I was left to my own devices one Saturday morning while Jake went off to work. I had a few errands to do, like pick up some groceries to make dinner that night, and decided I wanted some breakfast in my belly before doing any errands. I did a little research before going out and decided to head over to North Park to check out Cardamon Cafe & Bakery for breakfast grub since I planned on hitting the Fresh & Easy afterward.
I got myself a cup of joe off the bat. I hadn’t had coffee for a long time and suddenly I found myself having coffee three days in a row. I must have been on some kind of kick! I totally loved their mugs – though, I am kind of a sucker for all things green. It was rainy and kind of dreary on my visit and you can see my Boston University baseball cap off to the side there. This is just a plain cup of coffee, nothing fancy with some milk and Splenda added in. I don’t drink plain, black coffee. Ever.
I decided to get English Muffin #2 – this came with smoked gouda cheese, turkey breast, eggs and avocado. The english muffin looks to be homemade (or I guess in this case, cafe-made) – it didn’t taste or look like the thin English muffins you get at the grocery store. This was much thicker and had a nice chew to it. I was pretty happy with the amount of avocado as well and the cheese and fresh tasting turkey made this sandwich a winner.
My sandwich also came with a side of home fries. Maybe it’s just me, but in general I don’t really like home fries. They don’t have enough flavor to me and mostly just taste like a bunch of unseasoned potatoes to me. Nothing against these home fries in particular, I just don’t dig home fries. Hash browns, on the other hand, I love but I have a very high and picky opinion of how they should be cooked.
The last thing I ordered was a Chocolate Croissant. They had a few left in the bakery case up front and I am weak for chocolate croissants. Buttery, flaky, bits of sweet chocolate – oh, I do love them so and this croissant holds up to the many croissants I have eaten in my lifetime.
I sat in the cafe for awhile after I finished my meal, reading a book. The waiter didn’t check on me too often and I was only asked once if I wanted a refill on my coffee. Maybe they wanted me to get gone and didn’t want to encourage me to stay? I’m not entirely sure – the cafe wasn’t full but there were a few patrons inside – not enough to warrant ignoring of coffee refills. Ah well.
I also didn’t note the prices because I forgot what they were – I thought they had a website but they don’t!
Cardamon Cafe & Bakery
2977 Upas St.
(between 30th St & Dale St)
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 546-5609
Hours: Mon-Sun 7 am – 2 pm
Yum! That english muffin does look hearty and homemade.
I LOVE hash browns, but it’s hard to find places that do them properly. I’d rather have just-okay home fries instead of poorly done hash browns.
Yes, I should have said I love *good* hash browns – I am really picky about them. Bad hash browns make me sad. I keep trying to make them like my favorite diner does but I haven’t gotten it quite right yet.
So many places yet to try in North Park, and it keeps growing! The ‘Home Fried Potatoes’ I’m used to (and crave) are cut on the mandolin (like what you see in scalloped potatoes) and a stack fried crispy on the outside, fluffy inside, like how good hash browns are. I always thought the cubed variety are called ‘country fried..’ but they’re often liberal with the name usage. I think I might go out for breakfast tomorrow! 🙂