Stacked chicken and waffles. Fried green tomatoes. Cajun eggs Benedict. Bayou hash browns. Mardi Gras beignets.
Those are some of the signature dishes at the new Huckleberry’s restaurant in Redding, which opened in December at the former IHOP pancake house.
With a name like Huckleberry’s, the tangy fruit stands out as an ingredient for the diner’s muffins and as a topping for waffles, crepes and French Quarter french toast.
The Southern-inspired menu also features N’Awlins sandwiches that include shrimp or catfish po’ boys. There’s chicken fried steak, chicken gumbo and another Southern staple, fried okra.
Huckleberry’s joins the hub of Hilltop Drive eateries close to Interstate 5 that offer breakfast and lunch fare such as Black Bear Diner, Denny’s and Country Kitchen. Other close-by spots are Lumberjacks, The Brunch House and Jeff’s California Cattle Co. farther down Cypress Avenue.
Huckleberry’s evokes a swampy, Bayou theme as soon as you pass through the doors. A custom-made weeping willow tree stands by the register as a replica alligator nicknamed Mad Dog is suspended in his cage above.
“Somebody walks in, they see the tree and they see the gator right there,” general manager Kash Deol said.
Three wall murals add to the décor as Zydeco music plays in the background.
A ‘good fit’
The San Luis Obispo-based Heritage Restaurant Brands is the franchisor for the 35 Huckleberry’s Breakfast and Lunch locations, which are concentrated in California but are also found in Reno and Texas.
The nearest Huckleberry’s from Redding is in Yuba City, but there’s others in Fairfield, Roseville and Sacramento. Heritage’s website says it hopes to continue expanding for a total of 50 restaurants by 2026.
Redding’s franchise owners are Deol and four other family members: his aunt, Bal Kaur, and cousins Taran Deol, Gursavek Gill and Manvir Singh. They have a staff of about 20 people.
Kash Deol gives credit to Kaur, and her husband, Gurdev, for bringing the diner to Redding. He said the couple were impressed when they visited Huckleberry’s in the Sacramento area.
“They liked the food so much, they thought Redding would be a really good fit for it,” Deol said.
“Bal and her husband are behind this. If it wasn’t for them, there would be no Huckleberry’s (in Redding). They had the vision for it and they brought us in as partners to help out,” he added.
Deol said the owners have management and business experience, and have learned about running a restaurant.
Deol, who has a background in trucking, underwent a month of training in Tracy along with his kitchen manager. Heritage practiced with the servers, bussers and hosts using role play for pretend customers.
“(Huckleberry’s) is really hands-on when it comes to training,” he said.
Crowd pleasers
Huckleberry’s slogan is “Southern food with a California twist.”
“Everything has the Cajun seasoning on it but it has a little California twist,” Deol said. “We have a Cali burger and all that.”
The Mississippi Skillet, served in an actual hot, iron skillet, is the most ordered.
The dish comes with ham, bacon, sausage, bell peppers, onions and mushrooms with a Monterey jack cheese topping, with the choice of toast, biscuit or a Huckleberry muffin.
“The Mississippi is definitely the number one by far,” Deol said. “The Tom’s Scramble is also very popular. That’s probably like number two.”
The stacked chicken and waffles is another customer favorite.
“You’ve got this sauce dripping down. You’ve got two pieces of waffle and the chicken in between them. It’s really, really popular,” Deol said.
“The shrimp po-boy is really popular here, so that’s pretty good as well,” he said.
The general manager recommends the panko-crusted fried green tomatoes as part of the dining experience.
“They’re really, really good,” he said.
While the dishes have a Cajun and Creole theme, Deol said they’re not overly seasoned.
“I would say (the food) just has a little kick to it – nothing really too spicy. It has a lot of flavor like the Cajun seasoning. Nothing really on the menu is spicy,” he said.
Customers can reach for a bottle of sauce on the table to bring the heat.
For snacking, Huckleberry’s offers Mardi Gras beignets (pronounced ben-yays) that can be described as a Southern fritter. It’s dusted with powdered sugar and contains a sweet vanilla cream filling with a huckleberry, strawberry and peach topping.
Specialty coffee drinks like the iced caramel macchiato are available. The diner served peppermint mochas and pumpkin lattes over the holidays.
Other drink choices include Huck’s Swamp iced tea, Southern Peach iced tea and huckleberry or strawberry lemonades, served in Mason jars.
Nothing like it
The restaurant has a Swamp Shop where its namesake jam, syrup and Cajun hot sauce are sold.
There’s also “Who’s your Huckleberry” mugs and T-shirts.
The diner’s motto borrows from a famous line in the classic 1993 Western, “Tombstone,” where actor Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday declares “I’m your huckleberry,” meaning “I’m the man for the job.”
Deol said his restaurant has gotten an “awesome” reception. “Weekends are slammed all day,” he said.
“People really love it. We have a lot of regulars who come back and say, ‘There’s nothing like this in town.’”
“That’s what sets us apart because we’re like a breakfast spot but we also have that Cajun side to it. And that really separates us from other restaurants,” Deol said.
If you go: Huckleberry’s Breakfast and Lunch
Mike Chapman is a veteran Northern California reporter and photojournalist who retired from the Redding Record Searchlight. His byline also has appeared in the USA TODAY Network, Siskiyou Daily News and the Eureka Times-Standard.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Huckleberry’s brings Southern-style comfort food to Redding
Reporting by Mike Chapman, Special to the Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
