Fremont Diner - American, Sonoma

2698 Fremont Drive, Sonoma CA 95476
(707) 938-7370
Parking: in parking lot

Last Visited: April 2, 2011

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $$

Back in high school, the jocks used to go to Babe's burgers for a quick lunch as soon as we were given off campus privileges.  Somewhere along the way, Babe's went away, and in its place is the Fremont Diner.  A number of college friends started checking in at Fremont Diner, and as a local gal, I was surprised that none of my local friends had even mentioned it at all, let alone how good it was. 

My interest was piqued, and I made the trek out to Fremont Drive.  As a Sonoman, this is the section of road that is easy to avoid.  Going out to the city, you take this road, but skip this section, and the same is true for heading out to Napa, but in the opposite direction.  The Fremont Diner lies right in between these sections of roads.

Admittedly, with so many college friends talking about how good it was, my expectations were a bit on the higher side, and when we arrived on this Saturday to find the line to order food out the door, well, expectations ran even higher. 

One thing to get straight first is that it's a bit of a dive.  It's got a lot of character with both indoor and outdoor seating and old school toys (e.g. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head) available to keep the kids occupied, but despite its gourmet twists on some homestyle dishes, you get the sense that it's more of a local place.  However, on the weekends, it's mostly tourists visiting.  Service is comprised pretty much the gal at the front that takes your order.  When your name is called, you pick up your own food.  So while I've given the service rating 3 to 4 stars, that is pretty much entirely based on how the ordering process went.

The menu is shown on the blackboard above in addition to a paper menu available.  Griddle items including burgers, grilled cheese, and a hot dog sit alongside smoker selections including pork and brisket.  There is definitely a bit of a southern feel when you see listings like fried chicken, chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, collard greens, milkshakes, onion rings, french fries, and mac & cheese.  However, when we see reuben sandwiches on the menu, that becomes one of our default items.  Other reviews mentioned the oyster po'boy, so of course, we had to try it.

- Cracklin - Deep fried pig skins with hog spice - Hog spice is their own blend of spices.  While I had hoped the cracklin would stay crisp throughout our meal, I was disappointed to find it getting soggy in just minutes.  I would skip this item in the future. $3

- Hush Puppies - Julie's favorite with River Dog Spring onions and remoulade - An abundant plate of probably eleven or twelve hush puppies are served with a tasty remoulade.  Extremely filling, these slightly more than golden brown bites are moist and delicious.  This is a great plate to share. $4.99

- Fremont Reuben-  House cured and smoked pastrami, chow chow, Estero Gold swiss on Mike the Bakers rye bread with a side of potato salad with buttermilk and tarragon dressing - This was probably my favorite of the items we tried here today.  The bread is grilled until crisp and the layers of pastrami were moist and flavorful.  It's not the best reuben we've ever had, but it's good.  The potato salad was pretty average - better than many we've tried, but not stand out on its own.  This reuben is worth getting again although the price is a little on the high side.  $11.99

- Oyster Po'Boy - Drakes Bay oysters, Fremont bacon, remoulade, and little gems with side salad - Five small oysters were deep fried and served on a roll toasted on a grill with shreds of iceberg lettuce and remoulade.  It seemed lacking something in flavor while eating it, although the oil for deep frying and oysters were certainly fresh.  It wasn't until I got home and took a better look at the menu when I realized that there was supposed to be bacon on the sandwich, but it was nowhere be found.  Sadly, it was too late to let them know of their error.  The lemon and olive oil dressing on the greens were delightful and the salad was fresh.  $10.99

With my oyster po'boy and cracklin experience being fair, and the price of the reuben being higher than what I think it's valued, the Fremont Diner gets a good review, but has yet to prove it's a place that I should go to every week.  While I wouldn't say I won't be back, I hope to see some extra steps taken to improve the overall food experience before I try it again.