Rock Creek Cafe

My families favorite truck stop. We usually order the haystack when we stop and the rye toast is really good too. If you like home cooking this is a great place to stop.

Excellent food for the price. A fairly small dining room so call ahead if bringing a large group. Great fries and cheese curds, meatloaf was excellent and we know why the dumpling soup is famous. Friendly service and a relaxed casual atmosphere.

Excellent food and friendly service. Local, small town diner with home cooking. Breakfast all day, daily specials and awesome chicken and dum

Great fresh food for breakfast. Wonderful staff. Fun daily specials for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Corned beef hash was very good. Coffee cup was always kept full.

For those that are looking for that hidden little diner that you’d probably pass up on your way to something bigger, this is the place. Located off 35 at the Rock Creek exit, you’ve likely passed this place many times over if you’ve gone to Duluth, Hinckley or Pine City — and likely didn’t even notice. Attached to the Rock Creek gas station, it’s a solid little (I mean little) place to get a damn good breakfast.
My mom, step dad and I went here Saturday morning for some breakfast. Lucky we got a table, as there is seating for only about 35 in this little place and a handful of tables to seat 4. Service was prompt, coffee cup never went empty and the menu is simple, made with solid ingredients from up north Minnesota and offers just enough variety and specials to satisfy.
I opted for a buckwheat pancake with their breakfast special, the haystack. A mash of hash browns topped with two eggs, two maple sausage patties, and a helping of sausage gravy with two slices of toast.
Lets start with the pancake. It was damn good. It had a bit of soakability to the syrup to give it some fluff, was cooked very well, and had solid enough of a wheaty-​grainy taste to go really well with the maple syrup. My only complaint was not noticing a short stack was on special and I only got one! Knew I should have learned to read from a distance in school, would have helped with reading the white boards the specials are on!
The haystack. A special of the café I’m told, which prompted me to order this dish. First and foremost, they did whip up a new batch of gravy before we got there, so the gravy was a bit cold and we requested it to be nuked (which is why the 4 stars not a 5 star). It happens, I worked as a breakfast line cook in my younger years (The Top Diner in North Minneapolis for those that might have recalled it on Lyndale) I know how it goes. Fantastic flavor mash here. Sweet and salty galore with the mix of options, and top it off with raisin bread, even more of a sweet kick. Not often you find maple sausage done up in a dish like this, but, hell ****ing yeah! I don’t have an imaginary maple leaf tattoo for nothing! The hash browns were perfectly done, with a solid crisp, but nice thickness meaning it wasn’t some small, thin, over cooked mash of oiled taters. Nice and fluffy in the middle and crispy on the top/​bottom.
Do yourself a favor, if you’re heading up north and have a chance, stop in and check this place out. Prices are amazing too. The special was only $ 7.50 on Saturday morning ($ 8.25 otherwise) and it far beats dropping that kind of money at BK or McDs if you’re traveling up that way.

Had a nice breakfast on a busy Sunday. Good food, service, and ample portions. There is nothing out of the ordinary, but they are known for the Chicken Dumpling soup. Definitely one of the better breakfast stops in the area (liked it more than the overrated Tobies too).

THIS WOULD BE A 5 IF THE BATHROOM WASN’T 40 YRS OLD
Just how many different things can you do with a sausage and egg breakfast? Not many, but The Heidelberger Haystack found a way to trump all others.
Hash brown base, eggs your way, then a maple flavored sausage patty, smothered with tasty sausage gravy and topped with shredded cheddar cheese. All those flavors in my mouth at one time… my mouth is quivering,… hold on… yes, yes, YES !!!
Again, I need a cigarette, I don’t smoke, maybe an e cigarette.
The SPECIAL board is as big as the wall, with daily specials galore. This was my 2^nd time here, and both times I took advantage of the to go option of the chicken dumpling
soup, I will never drive all the way to Hinckley or Duluth for breakfast or lunch again, and neither should you. However, expect a wait on weekends. I wish I had saved room for the pie.
This seems to be a family run place, and the young man working there seemed to be 13 or so. He filled my coffee, filled my water, removed my dirty dish, and took my money at the cash register. While most boys his age are glued to video games, he is a responsible man in the making. See, some people still know how to parent. I’m impressed.
JUST DON’T USE THE BATHROOM HERE

A great alternative to the overpriced food and gas in Hinckley.
Breakfast all day and many daily specials keep the menu interesting.
Have been there twice. Once for lunch and once for dinner. All family members enjoyed their food. Unlike previous reviews, we can get in and out in about 30 minutes. Chicken dumpling soup is delicious.

This is definitely not FAST food. We stopped here for a late breakfast on our way north. The place was busy but not 100% full. Our order was taken promptly and we got our coffee and that’s how things were for more than a half hour. I realized that there were several tables ahead of us waiting for food, and the kitchen appeared to have one cook who clearly was a sequential processor. So there was nothing to do but wait; when it finally came the food was Ok but not overwhelming. Just your basic breakfast fare. With a refueling of our RV and the meal, it took us an hour to get on our way again.

Stopped in for breakfast on the way home from camping up north.
My hangover dictated something sorta heavy so I ordered up the haystack, which is (proper) shredded hashbrowns, a sausage patty, and two eggs however you want them, all smothered in a nice zippy sausage gravy. I added a little tobasco, had about four cups of coffee, and that little brick in my belly kept me going all the way back to Minneapolis.
My compadres had similar eats, and one had a pancake with the most beautiful dollop of creamy butter on top.
The staff were friendly and prompt, and I wish I’d had the mental and gastrointestinal capacity for some pie. A worthwhile stop, to be sure.

Truck Stop Dining at it’s Finest!
Located between Pine City & Hinckley. Great stop on the way up north.
Large full menu with healthy portions. Everything is home cooked and delicious. Chicken dumpling soup are must-​try! Daily specials, Sunday is Swedish meatballs. Save room for the homemade pie and deserts