Night Owls Only: There’s a Scratch Cooking Diner Open 24-7 in Wisconsin

My Grandma Burdick loved baked goods. She loved them so much that she described anything from cookies to cakes, danishes to donuts as simply "bakery." It was never clear what she was bringing to the gathering, if she said she was bringing "bakery"—it was always a surprise. There was one type of "bakery" she especially loved after she moved to my hometown: the "tractor-tire-sized cinnamon rolls" at the Pine Cone. She wasn't exaggerating about their size either. These cinnamon rolls easily weigh a pound or more. Don't let its petite name fool you; there is nothing small about this 24-hour diner in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. With an emphasis on home cooking, this restaurant has long been a family favorite, especially if you had asked Grandma.

Located just beside the Johnson Creek Outlet Mall, about 40 minutes outside of Madison and 20 minutes from where I grew up, the Pine Cone is cemented in my memory. From long family breakfasts in my childhood to 2 a.m. stops after Black Friday shopping at the mall, it hasn't changed one bit. Even on a recent visit early on a Saturday morning, the restaurant was already full, its two dining rooms buzzing with eager anticipation of the deliciousness to come: truckers stopped at the travel plaza for a rest, hunched over at the breakfast counter, reading the paper, and children begging for a smiley-face cookie on the way out after a big breakfast. This is the melting pot of this all-hours eatery in a nutshell.

The entryway, the restaurant's fork-in-the-road, centers on the bakery counter with its specially decorated cookies and massive cinnamon rolls as its star. Flanking the entry to the left is the diner-style side of the restaurant, complete with adorable cow decor to make it fully Wisconsin. On the right side is the more standard sit-down restaurant continuing the farm theme, which brought back memories of my grandmother and mom talking about the farm in Hustler, Wisconsin.

You can get everything you'd imagine from a diner at the Pine Cone. From breakfast staples like eggs Benedict and freshly golden waffles to fish fry, a Wisconsin staple in its own right. From my experience, anything you choose on the menu will be tasty because the Pine Cone prides itself on a scratch-cooked experience—yet another reason my grandmother loved it so much. Sure, it wasn't family style, but it always felt like a family meal.

This homey aesthetic extends far beyond just the food and cozy farm decor, though. Even customers will treat you like family. A woman walked through the front door and almost immediately started to chat with me at the bakery counter, "It all looks so good, doesn't it?" "It does!" I replied. Without hesitation, she pointed to the brownies and said, "The brownies are amazing. You have to try one." Then she walked into the dining room to join her table. If that kind of interaction doesn't epitomize a Midwestern restaurant, I'm not sure what does.