A few weekends ago, Jake and I went out for a little breakfast. Jake took me to Shirley’s Kitchen, a little spot over in La Mesa. It’s a pretty unassuming little diner right off University Avenue.
There’s a patio with outdoor seating so you could bring along a furry friend or two. We were without kids and furry creatures on this day though.
The menu!
Pretty basic, run of the mill, heart of the earth menu items.
A breakfast overview.
[rib eye steak & eggs / $15.99]
We told our waitress we would share the steak and eggs and she told us that rib eye was also available so we went for that! NY Steak is just $14.99 for an extra buck you can get rib eye steak. She split the plates for us (which was a $2.49 charge) so we each got our own portion. This was the perfect size!
We got the eggs over medium. I just ate the white part and gave the yolk to Jake to finish off. We asked for medium rare steak but it was more on the medium-well side so it was a bit overcooked. It had a decent flavor and taste though. There was still a bit of juiciness left and it satisfied my craving for steak and eggs that morning. It wasn’t mind blowing or steakhouse quality – but hey, I don’t think you except that from a little mom n’ pop diner. It was good enough for a quiet Sunday morning.
The hash browns were a little overcooked for me, but again, they weren’t terrible. Just a simple meal.
You get a choice of toast or pancakes and we went with the pancakes. Pretty solid pancakes.
I wanted a little bit of fruit to go with our meal and I ordered a fruit cup on the side for $2.99. This had a nice mix of fruit in it – cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes, strawberries, and slices of banana.
[biscuit and gravy / $2.49]
Jake wanted to try a biscuit and gravy as well. We really didn’t need it with how much food we had already! The biscuit was incredibly soft and a bit on the doughy side – we didn’t enjoy it. The gravy was okay – had a good thickness and okay taste. There were small chunks of sausage in the gravy and plenty of pepper. It was slightly bland but decent for a country gravy. The biscuit was a real downer though so it made us not really enjoy it.
There was no wait here for breakfast on a Sunday morning. It was easy going, quiet, and the food was filling. It’s a nice spot if you want a fast, easy, no frills meal.
Shirley’s Kitchen (Yelp)
7118 University Ave.
La Mesa, CA 91942
619-462-5732
Hours: 7AM-2PM daily
That’s good you don’t have to wait in a long line like at Hash House. Would you prefer this place to IHOP?
Hi Soo! Man, I think I’ve never gone to Hash House just because I don’t want to wait in that line… haha. Yeah, I think I’d rather go here than IHOP. IHOP is pretty bland/meh if you ask me. This is more homestyle!
I gave this place a try based on a recommendation by a blog reader. I was enjoying my chicken fried steak until I found a hair underneath it. 🙁 Other than that, I did like the food and the time warp decor. But yeah, finding that was not thrilling.
Oh nooooo! That totally sucks! 🙁