Denny's Fever

Jason Alan Pfaff is particular about where he gets breakfast. It has to be Denny’s. For the past decade, the Oakland resident has been on a quest to visit as many Denny’s restaurants as he can. So far, Pfaff has picked up a fork in about 300 of the nearly 1,700 Denny’s worldwide. As Pfaff scarfed down a French Toast Slam and crossed the Concord franchise off his list, he filled us in on his mission.

The Beginning: On a 1996 road trip through Cincinnati and Knoxville, Pfaff and friends noticed how many Denny’s were distributed along the highway. “There was one every hour, so we started to stop. It took off from there.”

Best Meal: “Evening Magazine did a story about me and called the Denny’s in Marin to say we were coming in with a camera crew. My Ultimate Omelet was fluffy and huge.”

Worst Meal: “I have bad memories of a Christmas night dinner outside of Atlanta.”

Strangest Souvenir: When Pfaff visits a new Denny’s he always asks for free stuff, like salt and pepper shakers. “The manager at the Dayton, Ohio, Denny’s heard about my project. They were redoing the bathrooms, and he gave me two toilets and a sink. They were clean though.”

Diablo Country Denny’s: “I went to the Danville Denny’s on the way out to Livermore to see the world’s longest-burning light bulb. Going to a new one is usually just an excuse to go have a silly day trip somewhere.”

Still Needs to Visit: The first franchised Denny’s, in Marysville, California. “I’m saving it for a special occasion.”

On the Web: www.dennys.p7a77.net . “I’ve gotten thousands of e-mails from people around the world telling me about their particular Denny’s. Turns out, they’re all about the same.”