There's Only One Place for "The Best Breakfast in Spokane, Washington"

Harvard educated Howard Elliot, a man born of affluence, was used to getting what he wanted. The president of the Northern Pacific Railroad, naturally reserved, patient, and moderate in his approach, decided against building his own private railroad car, however, opting instead to purchase an observation car from the Barney-Smith company. This railroad observation car, number 1787, served as the presidential car until it was replaced in 1931. Purchased by Frank Knight in Seattle, Knight transformed number 1787 into a diner that occupied a place of prominence in Seattle for sixty years. Eventually, the diner found its new home in Spokane and now it occupies an equally impressive position in that eastern Washington community. It routinely wins accolades for serving Spokane’s best breakfasts.
We can testify to that boast having sampled the incredible food Frank’s Diner serves while on a recent road trip through the upper West. Remodeled to reflect the sumptuous richness of the early twentieth century when Elliot used it as his presidential car, the interior of the diner is beautifully finished with inlaid red-brown paneling. Period stained glass fixtures shed a diffused light over the ornate wooden trim, paneling, and matching bartop.
And then there’s the grill. Just on the other side of the bar, Greg, one of the diner cooks cracks eggs by the basket ful while keeping one eye on the puddles of bubbling pancake batter and the mountain of butter-frosted hashbrowns. Beneath the paneled bartop, bacon and sausage sizzle and the aroma acts as an effective appetizer. Our mouths watered as the waitress squeezed past Greg and took our order.
Before we knew it our waitress had placed our meals on the counter along with our drinks and dinnerware and we were off and running. We were able to order our hashbrowns and eggs cooked just the way we like them and Greg didn’t disappoint us. Brown and crispy, the huge helping of hashbrowns nearly overwhelmed the rest of the meal. The sausage—not the ordinary slim little wrinkled brown black fingers of overcooked spicy meat—were also immense, cooked to a turn, and flavorful.
Stuffed to the brim, we paid our bill, chatted ever so briefly with the busy congenial waitress, and made our way through the line of patrons filling the space between the bar and the outside wall of the railroad car to the back of the diner. Pausing on the platform that serves as the unique entrance, we gawked at the incredibly packed former observation and presidential railroad car and marveled at the amount of food and tastiness of the “best breakfast in Spokane”.
Unquestionably, it was one of the highlights of our trip and well worth your time to look up Frank’s Diner in downtown Spokane, Washington.