One rainy morning a few weeks ago, my wife decided that she wanted to go out for breakfast. She is a die-hard Denny’s fan because it holds a nostalgic place in her heart. While I enjoy a good Moons Over My Hammy, I told her that we should go somewhere that she hadn’t been before. Somewhere that is more Everett.

When I proposed Totem Diner to her, she had no clue what I was talking about. As we began to turn into the parking lot, she said “Oh, I have driven past this place a lot. I always see the totem pole out front, but I guess I never realized that it was a restaurant.”

We went in, and the place was full of people that seemed like they had been coming here for years, like it was part of their tradition to go have a meal at the Totem with friends and family. They looked perfectly at home sitting at the tables, sipping their coffee.

The inside of the diner looks like it may be the same as it was when the diner opened in 1957, but in the best way possible. It is clean and well-maintained, but also transports you back to the days when people cruised up and down Colby and needed to park their Buick for a bite to eat.

The menu has all of the classic American favorites, from pancakes to patty melts and everything in between. My wife was surprised when she was looking for something for breakfast and found a page of the menu with 27 breakfast options, and then turned the page to see a listing for “still more breakfast” that listed even more choices.

She ordered the waffle, which was easily larger than her head, and I was fairly hungry so I ordered the 3 eggs breakfast (#13). I can usually put away large amounts of food, but I definitely had to take half of mine to go, and was looking forward to being able to finish it off later that day.

I think I can safely say that if you have not been to the Totem, you should make plans to do so very soon. Whether it's for the nostalgic homemade style breakfasts (they make their buttermilk batter from scratch daily), or the delicious burgers and sandwiches that you can’t wait to sink your teeth into, it will be a worthwhile visit. They have been doing it for almost sixty years, and they do it very well.

Also, whoever is in charge of their reader board out front has a great sense of humor, and a love of bacon.

Totem Diner
4410 Rucker Ave
Everett, WA 98203
Here's a map

Find them online or on Facebook here.