asked for two more because it was so good. Crunchy on the outside, smooth inside.
The diner has booths and Formica tables with vinyl seats, artificial flowers and ketchup in glass bottles (yes!). It is bright, with skylights and a wall of windows facing the road.
A guy across the aisle ordered hot chocolate. I watched as the waitress made it in the hot chocolate machine behind the counter. It had whipped cream swirled as high as a soft-serve ice cream cone.
My eyes lit up.
Next time…
An online reviewer called this restaurant “a little unknown jewel.”
Yep. Nailed it.
The diner is owned by Pam and Joe Weller.
Pam is the friendly waitress in this story. Joe is the guy cooking in the back.
The Wellers opened the diner 15 years ago. Before that, they had Weller’s Milwaukee Station Cafe in Everett for 10 years.
Andrea Brown at 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com.
Twitter: @reporterbrown.
Weller’s Cafe
8490 Mukilteo Speedway, Mukilteo; 425-353-4154.
Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. (breakfast served until 11 a.m.), Tuesday through Friday; 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (lunch served noon to 1 p.m.); and 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.
Alcohol: None
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