San Diego Home Cooking - Mission Valley Cafe

If you live in San Diego County and watch TV, you've probably seen a commercial for San Diego Home Cooking.  I'd never been to any of their 5 restaurants before.  A big reason for not having gone before is that until this past Summer, they had no locations in the city of San Diego, just East and North counties.  Within the past year they have opened the Mission Valley Cafe, so we went to try it out.

I was a bit weary of the location, since it is so close to Hotel Circle.  I have sometimes been disappointed by restaurants in the area, but this is a place that would easily do well without tourist traffic as their other locations have.

When we first walked in, it looked nothing like I had expected.  From the front, it looks just like any coffee shop, but as you reach the entrance which is on the side of the building, you see a good sized covered patio seating area.  While I usually prefer to sit outside if it's available, today was chilly and the covered area was too cold.  The entry looked a bit more like a hotel or apartment building foyer than a comfort food restaurant, with faux aged copper tiles on the floor and a large round mirror flanked with over-sized vases.  We sat in the lounge, which has a bar but is primarily arranged for dining.  All the tables in the lounge are bar-height which I don't normally find comfortable, but one side of the table had a bench which I got used to rather quickly, once I jumped up into it.

The bar is surprisingly large and well stocked.  They offer a number of different versions of Mimosas which I had never seen before.  I tried the "Color Me Red" Mimosa with cranberry juice and my roommate had the "Pink Lady" Mimosa with grapefruit juice and grenadine.  They were both very good.  Although it wasn't on the menu, I thought I overheard someone behind the bar telling some other customers about the drinks and I heard peach.  If that's a Mimosa I'm definitely trying it next time.

I had the Portugese sausage (linguica) and eggs.  It came with a choice of has browns, home cut fries, fresh fruit or cottage cheese and a choice of bread, biscuit & gravy, English muffin or pancakes.  After confirming with the waitress that there would be no cantaloupe in my fresh fruit, I got that and the pancakes.  My roommate ordered the meatloaf sandwich which was served open-face, covered in gravy, with mashed potatoes and hot vegetables.

The portions are ample and the food is good.  The linguica was cooked perfectly; split in half and grilled.  There were grill marks and the skin was crisp.  The pancakes were fluffy and sweet and not too big so I didn't waste too much.  The fruit was fresh, but mostly grapes with just 2 slices of strawberry.  My only gripe was the eggs.  I like my eggs cooked medium but most places get it wrong and this was no exception.  While they weren't the runniest eggs I've ever had, they were definitely runnier than I like.

I tasted the meatloaf, which I don't normally care too much for and didn't care for it, but my roommate loves meatloaf.  Their meatloaf tasted like it had peppers in it, which I really don't like and have never tasted in any other meatloaf.  The portion was huge, with 3 thick slices of meatloaf, no skimping on the gravy.  The potatoes tasted home made with a hint of sour cream and a bit of parsley, but they were a little loose.  When I took a taste some of it fell off my fork in a drop, not a plop.

I am looking forward to going there again, and as my roommate said "maybe we can add this to our Sunday breakfast rotation".  The menu has a lot of variety so there should never be a problem finding something good.  While not fancy, this place is more than just a coffee shop.

Main complaint?  Although I usually enjoy dining on a patio, their patio faces the parking lot.  The only people you'll get to watch are those coming to and leaving the restaurant and the area the restaurant is in doesn't provide any enjoyable scenery.  Perhaps if they enclosed the patio and added plants it would be better.

Brians' American Eatery

So today was cold and with a wind chill factor of "are you freakin kidding me?" you might not think I'd want to go to Brians' American Eatery for brunch.  There's always a line and it gets pretty crowded with people trying to wait inside, but, it's worth it!  They have parking, but you may have to park somewhere else and walk when it's really busy.

First of all, no, I'm not spelling it wrong.  It's Brians', not Brian's, because it's 2 guys named Brian.  Brians' is in Hillcrest, on Washington between Lincoln and Cleveland.  This location used to be an old coffee shop that never changed.  When it became Brians', everything changed.  It's still got a vintage coffee shop feel but now it's on purpose.  There's also a heated patio on the side for when it's not raining or windier than heck.

Brians' is all about good food and lots of it.  I'm not kidding.  If you consider yourself a big eater you might be surprised and you'll definitely be satisfied.  You're never going to go there and get "a little bite" of something.  I've never finished my whole meal.  They offer breakfast, daily specials and a big variety of entrees and sandwiches and everything is good.  When you order a cup of coffee, they leave a full pot on the table.  Same thing with hot tea and they bring a honey bear with it.

Not only is the food really good and really big, the staff is great.  If you leave Brians' unhappy, it's probably your own fault.  Everyone is friendly and attentive and eager to make sure you get everything exactly the way you want it.  

For breakfast I like their Country Benedict; a biscuit topped with sausage, scrambled eggs, country gravy and green onions.  I love that I can get grits instead of potatoes.  I also like that they put fresh fruit on many of their plates.  Other favorites include Fried Chicken and Waffle, Hey Ricky!, Nachos El Brian or any of the burgers.

Brians' is absolutely my first choice for Sunday brunch.

Make sure to get one of their frequent diner cards!