Broken Yolk Cafe

Broken Yolk Cafe
1851 Garnet Ave
San Diego
858-270-9655

I headed down to San Diego on Veterans Day to see how a military city honors it's veterans. For those who do not know, San Diego has a huge military presence, mostly Navy, but all branches of our armed forces are in San Diego. College basketball hosted a game on the USS Carl Vinson beaten Michigan St. and North Carolina.

I figured I would go back to three places that I have been to before and do a review of each. The first place I go to is Broken Yolk in Pacific Beach. This is a very popular breakfast spot. Wait times can be 30 minutes or more, and people just keep coming. There are other Broken Yolk locations in the San Diego area, like San Marcos and Eastlake. I decided to make my trip to San Diego a food tour!! I would go to Kansas City Barbeque, and Old Town Mexican Cafe, on my San Diego food tour.

Daily special, two eggs-over hard, two strips of bacon, and two pancakes, $5.99. The eggs were fresh, but a bit overcooked. Eggs over hard, doesn't mean brown flakes on the outer edges. But the yolk was solidified, which is perfect. I hate runny eggs.

The bacon had a good smokey flavor, but wasn't hot, more like luke warm. I realize they aren't going to cook bacon to order, most bacon is cooked and stored in warmers. But, the bacon I got was luke warm. I was kind of chewy, not beef jerky chewy, but somethings along those lines.

The pancakes were light, fluffy and cooked perfectly. I'm usually not a pancake person, but they were part of the special and I ate them.

I sat at the counter and service was ok. The server was friendly but rarely there. They are so busy, she was running back and forth from the pick up window to other tables. But, I didn't get refills on my drink, she never asked how my food was, and just left the left without saying thank you.

Broken Yolk is your classic neighborhood diner. There is nothing great about the food. If you've been to Denny's, Broken Yolk is slightly better.

Kitchen 24-Closed

Kitchen 24
1608 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles
323-465-2424

Sometimes a good hearty breakfast hits the spot for dinner. So I was heard about Kitchen 24 and decided to have breakfast for dinner.



I'm not really a french toast, waffles, or pancakes kind of person. I like them, but I normally do not order them for breakfast. I usually get bacon and eggs and if they come with pancakes, I'll eat them but there are times I don't even touch the pancakes.

I got the Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakey- Two Eggs over hard, with two Pancakes, bacon and hash browns, $7.95.

I hate running yolks, they are disgusting to see and look at, so I order over medium or over hard eggs. But, the problem is many restaurants can't cook over medium or over hard eggs, the yolk is too runny, they need to be more solid. But, if I order over hard, the yolk is solid but usually the whites are burnt or too well done, which I hate. But, more often than not, if I order over hard eggs, they usually are over medium. Honestly, the only place that almost always cooks eggs perfectly is Denny's.

The eggs I got were over salted a bit, but the eggs were fresh and perfectly cooked, medium, even if I asked for hard.

The bacon was wonderful. Thick cut of smokey, flavorful, chewy bacon.

The hash browns were also oversalted, but well cooked, nice and crispy brown on the outside, soft and well cooked inside.

The pancakes were nice and sweet on the outside. A bit small but pretty good.

Service was very good. I never lacked for water and the order came out quickly. It can get a bit loud inside, with the music playing and people at the bar shouting, but overall a nice atmosphere with a retro 70's decor.

While I wouldn't rush back to Kitchen 24, I wouldn't have any objections to going back.

The Beach Club Sports Bar-Closed

The Beach Club
5755 E Pacific Coast Hwy
Long Beach, CA 90803
562-494-7593

After I saw my BALTIMORE RAVENS start their SUPER BOWL VICTORY TOUR, I went to Pepperdine to see their tribute to the heroes of 9-11. At great cost and effort, Pepperdine placed 3,000 flags on their campus. Most of the flags, as you can see, are American flags but there were flags of every nation who lost a citizen on September 11th. In the pictures, I tried not to include any flags of pussy countries like france and canada. I wish those pussy countries, canada and france, would have the courage their citizens, who died on 9-11, showed. This tribute is very moving. I believe the tribute will be there until Friday Sept. 18th. If you are driving on PCH in Malibu, you can't miss this moving tribute.

The Beach Club is a sports bar that replaced Pete's at the Beach. I went to The Beach Club to watch my BALTIMORE RAVENS start their Super Bowl Victory tour. Of course my BALTIMORE RAVENS beat the crap out of the KC Chiefs.

Since the game was early, I had breakfast at The Beach Club. I decided on a Beach Club omelete, $9, with bacon, sausage, ham, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheddar cheese. This omelete came to me, warm, not even hot. As if it was sitting under heat lamps for a long time. The omelete was ok, nothing great, about a Denny's level omelete. The inside of the omelete wasn't fully cooked, like eggs over easy, which I hate. There were a few pieces of bacon and sausage and plenty of veggies. But there was nothing outstanding about this omelete. I wouldn't order this again.

I sat at the bar and service was good. The female bartenders were both nice and friendly but sitting at the bar means they are bartenders, not servers. So they were busy making drinks, they don't always remember to go get food orders. I'm 100% sure that my omelete was sitting under heat lamps for at least 5 minutes. Beach Club needs to hire food servers/runners to bring out food.

Since the Traitors weren't playing until Monday night, this was a good crowd of people. Though the crowded lacked intelligence since many people go to that glorified JC, Cal State Long Beach. I swear I heard a Cal State Long Beach student say "I is a student at Cal State Long Beach." while watching the game today. Nice education they offer at Cal State Long Beach.

I would go back to Beach Club but I won't order breakfast and/or order from the bar. Somebody order some calamari as I was leaving and it smelled wonderful!!! The next time I go, I may order the calamari.

There are three other sports bars in Long Beach, Legend's and Smooth's, and Yankee Doodles, but I think Beach Club is the best because parking is free and plentiful, something the other three sports bars are NOT. Beach Club has all HD flat screen TV's and a clear view of the TVs. While the breakfast fare isn't that good at Beach Club, the burgers and other bar food looks great.

Cafe Bagelry-Closed

Cafe Bagelry
969 W Arrow Hwy
San Dimas
909-394-9592

Want to have a wonderful, fresh bagel but don't want to the feed the corporate chains? Well Cafe Bagelry is for you. A great, I mean a great place for bagels and bagel sandwiches.

I got the Beef Eater, roast beef, cream cheese, and tomatoes, on a whole wheat bagel, $5.51. The bagel had a great soft and chewy texture and was very fresh. They don't cheat you on the cream cheese, it was everywhere and I believe they use Boar's Head meats, so you know it a very good quality meat. This was a nice fresh sandwich and a great way to start your day.

Service is very good. Friendly, quick and helpful.

I would go back to Cafe Bagelry again. They have some great bagel breakfast sandwiches, with fresh eggs and bacon. Don't feed the corporate monster, support places like Cafe Bagelry.

Home-Closed

Home Restaurant
2500 Riverside Dr
Los Angeles
323-665-0211

Home, What an interesting name for a restaurant. Located just down the hill from the DUMP, Dodger Stadium, Home has a huge menu, a full bar and serves breakfast the whole day.

I ordered the All American breakfast, $7.95, two pancakes, two pieces of bacon, and two eggs, I asked for over medium. The bacon was very good. Lots of smokey flavor, not too much fat, the right mixture of crispy and chewy. The pancakes were light, fluffy and good size. I asked for over medium and I got over easy eggs. I hate over easy eggs because I hate runny yolk. over medium means the yolk is almost fulled cooked. It sure as hell isn't runny.

Service for our group of about 20 people was good. We didn't lack for anything and we got our food quickly.

I would go back to Home, but I would either not order eggs over medium or ask for eggs over hard, maybe that way they will cook the yolk. But I found the food to good and fresh and worth the price.

Centerfield Sports Bar

Centerfield Sports Bar
17296 Beach Blvd
Huntington Beach
714-848-0113

I came to Centerfield Sports Bar to see my BALTIMORE RAVENS get their asses kicked by the NY Giants. But I ate breakfast before the game so my review isn't a reaction to ass kicking my Ravens suffered.

I ordered the Full Court Breakfast, $7.99, three eggs over medium, bacon, hashbrowns, and wheat toast. The eggs were not over medium. They were overweasy. Now I'm not really that picky about my eggs. I do like overeasy but I prefer over medium, and I do know the difference. Over medium doesn't mean a running yolk. But the eggs were fresh and good, not salty at all. The bacon was chewy, which I like and it was big. I hate some size bacon. If their burgers are any good, this bacon would make a great topping. The hashbrowns were ok, but they were not hot, they were barely lukewarm.

I always ask for dry toast. I hate it when they just soak the toast in butter. So I usually keep it dry and make a sandwich out of the eggs and bacon. But either the server got the wrong order, maybe since the eggs were over easy, or she is just bad.

Service was below average. My server did not smile the first few times she saw me. She gave the attitude she didn't want to be there. My order was messed up and some of it was cold.

I would not go back to Centerfield again for the food. But for a sports bar there were some cool people there. Most times at sports bars you get jerk people. But when I walked in, wearing a Ravens shirt, somebody said Good Luck today. I then noticed his Giants cap he had on backwards and the NY logo. So I said Thanks, good luck to you guys too. Even the Traitor fans were cool. Loud but it's a damn game, so what's the big deal?

On the Mark-Closed

On The Mark
355 Nieto
Long Beach
562-986-5811

On The Mark is an interesting place. They are opened for breakfast and lunch everyday. But served dinner only on Thursday. I went there for breakfast.

I ordered the Seafood Omlete, $13. Shrimp, lobster, crab, spinach, tomato, and jack cheese. I got on tomatoes since we are in the middle of tomato recall due to salmonella. The omelet was very good, cooked just right and loaded with crab, shrimp, and lobster. But this was seasoned much at all, very bland. I should have added some pepper and maybe even some cocktail sauce.

Service was below average at best. When I arrived the hostess saw me but took about five minutes to come over and greet me. At most there were 15 people eating. Then the hostess told me that the person who made the arrangements, had canceled the "reservations" I was pretty sure the reservations were not canceled. About five minutes later my friend walked in and our party finally got seated. The server took forever to take our order. She took forever to refill drinks. Our party wasn't that big, maybe 12 people, certainly not overwhelming. But she was just too damn slow.

I liked the food at On The Mark but service just sucks. If I do go back I may do a take out order.

Grub-Closed

Grub 911 Seward St Los Angeles, CA 90038 323-461-3663 On one side of the side are movie studios and sound stages. The other side of the street are houses with the corner house a restaurant!!! A popular restaurant too. On Sundays they open at 9am. We got that about 8:50 am and within five minutes there were 10-12 people in line with us. The first time we came, we got there at 11am and they told us the wait would be 90 minutes long!!!! We did not stay. We saw this on the Food Network. I think Rachel Ray. Now she's a great cook. Her 30 minute meals are great. But as for her choice of restaurants, they leave a lot to be desired. I ordered the Mamacita Breakfast Burrito. $8.95, scrambled eggs, chorizo, cheddar cheese, and potatoes wrapped in a flour tortilla. Our order took a bit longer than I thought it would. There were at least 20 people in the restaurant but I thought they could have been faster with our order. When it finally arrived, I was tricked into believing that burrito was huge. It is huge but only because of the way they cut the potatoes, very large pieces. There isn't that much chorizo or eggs. What little egg and chorizo was very good. The chorizo had a nice spicy flavor. The scrambled eggs were fully cooked and fluffy. Service was good, except for the longer than expected wait for our food to be cooked. The server was friendly and attentive to our needs. I would not go back to Grub. I think the food is good but nothing great. But most of all I think it's on the pricey side. They have a three egg breakfast for $7.95 but what about bacon or sausage? That would put you back $4.95. $12.90 for a three eggs and bacon breakfast? Not worth it.

Jimmie's-Closed

Jimmie's
701 Whittier Blvd
Montebello
323-726-7783

Jimmie's is a local restaurant that tries to cater to all of Montebello. So that means American food, Persiand food, and Mexican food.

Well they don't do American breakfast right. Pictured is the one egg breakfast special with a biscuit for $4.79, which includes potatoes and bacon.

Where should I start. The biscuit and country gravy. TERRIBLE. First there was a thick layer on top of the gravy. When I dipped the biscuit, both the biscuit and gravy weren't even luke warm. The gravy tasted as though it had been sitting around for an entire week. TERRIBLE.

The egg was ordered over hard and this was overcooked. It's too brown. There should be some white showing, even in a over hard egg. The was the best part of the meal.

The bacon was undercooked. They needed to be on the grill for a few more minutes.

The pototoes were nothing great, very bland.

Service was average. The young server took my order and the order came quickly but my drink wasn't refilled until I had to call for her. But she was nice and pleasant.

I would not go back to Jimmie's. Terrible food.

Sugar Shack

Sugar Shack
213 Main Street
Huntington Beach
714-536-0355

I was very surprised to find a good breakfast place in Huntington Beach. But Sugar Shack was great.

Pictured is the two eggs and bacon with hash browns, $6.55. I asked for the eggs over hard and they were cooked perfectly. No running yolk at all. I really like the fact that the eggs weren't salty. Some places just dump a ton of salt onto eggs. The bacon was cooked perfectly. I like the chewy type of bacon. I'm not a big fan of the crispy, fall apart after one bite bacon. The bacon was huge and very tasty. The outside of the hashbrowns were a little overcooked for my tastes. But inside they were soft and tasty.

Service was good. You have to sign in on the clipboard to get in line. There isn't really a hostess. But the servers are nice and friendly. I never lacked for ice tea.

I would go back for breakfast at Sugar Shack anytime. Very good, quality food at good prices.

House of Bagels

House of Bagels
1362 Park St.
Alameda
510-522-6580

After a great diner at Hong Kong City, I knew Park St. was the place to go for breakfast the next morning. So I find a bagel place, House of Bagels. Now they have a lot to live up to, since Brooklyn Bagels is awesome.

I ordered the pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, $1.70. The bagel was fresh, I could see their kitchen in the back and it looked as though they make their bagels on side. Always a plus. The bagel was chewy like a bagel should be, the texture was perfect. But I didn't think it gave much of that pumpernickel taste. Not sure why but it was almost as if I was eating a plain bagel. The cream cheese was standard, nothing outstanding about it.

Service was good. The guy was nice and friendly. He took out order and quickly toasted and got us our bagels.

I would go back to House of Bagels but I would not order the pumpernickel bagel. I liked the fact the bagels were fresh made. I just wasn't impressed with the pumpernickel bagel.

Brooklyn Bagel Bakery

Brooklyn Bagel Bakery
2217 Beverly Blvd
LA
213-413-4114

While searching for a bagel place this morning, I found Brooklyn Bagels. I was expecting either a donuts place that sold some bagels or a run down older bagel shop. But it's really a wholesale/retail bagel store. The walls of filled with team pictures of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The sign says est. 1953. I wonder if they moved out to LA first before that scumbag bastard Walter O' Malley stole the Brooklyn Dodgers from their rightful home.

Anyways, all bagels are $1, with cream cheese add another quarter. I had a cheese bagel and a pumpernickel bagel. The cheese bagel was great. They didn't overload it with cheese. It was fresh, chewy, and great. Better than any bagel at Noah's.

I loved the pumpernickel bagel. It was smelled like great pumpernickel. It tasted like great pumpernickel. It was one of the best bagels I've ever had.

Service is good. The lady behind the counter took and filled our order quickly. This is a take out place only. They do not toast your bagels either. You have to wait to enjoy this great bagel place.

I would go back to to Brooklyn Bagel anytime.

Harbor House Cafe

Harbor House Cafe
16341 Pacific Coast Highway
Sunset Beach
562-592-5404

Maybe I'm on a history kick but after going to Clifton's, I went to an Orange Curtain landmark, Harbor House Cafe in Sunset Beach. The Harbor House Cafe has been around since 1939. They never close so it will get packed after all the surfers close down the bars on PCH.

I ordered the omelette with turkey breast and cheddar cheese for $7.95. The omelette was interesting in that it was dry at one end and as I worked my way to the other end, it was runny and almost like a poached egg. There were small amount of turkey breast and tons of cheddar cheese in the omelette. The turkey breast was nothing more than sliced lunch meat.

Now I'm not saying it was the omelette but afterwards I had an upset, bloaded stomach. Even taking six tums antacids didn't help.

Service was decent with the server leaning on the side of "God I hate my job and I don't want to be here." She wasn't that friendly but she wasn't rude. She did refill coffee and water quickly. But she took forever to come by and pick up the check.

I wouldn't go back to Harbor House Cafe. The prices are good but the food isn't that good. Plus parking can be a pain depending on when you go.

Diner on Main

Diner On Main
201 Main St
Alhambra
626-281-3488

I normally don't go out for breakfast. I would much rather skip breakfast and get a nice lunch on weekends. But sometimes you have no choice in the matter. But it's not like I'm against ordering breakfast food. I just don't go that often.

Diner on Main is a throwback to a different time and place. You almost feel as though Richie Cunningham and the Fronz are going to walk in for a soda.

I ordered the sausage and two eggs, $7.25. The meal comes your choice of bread, I got the English muffin, and hash browns. I order eggs over medium. I prefer the yolk to be almost solid, closer to over hard, than over easy. These eggs were a little runny for my tastes. I think I need to order eggs over hard from now on.

The sausage was tasty with a lot of spice to them. The hash browns were cooked just right for my tastes. Crispy but not too crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.

Service was good. We sat at the counter and we weren't lacking for anything. But there was a long wait to get a table and some people had been waiting in line for over 30 minutes. Now the food is good but not good enough to wait 30 minutes.

I would go back to Diner on Main. Good food and good service.

Noah's Bagels

Noah's Bagels
250 N. Larchmont Blvd.
Los Angeles
323-466-2924

Noah's Bagels. Yes a chain. But at times when you're hungry you have little choice. Now I'm not against chains. They offer, for the most part, good food at good prices. But their nothing special about them. A Noah's Bagel in LA is the same at a Noah's Bagel in OC.

But I had the hot corned beef on a plain bagel. The sandwich had mayo, lettuce, and tomato. They corned beef was surprising nice and flavorful. Better than some other sandwich places I've gone to for corned beef. The bagel was nice and chewy, just like a bagel should be.

Service was pretty good and while there was a long line, I wasn't in line for more than 10 minutes.

I would go back to Noah's but it wouldn't be my first choice. Good good and good prices but again nothing special about it.

Fox's

Fox's
2352 N. Lake Ave
Altadena
626-797-9430

Fox's hold a special meaning for me. This is the first place where my girlfriend and I went out to eat. We went hiking in Pasadena and wanted to get something to eat and she took me to Fox's.

This is a small place but it's gets really busy on weekends, because they serve good quality food at good prices.

I got the two eggs, three strips of bacon, fresh fruit and wheat toast, $6.75. How can they serve such good food at good prices? I ordered the eggs over medium and they were cooked to perfection. Very nicely done. The bacon was crisp yet chewy, which I love. The best bacon around. I got fresh fruit instead of the fries, too much carb for breakfast isn't a good thing.

Service is good. The servers are really hard working people. Even though it's packed they really do a good job getting people their food and keeping water, coffee or orange juice filled.

I would go back to Fox's anytime. My favorite breakfast place in the area, even if it wasn't the first place my girlfriend and I went out.

South Coast Winery

South Coast Winery, Resort & Spa
34843 Rancho California Road
Temecula
951-587-9463

Many people go wine tasting at the great wineries in Temecula. But before a day of drinking, you need to have a good meal or you'll be drunk after one tasting. This in no way says or implies people should drink and drive. DO NOT drink and drive.

South Coast Winery offers a great breakfast and a wonderful view at their winery. I got the Create your own omelet, $10, with bacon, ham and cheddar cheese. The omelet was very tasty with the bacon being nice and crunchy, the sausage spicy and the eggs nice and fluffy. A great way to start off my day of wine tasting.

Service is pretty good. The servers are attentive and helpful. They do a good job refilling drinks.

I would go back to South Coast Winery for their breakfast items. They also offer a lunch and dinner menu but I've never tried either menu.