Eckert's Hometown Diner - Oconomowoc, WI

We go up to Oconomowoc nearly every year on Memorial Day weekend so my husband can recondition and repair the guitars at my old summer camp. My daughters go there now, and it's a nice weekend for us. For years, I've been telling my husband that we need to stop at Red & Bunny's Diner for a meal. Last year, we finally got there and, to my dismay, I found that the name had been changed to Eckert's Hometown Diner. I'm not sure if this article is the reason why:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/29317634.html

At any rate, we found out once we went in that Red & Bunny sold the diner to their kids and retired. It's still the same family, and the food is first-rate.

This is a very tiny establishment, with a counter that seats maybe nine people and tables for maybe another 16 - 18 people. It's strictly breakfast and lunch, and on the weekends strictly breakfast. I'd almost say it's like having breakfast in somebody's crowded kitchen -- the coffee is served in mismatched mugs with company logos, none of the silverware of dishes match, and under the glass over the tablecloths you can find old family pictures of the Eckert family at various stages of their life.

Omelettes come with toast -- if you want potatoes, you need to order them separately. The special potatoes are very good. Coffee was better than I expected, and if you have an extra chair at your table, you may be seated with a stranger if it's crowded. The only thing I was disappointed with was that the mushrooms in my eggs were clearly from a can. My husband had the King James omelette and said it was quite delicious. Everything else was quite fresh and appealing.

We will be sure to go back the next time we are in town at breakfast time. The menu is very limited, but the enthusiastic staff made us feel welcome. Red himself stopped in to say hello and was working the tables with a coffee pot for about twenty minutes.

Suzy

Eckert's Hometown Diner
113 South Main Street
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
http://eckertshometowndiner.com

It's been two years since we visited Eckert's, and there have been big changes. First of all, they are now open for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They are smoking meat on their own Lang smoker, right outside the tiny restaurant. We stopped in for breakfast on Saturday morning. As usual, there was only one person manning the tiny grill and the place was packed. It was well worth the wait.

Wanting to try some of the barbeque, I opted for some pulled pork (sauce on the side) along with my scrambled eggs and hash browns. We were pleasantly surprised. The waitress proudly told us that the barbeque sauce, which was tasty, was made in-house.

My husband asked for a brisket, jack cheese and onion omelette. While the brisket had been reheated on the grill, you could see a definite smoke ring and it was quite good. We would like to go back up and have dinner at Eckert's sometime soon. I think I see another road trip to Oconomowoc in the near future.

Suzy