JT Country Kitchen

I come to Twentynine Palms about every month to visit my daughter. Always like trying the local stuff! Today I was with both of my daughters and we decided to try JT. The place was filthy! Do not sit under the drapery because they are so covered with dust that it will probably dump on you. My daughter and I had bacon and eggs while my other daughter had the chocolate chip pancakes. We also decided to split a waffle. The home fries which were like cottage potatoes were way under cooked and still hard. I ordered my eggs scrambled soft and thank God I didn’t order them hard. The woman who served us I wouldn’t say was very overly friendly…
I believe the reason they have four stars is because they were five stars six months ago, but everything has gone down since then. I think a major cleanup is in order and a shot of adrenaline. It’s worth missing…

I think the only way to explain the Country Kitchen is to tell you that if you liked «Gilmore Girls» and the quirky charm of Stars Hollow, you’ll love this place.
Nothing about it makes a lick of sense. The woman who runs it is pretty gruff, it’s very tiny inside and the décor is a mishmash that TGI Friday’s would envy. The menu is all over the place.
I can see how some people would be put off by Country Kitchen, but I was totally charmed by it! The food is good, too!

Some real country cookin perfect for my day. Very entertained by the woman of the house. Loved my rose n my pancakes. Atmosphere is authentic. I feel at home. My mom is Asian. Straight to the point. If you’re high maintenance go home.

It’s was so packed with dust black dust and the lady was really mean the food taste great but to dirty I wonder what the kitchen looks like the restrunt has an A rating apparently they havnt been health inspected in forever

I’m surprised by the good (albeit small) selection of lunch places in remote Joshua Tree, so you should find it easy to grab a lunch here. We chose JT because how can you resist the cute décor? Also, it was empty a little after 1 on a Sunday. Owners are right there serving you and décor is cute inside too. From what I can tell, this place is about the pancakes, which were very good and more than fulfilling. Wife’s veggie burger was okay.
I would return, but there seems to be other places here where you also couldn’t go wrong.
Note: The sausage burrito in many of the Unilocal pictures is not on the menu, but on a board behind cash register.

«Only whisky served here,» that’s a joke the owner told me. This place is amazing and I love coming here. Lots of great options to fill your belly for a few days!!!

Food was so fast coming out! I got the corned beef hash, so good! And the lady in charge was sweet. She’s a little older, so she may take longer to get to you, but she is very kind and professional.

This is where the locals eat. The JT sandwich ($$ 7.25) is everything. Bacon flying off in every direction. Only the melty American cheese keeps in all in place. Don’t forget to buy a rose on the way out.
Warning: If scary clown nick knacks aren’t your thing then this might not be the place for you.

One of the highest-​rated breakfast joints in Joshua Tree – had to try it. Even having read the reviews I was pretty shocked at how tiny this place was. I don’t even know how Anthony Bourdain fit in here, lol. Two old Asian people own and run this place and it really looks like it. There’s tons of dusty-​looking knick knacks everywhere and nothing matches – kind of took me back to my grandparents’ place. Lucky for us there was an open table so we were seated right away. It took a while for them to get to us with waters and menus but you have to give them a break; they’re literally shuffling around. They have some younger workers too but the old couple take an active part in taking and bringing out orders, etc. About 10 minutes into waiting for our order to come out, the old woman came over and asked if we’d mind moving to a smaller table since there were 2 couples who might want to share our table, which had 4 chairs. My bf and I said we didn’t mind at all, and moved to the smaller 2 seater table closer to the far wall. Then it turned out the couple didn’t want to share the table after all, so it sat empty until another group came by. Oh well. It’s a small place and I could see why they’d need to shuffle people around once in a while.
We probably waited another good 15 – 20 minutes for our food, during which time we had the chance to really take a look at the place. This was when I saw the thick layer of dust on the knick knacks right by our table, ew. Then I saw a hair on top of that, which I didn’t really like seeing – double ew. I tried to put it out of my mind once the food came, but I don’t think I was 100% successful; it’s kind of hard to unsee. I didn’t like their utensils either – they were very cheap stuff that was noticeably uncomfortable in my hands. Their food was good (the bf had a waffle and I had the 2 egg breakfast) so I think if they could make some minor improvements to the ambiance it would go a long way.
STEPH JUDGEMENT: Good food but cleanliness of the place was an issue for me.

My husband and I enjoyed two breakfasts in Joshua Tree. Of the two, I preferred Crossroads, but this place is still a solid choice.
Very cute and cozy ambiance at JT Country Kitchen. It’s CASH ONLY. Here, you’ll find more diner style food. We had blueberry pancakes, bacon, and biscuits and gravy. Everything was fine, 3 stars — but nothing amazing.
Bumped up my rating one star because it’s such a cute little place.
CASH ONLY!

If you love to wait a long time for bad food and worse service, EAT HERE!!!
Dirty, and cramped space that used to be a realtor’s office (pic on the wall as proof). Just skip it. They’ll tell you «couple minute» but it turned out to be an hour.
Mom & Pop operation, where mom will YELL OUT drink orders to Pop, while he tallies the CASH ONLY tabs. Seriously, we can swipe a card on our phones these days, get with it…

I’m on Candid Camera, right? We waited outside in the cold for 15 minutes before being called in and seated at a table. This place is TINY. We were wedged in a corner, under a shelf covered in dusty knickknacks. My coat slipped to the floor without my knowledge while reading the crappy, limited menu. The owner/​waitress walked by, slapped me on the back and said, «you dropped that!» Really?!
After what seemed like forever, she came back to take our order. She proceeded to scream out our drink order across the small, crowded room (as she did for all other drink orders).
Then her husband/​co-​owner came over and said, «I need your table for 4. Can you move to the counter?» (We were 2) Wanting to be agreeable, we said yes, and were moved to a dirty counter covered with disgusting rags. He told us which 2 stools to take.
Still waiting for our food, after 40 minutes, we were asked to move AGAIN, and slide down one stool to accommodate a party of 3. At this point, my boyfriend became irate and I got a fit of giggles over the absurdity.
Our view from the counter was of some filthy, disgusting old crap all over the walls. (What IS that red thing?!)
The food was… does it even matter at this point? This place is AWFUL! Run!

Very nice owner served us. Very Knickey-​knackey and lots too look at. Good prices and breakfast served all day… yay!!!

Let me start off my saying, Garrett G. — your review is blasphemy! Are you nuts!!! The woman whom you’ve referred to as an «incompetent elderly lady» is Mareine and she has been the owner and operator of the Country Kitchen for longer than you’ve been alive. Quality is one thing and if you didn’t like the food, then that’s fine, but did you take a look around at where you were? You can’t go into a small restaurant like that in a town filled with tumbleweeds and less than 20 restaurants expecting «presentation» and «signature spotlights.» You’re dining in Yucca Valley, not Beverly Hills. Come on!
I’ve been a frequent visitor of Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree for over 10 years and every time I’m in the area, I HAVE to stop by my favorite breakfast joint in town. Granted, there aren’t that many options for food out there, but even if Country Kitchen were located in Orange County, I would still be a regular there.
There’s just something about a small, family-​owned business that makes you feel good when you’re there supporting them. And the fact that the food tastes amazing is just a bonus!
Upon entering the quaint little restaurant, you are always greeted by Mareine. She is the sweetest lady and I can swear that I feel that she’s a distant auntie of mine. LOL.
I almost always opt for the sausage breakfast burrito with a couple sides of the hot salsa (you have the choice of medium or hot, but the hot is more like a mild/​medium salsa. at least for me). The burritos always come out hot and they are filling. If I’m super hungry, I will add on a single chocolate chip pancake — the pancakes there are so good. But, one thing that I never leave without is my peanut butter shake. Don’t know what it is about the peanut butter shakes there, but they’re simply AMAZING. There have been times when I’ve ordered one at the beginning of the meal and then a second one to go. I know, I’m probably over-​doing it, but hey, when in Rome …
*Tip: Be prepared with cash — Country Kitchen is CASH ONLY. If you didn’t bring cash with you, you can go into the Valero gas station right next door and get cash back on a small purchase.
I can’t wait to go back for my shake!!!

Stopped by after a friend had felt the possibility of good food as smaller joints sometimes do, but didn’t meet up to expectations. It’s places like this that validates your idealizations and desire for presentation. It has the location — sitting right outside the Joshua Tree National Park– but a complete absence of ambition and purpose. You have one elderly lady in the role of a waiter and accountee running all surface presentation of the buisness yet incompetent in trade and craft. Orders were off sinc and jumbled up for such simple key distinctions. Quality was an issue. Anyone can throw a few pieces of cut lettuce on a plate, and that’s what they did. No care for their menu and nothing that provides a signature spot light to add a nice zing to an otherwise homey and casual resting spot.
After nearly finishing our meal I noticed a small sign in the clutter of decorations beside the door stating a no credit or check policy, and had to run to the next door gas station just to pay when this could have easily been avoided haven been announced with any sort of conciousness (or labeled outside, the menu…). There’s no direction, as if you can come as you please without anything actually keeping you there. It’s a mess.

I’ve read a previous review saying «We know why the local love it. It’s because Maria the owner is super nice». I haven’t had the honor to meet her. What I first «met» was the odor of fat as soon as I opened the door.
The place is very tiny (no more than a normal bedroom, 10 tables probably) so you have the feeling to sit down into the kitchen. And the smell is very strong.
The service/​people is nice but the food is not exceptionnal. It’s fat and not super tasty.
What STROKE me and my friends is the dust. This place could be small, nice, clean, welcoming… but honestly it’s REALLY DIRTY. Everywhere you look you can see grease/​fat/​dust. For a restaurant it’s really a problem… The fridge in the middle of the room wasn’t moved probably for 10 years — you can see that with the marks on the floor.
There are papers taped everywhere with prices, notes, menus… small objects for sale in every single square feet of the room. So the place looks messy/​old/​not clean.
SERIOULSY, you can’t put 5 stars to a dirty restaurant, even if «Anthony B» stopped there once or because you love Maria…
We were hesitating between here and «Crossroads» accross the street. The next time we will try the other one.

Went to the Integratron for the Perseid Meteor Shower this weekend and as we left, checked out places to have breakfast on our way home.
Saw that Anthony Bordain had featured this place for his show No Reservations.
Had a fun breakfast, and found out the owners were Cambodian, where we had gone for vacation last fall!
Plus one our group comes here every year for New Year’s Eve!!!
Why wouldn’t we check it out?

Food is bomb! Place for hipsters or homeless people, can’t really tell. Pretty sure hipsters though. Nice and cozy. Cool breeze and a fan to help with the airflow. The Asian lady taking our order was direct about the ordering. Almost rude sounding if you don’t know how Asians handle the restaurant business. The place is really happening though.
Good quality. Delicious. Felt like a home cooked meal! Breakfast burrito was great. Can’t go wrong with that. Plenty of sodium for my taste. Milkshake is amazing. Went with peanut butter! I’d come back just for the shakes.
Country fried steak and eggs are the way to go! I love it!!! Quantity and portion size was good. Could always be beefier, but I’m on a diet.
Bacon cheese was the 2^nd best ever! Can’t beat my moms secret recipe for bacon! Bacon was crispy and oily! Potatoes were a little burnt, but good!
My wife got the waffle. She always gets it. I say it’s because I’m the waffle of her eye. Large, thick, just the way I like it!
All in all, I’d be down again if I was near the Valero next door to get gas.

I would have to agree why a lot of the reviews are raving about this place: the celebrity visit, the unique feel, the nice staff. i really want to love this place because i can tell there’s a lot of history going on at this little establishment.
maybe i’m too used to restaurants in the cities, when i walked into this place i feel like i’m walking into somebody’s living room. everything is very kitsch and homemade. i don’t feel like i’m in a real restaurant. The nice Cambodian older lady walked to us and took our order. She wasn’t hiding the fact that their orange juice is just what they picked up from Kroger’s. We ordered some toasts and eggs with sausages. Again, I feel like we’re just eating at someone else’s house with whatever grocery they picked up.
like a few other reviewers who also noticed that this place doesn’t seem completely clean. the walls feel a bit greasy and the place could really use an overall facility upgrade.
Although the ambiance itself is quiet an experience, I haven’t fell in love with the charm of this place yet.

Anthony Bourdain stopped by JTCK and for good reason! Talk about a quaint little mom n pop restaurant. This charming little café has positive affirmations on the wall, fake flowers, and random trinkets for sale. It’s almost like you’ve stepped into a time capsule.
What we ordered:
Peanut Butter Shake — Made with real peanut butter and ice cream, topped with peanut powder. This shake is thick, creamy, decadent!
Sausage breakfast burrito — This burrito is gigantic, filled with piping hot scrambled eggs, thick sausage pieces, crispy country potatoes and ooey gooey cheese. The tortilla is thin, almost translucent and has a great consistency. Loved this burrito!
Blueberry pancakes & bacon — I have no idea how they make these enormous pancakes. They are slightly crispy on the outside and soft and chewy in consistency. I’ve never had pancakes like this before. I was swooning. SO GOOD! And the best part about the pancakes… they were made with fresh, plump blueberries. YUM!
There’s an older woman who takes your order. She is the sweetest and has the best smile. Go and support local. You’re in for a treat!