T&A Restaurant (Rose's Cafe) - Susanville, California

Justin M.

T&A Restaurant

We had the pleasure of eating at T&A Restaurant in the middle of a 5000 mile road trip. Starting in Chattanooga TN, we'd traveled across the South Western United States to San Francisco CA, traveled up the coast to Orick CA, and headed east.

After a couple of weeks on the road, we were culinarily exhausted. We'd tried texmex at the border, seafood on the shore, and burgers on the butte.

Everything was poorly cooked, poorly seasoned, or overpriced. ($40 bowl of clam chowder? You're high San Francisco!)

So it was with tepid expectations that we walked into T&A Restaurant.

Boy were we surprised. We started with the meatballs. We ordered one, the chef sent out three the size of a softball! And I've made hundreds of meatballs, these were by far the best I'd ever eaten. Next up were mozeralla sticks. Perfectly fried, huge cheese pulls, rich sauces.

The entrees were as follows, a South Street burger, an Italian Chicken Sandwich, Triple Decker Sandwich, Steak Sandwich, and a bowl of Spaghetti Bologenese.

The South Street Burger was a freshly ground and pattied burger cooked to order, slathered in carmelized onions, mushrooms, and a generous coating of bleu cheese crumbles. The burger was cooked perfectly, the bun was lightly toasted, and the dressings (tomato, lettuce, and red onion) were generous portions. It was slightly dry, overall as the bleu cheese had lost a lot moisture. This was quickly remedied by throwing on a mix of mayo and A1 sauce to loosen it up.

The Italian Chicken Sandwich was a behemoth of chicken, mozarella, tomato sauce, on a rich bun that consumed the plate. Topped with grilled mushrooms, this was a winner. The marinara sauce literally flooded the plate and our party quickly resorted to forks and knives.

The Triple Decker Sandwich, a literal Dagwood sandwich, this was a classic triple decker club with your choice of lunch meats. Our party chose ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, atop a toasted sourdough. You'll need to unhinge your jaw for this one.

The Steak Sandwich had a 12oz Flank cooked to order, served open face with all the dressings and was an excellent steak. One of our party ate it as a steak outright, while the other made the requisite sandwich. Both were satisfied.

And finally, the Spaghetti Bolognese was the choice of our younger diners, who chomped away with glee. I snuck a taste and was equally as satisfied with the quality.

While the portions were more than sufficient, (every party member walked away with a to-go box) we were so impressed by the entrees that we opted to save room for dessert!

On option were flavored cheesecakes, Raspberry, Lemon, or Mixed Berries, Lava Cake, Tiramisu, and house made Creme Brule.

Discussion with the waitress revealed that while the salad dressings, burgers, and other foods were all house made, the deserts were ordered in. Regardless, we had the lemon cheesecake, lava cake, and creme brule.

The Creme Brule was a thick creamy base with a rich carmelized suger topping. Not too thick, not too thin. It gave a satisfying crack and the caramel wasn't over cookked.

The Lava Cake was one of the richest things I'd ever eaten, tasting more like a warm cake batter than a lava cake, A+ marks again.

And finally, the lemon cheesecake came with a thin veneer of gelee de citron (or lemon gel) across the top that was sweet, tangy, and a refreshing balance to the rich cheesecake.

All in all, the T&A was the highlight of 2 weeks of culinary disappointments. Everyone left stuffed and happy, and I can only lament that we won't be returning to Susanville in the near future to enjoy this food again.

If you've read this far, do me a favor and stop in, order the meatballs, and tell 'em we sent you!

Bil Y.

Not called Rosie's Cafe anymore but T&A Cafe. Food was fantastic would definitely recommend. Limited hours so check ahead of time. Had their Sacramento burger. Awesome and cooked to my liking. GF had shrimp and linguini ample portions. You will not go hungry here and good prices.

Nicole W.

Excellent burgers, clam chowder and onion rings. We did not try the steak or Italian dishes but they looked delicious. Don't let the atmosphere fool you, hidden gem. Will stop again when traveling through Susanville.

Aaron W.

Amazing food! Amazing customer service! The fried zucchini was the best I've ever had! Tasty fresh burger and great salads. My GF absolutely loved her pasta. Great stop for our trip to florida!

Rachel B.

Disappointed there was no prime rib on Friday. Steak was good and portions are huge. You won't leave hungry. They use to have the best prime rib and was sad they didn't have it. That was reason for picking them for dinner.

Wyatt W.

We stumbled on this gem last night. We enjoyed our meal and the service was great. It is a family owned and operated establishment. The food was all prepared there and everything was delicious. We had the meatballs for an appetizer. They were big and tasty. I had the scampi over pasta and it was delicious. I had the clam chowder and it was one of the best I've ever had. My friend had the prime rib and it was tender and very tasty. The vegetables were fresh and the garlic mashed potatoes were freshly made. My friend had a salad with blue cheese and the dressing was homemade. We liked that everything was fresh and not frozen and just re-heated. The portions are big so we ended up with leftovers for today. Yay. We ended the night with creme brulee, the owner's daughter is a pastry chef and the creme brulee was smooth and sweet. What a great ending to a good meal. The server was attentive and kind. We enjoyed visiting with her.  We will definitely be returning

Alex I.

Amazing fresh food and prices, and The owner is very sweet and kind,..

Curtis B.

Had reservations and still had to wait for an unreasonable amount of time. Then, when our food arrived, our steaks were burnt on the outside and raw in the middle. I hate to disparage local businesses, but this is the 2nd bad experience I've had here, so I won't be going back.