Last summer when Jake and I started going to Foster’s Freeze a lot I noticed a little restaurant across the way called Brother’s Family Restaurant. It looked like a cute little diner type place nestled in the old strip mall. This part of town reminds me of a small town with a little strip for it’s “Downtown” area. I got a group deal so we could check this place out and we visited Brother’s Family Restaurant last month for breakfast.

It was Jake, T and I for breakfast one morning and we decided to split two entrees between the three of us. Two entrees may not seem like a lot, but it was actually more than enough food for the three of us!

[biscuits & gravy combo - $8.99]

We started with the Biscuits and Gravy Combo which came with biscuits and gravy, hash browns, 2 eggs, 2 bacon and 2 sausage links. A pretty basic start. The biscuits and gravy were just okay. I thought the gravy was a bit on the thick side and could have used a bit more flavor and seasonings – as it was, it was just very basic. The hash browns weren’t crispy enough on top for me and were slightly on the soggy side. Again – just okay.

[brothers big 3 -  $9.49]

We also shared the Brother Big 3 which had: 3 eggs, 3 Grandma Jennie’s Pancakes (or 3 original pancakes) and 3 meats (ham, bacon & sausage). This one came with a sausage patty instead of a link – which I liked better than the links.

[grandma jennie's pancakes]

The best thing we had that day were these special recipe buttermilk pancakes. You can get “original” buttermilk or Grandma Jennie’s version which has a little bit of cornmeal in the batter. These pancakes were light, fluffy and perfectly delicious. The little bit of cornmeal in the batter made these extra good. The other items we had for breakfast were just okay and if it weren’t for these pancakes I don’t think I would enjoyed the visit all that much.

[apple pecan pie - $3.75]

I also spotted a “pie” menu. A quick inquiry told us that the pies were made in house. I couldn’t resist trying a piece of pie after hearing that. I chose to try an “apple pecan pie”. A fusion of apple and pecan pie sounded really interesting to me… but the pie wasn’t quite what I thought it would be. It was basically an apple pie with pecans on top. If the pecans had been glazed or something that resembled pecan pie a bit more I could have seen the connection. But, the pecans weren’t even toasted and left a lot to be desired. The apple pie itself was just okay – needed more spices in my opinion. The crust was good though – nice, flaky, and buttery.

If it weren’t for those pancakes, I wouldn’t ever really care to come here again to be honest. But the pancakes were good enough to make me want to come back in the future, even if it’s just for that item only. I’d also want to try a different piece of pie though… I think that apple pecan pie was just a fluke.

Brother’s Family Restaurant
5150 Waring Road
San Diego, CA
619-287-0880