Dierk’s Parkside Cafe | Santa Rosa

Though he’s headed up some of Wine Country’s best restaurants (All Seasons in Calistoga, Blue Water Bistro) Chef Mark Dierkhising seems just as happy–maybe happier–at the grill of Santa Rosa’s Parkside Cafe.

Flipping hashed browns and scrambling eggs in the tiny open kitchen, there’s literally no room for pretension in this cozy neighborhood restaurant where regulars sip coffee at the bar and chat up the lone waitress buzzing from table to table. But come early, because there’s almost always a line — especially on the weekends.

But the menu goes way beyond over-easy eggs and flapjacks. The recently revised morning menu features a delicate duck confit, as well as a poached egg salad on a bed of frisee with thick-cut bacon and potatoes. And, don’t miss the homemade pull-apart fried bread from his grandma’s recipe book. In a hurry? Mark will set you up with Two Eggs and You’re Out of Here–lightening fast.

Brunch has become an institution, with bed-headed kids, apre-bike groups and in-the-known Wine Country visitors descending on the Chicken Fried Steak, Huevos Rancheros and quite possibly the world’s best hangover cure: The Country Benedict. I can attest to the miraculous healing powers of this warm baguette covered with scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, oven-dried tomatoes, spinach, hash browns and Hollandaise sauce. I dream of it regularly.

For lunch, Dierkhising and his crew serve up a mean fried chicken sandwich, burger, fish tacos, tuna burger or hot pastrami. Don’t miss the fries.

“This is just stuff I grew up with, mostly,” says the Minnesota native, as he dishes up plates in rapid succession. With a few nods to Wine Country cuisine, naturally.

The cafe is open for breakfast, weekend brunch and lunch.

So stop by, belly up to the counter, and tell Mark that BiteClub sent you. They’ll have a nice warm cup of coffee ready and waiting.

Dierk’s Parkside Cafe, 404 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa, 707.573.5955