This is my first five-star rating since becoming Coast Weekend’s restaurant reviewer, so I imagine readers will wonder how I can rate a small, family-style eatery so high, when I’ve rated some high-end restaurants lower. My criteria for judging a restaurant are consistency, creativity, quality, atmosphere and service. Wanda’s excels in all categories.

I first discovered Wanda’s about five years ago, after friends recommended it. Sadly, I missed the first two years – Wanda’s is now celebrating its seventh year. When I first stepped through the doors of the cheery little house filled with what I would describe as whimsical, eclectic kitsch, I was delighted. Warming one corner (visually), fake logs glow in a retro T.V. Collector plates from around the country, vintage framed game boards, a collection of antique radios and toasters and colorful salt and pepper shakers are just a few of the delightful curios adorning the walls and shelves. A three-foot high statue of a magical genie near the front door dons a vintage Mickey Mouse hat. One of my favorite displays is a poster advertising Gearhart’s once-famous Cobra Garden, which actually housed live snakes.

Salmon and turquoise walls reflect warm light from the outdoor gardens. Sit down to a table covered with a festive, retro tablecloth, grab a newspaper or magazine off the shelves and make yourself at home.

When I asked chef/owner Wendy Crosta where the name Wanda’s came from, she replied, “Well, that’s sort of an enigma. We have a fish named Wanda in our tank (in reference to the wacky movie staring John Cleese and Kevin Kline), and we also have a friend’s sculpture out back, whose name is Wanda,” she explains. “My mission from the start was to serve home cooking and I wanted a homey name to fit the food – I’m Wendy, there was ‘Wanda,’ and . . . well, it just fit.”

Crosta’s culinary career started in San Francisco, where she worked at several cafés before moving to Oregon. With children to care for, she started a home baking business called “Temptations” that she operated for about 10 years. When her business outgrew her home, and the opportunity to open a restaurant with a side building that could be utilized as a bakery came along, she was thrilled. In addition to baking for Wanda’s, Crosta also does wholesale baking.

Shannon Von Rotz, left, and C.J. Marth, from Sammamish, Wash., concentrate on breakfast in front of the ‘fireplace.’I love the fact that Wanda’s serves breakfast all day. I don’t eat breakfast every day, so when I do, I want it to be special. I can’t think of any better place to celebrate breakfast than at Wanda’s. I’ll admit, it’s hard for me to get past the Eggs Benedict. It is so good that I dream about it. Wanda’s version is a classic. Perfectly poached eggs, oozing with soft golden yolks, are set atop a buttery toasted muffin mounded with smoky ham and finished with a generous ladle of satiny Hollandaise sauce. Served with a side of “cottage” potatoes – new red potatoes sautéed with herbs, this is, for me, the ultimate breakfast. Usually, I drink a frothy latté with breakfast, but once, on a whim, I ordered an old-fashioned root beer float. Served in a frosty mug and topped with Tillamook ice cream, it was dessert in a glass.

Big, puffy omelets, filled with delicious ingredients including smoked salmon with dill cream cheese, spinach, tomato and feta cheese or grilled veggies, come with cottage potatoes or fresh fruit and a choice of home-baked breads. The cup of fresh fruit (which is also a side order) is not your ordinary fruit cup. Filled with freshly sliced seasonal fruits and berries, it is truly refreshing. Fans of Mexican breakfast fare will find quesadillas filled with black beans, scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese, and Huevos Rancheros topped with fried eggs and salsa. Under waffles and French toast, choices range from oat waffles with raspberries and yogurt or whipped cream to pecan waffles and thick slices of golden, cinnamon-apple French toast served with real maple syrup (or sugar-free syrup, if you choose). The breakfast menu is a dream come true for anyone who loves breakfast.

Everything friends and I have sampled on Wanda’s lunch menu have been equally delicious. Served with homemade bread and a choice of housemade dressings, salads made with fresh greens are outstanding. Among my favorites is the spinach salad topped with crisp bacon, crumbled blue cheese, sliced apples and hazelnuts. Other choices include a Greek salad filled with roasted red peppers, Greek olives, artichoke hearts and feta cheese, and the grilled chicken salad, among others. Homemade soup of the day (on my last visit it was white bean and ham soup) and clam chowder are consistently delicious.

Wrap your hands around one of Wanda’s half-dozen giant sandwiches and dig into flavor. Served on a thick French roll, the French dip (au jus) is loaded with slices of roast beef. Filled with crisp bacon, turkey, ham, Swiss and cheddar cheese, Wanda’s multi-layered club sandwich is a masterpiece. All sandwiches are served with a choice of potato chips, green salad or soup.

For dessert, Wanda’s juicy homemade pies (I’ve sampled cherry and marionberry) live up to my grandma’s standards. For reference, my grandmother was a cooking teacher and pie baker extraordinaire. Adjacent to the checkout stand, a pastry case filled with an array of fresh pastries, including lemon squares, giant frosted marionberry muffins, brownies and more, always tempts me. I’m always too full to eat more, but I can’t resist taking something for later.

A while back, I took a dear friend and mentor of mine, Jon Rowley, to Wanda’s. Jon is a nationally acclaimed food consultant whom Julia Child once dubbed “the seafood guru.” He is currently a contributing editor for Gourmet Magazine. After being seated, Jon, in his usual contemplative style, studied the menu and surroundings, without saying a word. When his food arrived and he’d had time to take it all in, he told me, “I love this place! It would be worth a drive from Seattle (his home town) just to have breakfast.” Fortunately, I live much closer.

My five-star rating is based on the fact that Wanda’s lives up to and exceeds what it set out to be. It reminds me of a verse in Popeye’s theme song, “I am what I am, and that’s all that I am.” Wendy Crosta’s vision for Wanda’s was to serve home-cooked meals. She does just that, and it’s some of the finest home cooking you will find.

Once the weather warms up and Crosta finds a new line cook, Wanda’s will be open seven days a week. Watch for dinners this summer.