Coffee Pot Restaurant - Sedona, AZ

The Coffee Pot Restaurant, located in west Sedona, Arizona at 2050 W. Highway 89A, is a great restaurant for breakfast and lunch. They are open daily from 6 am to 2:15 pm.

We ate at the Coffee Pot Restaurant two days in a row. On first day, a Sunday, we arrived around 10:15 in the morning. We circled the parking lot twice trying to find an open spot. We finally waited in the lot for a spot to open. Once inside, we waited about 10 minutes for a table for two. We occupied our time in the gift shop area of the restaurant, musing over the selection of regional trinkets available for sale.

Once we were seated, we were promptly provided with glasses and a pitcher of water and were asked for our beverage order. At a place called the “Coffee Pot” you just have to try the coffee and we did. It arrived in a thermal carafe with enough coffee for each of us to have at least two cups. The coffee tasted great and it was nice and hot. Just what we needed after a night of light snow mixed with rain. The coffee wasn’t the popular watered down stuff served in a lot of place in the mid-west. It also wasn’t the robust stuff served at Starbucks. It was just good coffee - pure and simple. The pitcher of coffee set us back another $1.75 per person.

On Sunday, I ordered huevos rancheros and Judy ordered a buckwheat waffle with an over-easy egg on the side. The huevos rancheros consisted of two eggs (over medium, as requested) served over a flour tortilla and topped with a mild green chili salsa and jack cheese. Accompaniments included refried beans, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, Mexican rice and a fresh salsa. The refried beans had a good taste but they didn’t include any partially mashed beans. I prefer my refried beans slightly mashed or pureed. Nevertheless, these were good. The Mexican rice appeared to be dry but when I tasted it, I was surprised. It was moist, well seasoned and just the right texture. (Judy: the Mexican rice is very tasty; I think it is because the rice has tomato paste in it.) The tomato-based salsa had a little bite to it. It had a fresh tomato taste, with noticeable bits of fresh scallion and herbs. It was well worth the $6.50.

The buckwheat waffle with pecans was $5.95 and well worth the price. The waffles (2 in all) were very light in texture. The waffle was crisp on the exterior yet moist and fluffy in the interior. (In this case, moist does not mean undercooked.) The egg on the side, costing an additional $0.95, was cooked to a perfect “over medium”. (Judy: I had some syrup with my waffle. Even though I used a small amount and had an egg with my fluffy waffle, I was sleepy for the rest of the morning. I don’t do well with sugar.)

.The next day we arrive at 7:15 in the morning. It was a Monday and there were plenty of open parking spaces so we didn’t have to circle the lot. We were seated promptly.

Since the Coffee Cup Restaurant offers 101 omelettes, I just had to try one. I tried the ham, bell pepper, tomato and onion omelette (number 12 on the menu) for $6.50. I paid and additional $0.95 for Egg Beaters instead of whole eggs. The omelette was huge and had plenty of diced ham, peppers, tomatoes and onions. The omelettes are served with a choice of potatoes, grits or cottage cheese and a choice of toast or biscuit. I had the grits and whole-wheat toast. My only complaint (my own fault) is that I should have asked them not to butter the toast.

Judy had the “Take Two”, consisting of two pancakes, two eggs (over medium) and two sausage links. The pancakes were light and fluffy. The pancakes didn’t need syrup because they were already slightly sweet. The eggs were cooked as ordered and the sausages were tasty. (Judy: The pancakes were full-sized and I could not finish them. The pancakes were perfect; browned just right with little exterior crunchiness while fluffy at the same time. It was a good thing, I did not need syrup with the pancake.)

The service at the Coffee Pot Restaurant is prompt, efficient and very courteous.

We can’t wait to go back for lunch to try their “authentic Mexican food”. We have high expectations, based on the flavors and presentation of the huevos rancheros.

Judy: This is a Southwestern style diner and not really a cafe. I love having breakfast at a diner and the Coffee Pot Restaurant is a good diner.

2050 W Highway 89A - map Sedona, AZ 86336 Tel: (928) 282-6626

Mixed Experience - Javelina Cantina, Sedona

You know, a restaurant is more than just the food or the chef or the server. A restaurant is everything within the facility. It includes every employee, the food, the atmosphere, the cleanliness, and the attitudes of every person working. The cooks must show a passion for their craft. The servers must be attentive and knowledgeable.

Tonight we ate at a mid-size restaurant in Sedona, Arizona. The restaurant is named Javelina Cantina. It is located at 671 Highway 179, Sedona, Arizona 86336. Their telephone number is (928) 203-9514.

When we entered the restaurant at 6:55 this evening the host was busy with a carryout customer. He told us to wait a few minutes while he went to the kitchen to get the carryout order. At the same time he asked us to wait, there were two busboys behind him joking around. Why weren’t they be sent to the kitchen to get the carryout order? Anyway, we were shown to our seats after a wait of 4 to 5 minutes even though the place was only about 40% occupied.

We were seated in an indoor patio type area. The bus boy brought water, chips and salsa right away. A table next to us was placing their dinner order with their waiter. After ten minutes our waiter (let's call him "S") arrived to take our drink order. We each ordered a 23 ounce draft red ale. "S" went off to place the order and to wait on other tables on the other side of the restaurant. Ten minutes later he came back with our beverages and took our food order. At the same time, the table next to us was receiving their entrees.

The chips were excellent and the salsa was very good with a strong taste of oregano. (She said: We were supposed to watch our weight but we ate almost half of the basket of the chips.)

I ordered the fish taco platter and my wife ordered the tamale platter with one beef tamale and one green corn tamale. We each ordered the black beans instead of refried beans since we were given the option.

Within seven minutes our platters arrived. The plates were hot while the presentation was typical.

The fish tacos platter had good and not so good points. The fish, in the two tacos, was grilled perfectly. The texture was great. The flour tortillas were fresh and tasty. Unfortunately, it includes a tartar sauce that was fairly tame. The overall flavor of the taco reminded me of a Fillet-O-Fish from McDonald's. (Yes, I admit that I've eaten at McDonald's in my younger days.) (She said: I have to laugh when Chef told me it tasted like Fillet-O-Fish. He was right. But the New York Times recommended the dish.) The black beans were very good. They were well seasoned, cooked correctly and the portion was adequate. The Mexican rice apparently sat under a heat lamp or in a warmer for a while because some of it was dried out and tough. The remainder of it was moist and well seasoned. (She said: I did not care for the rice at all. The Coffee Pot Cafe in Sedona has better rice than this place.) In the center of the platter was a portion of shredded cabbage with diced tomatoes and chilies.

The green corn tamale was excellent. It had whole kernels of corn in the tamale dough and was filled with a very tasty cheese. It was served with a green chili salsa. (She said: This was outstanding. It had a little bite to it from the green chili sauce.) The shredded (Machaca) beef tamale was only ordinary. (She said: Taste like a chain restaurant’s tamale. Well, outside of Houston, TX. Houston has good tamales, even from the chain restaurants.) It was served with a red salsa. The remainder of the plate consisted of the same accompaniments as the fish taco platter.

After finishing the entree we waited another ten minutes before the host walked by to seat additional customers. Apparently he could tell that I was unhappy and asked if I needed anything. (Said: Boy! Chef had that “death ray eyes” on. He was mad!!!) I explained that we were finished and had been waiting ten minutes for our waiter. The host brought over a carryout box for Judy's leftovers. Then waiter showed up about 3 minutes later to see if we needed anything else. (She said: Heck no! I do not have another 30 minute just to get dessert.) We asked for the check. He disappeared for another 5 minutes and returned with the check. I gave him a credit card and only had to wait for another 3 minutes before he returned.

I usually tip twenty percent for good service. Tonight, "S" only received an 11% tip, which was about 10% more than I really thought he should receive.

I have to say that customers at other tables around us had different waiters and that they seemed to receive very good service. They were even told what the specials of the day were.

The rest of the restaurant was very nice. The place was very clean, with a nice decor. The place was well lit so there were no problems reading the menu at night.