lemon grove deli / lemon grove – san diego, ca

The Lemon Grove Deli is a little restaurant that’s nestled in the heart of Lemon Grove. It’s in amongst the many little shops and businesses in Downtown Lemon Grove, near the trolley station. The Lemon Grove Deli serves up some mean breakfast and then also does sandwiches in the afternoons. You can stop by on Sunday and get breakfast until 2PM – which is what Jake and I did on a recent weekend.

This is one of my “adventures in groupons!” posts – I had a coupon for 2 breakfast and 2 drinks for one price. It was just the two of us for breakfast that morning and we sat outside on the patio to enjoy the beautiful summer day. There was a slight wait in getting someone to see to us, but we were in no kind of rush. When our waitress did come by we asked for some coffee while we continued to look over the menu.

coffee - lemon grove deli

[coffee & creamers – $1.95]

The coffee was pretty good for a standard cup. Not too strong but strong enough to have a nice, distinct flavor. I also enjoyed that they had a little bowl of different flavored creamers. They had vanilla, hazelnut and plain and I chose to dump a couple of hazelnuts in mine.

Hazelnut + coffee = a match made in heaven to me.

lemon grove deli menu

[breakfast menu at the lemon grove deli]

Here’s a peek at their breakfast menu. There’s a really good amount of options and you get a TON of food for the price.

[our breakfast, from above]

See that plate of biscuits and gravy? And the pancakes? Both side dishes for each meal.

So. Much. Food!

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the huddle / mission hills – san diego, ca

I first read about the Huddle over on Dennis’s blog, A Radiused Corner. It’s been tickling the back of my mind for awhile now. I’ve been searching for a good “go-to” place for breakfast and looking for the elusive “perfect” hash browns after my favorite place for hash browns closed last year.

The Huddle has recently earned a place in my heart with it’s down-home, “sit and stay awhile” feel. This local, family owned restaurant has been around for quite awhile and I’m glad I finally got to make my rounds to drop by for a visit.

On our first visit, Jake and I (with two of the kids in tow) make only a conservative effort at tackling their massive menu.

The first thing I ordered? The “Del Mar Fair Cinnamon Roll”. It called to me. I had to answer the siren song.

[The Del Mar Fair Cinnamon Roll – $2.50]

The huge hunk of a cinnamon roll is the same recipe from the lady who makes the famous cinnamon rolls you get at the fair every summer. The Huddle puts their own spin on the roll by slicing and grilling the massive roll and topping it off with their own homemade cream cheese icing. What you get as a result is a fresh, warm cinnamon roll with a little crisp and crunch from the grilling. The creamy icing melts on top and should be slathered onto very bite for maximum enjoyment.

Four of us happily split this cinnamon roll and devoured it in record time. It’s so big that I do highly recommend you share this with a friend to avoid the onslaught of a sugar coma.

PS – This is my new favorite cinnamon roll in town. For reals!

[Corned Beef Hash and Eggs – $9.50]

I had a serious hankering for some corned beef hash. Jake only made a slight protest and then told me to “order whatever I wanted” since we were sharing. I was going to get something else, but since he’s a good boyfriend, made it sound like it really didn’t bother him if I ordered this. So I did.

We told our waitress we’d be sharing the plate, so she went ahead and split the plates for us. How nice is that! I was very touched by this little detail – and that we didn’t have to ask for it to happen and it was done at no extra charge. That is what I call some fine service!

The corned beef hash itself was quite good – it had a nice, crispy top and was soft on the bottom. Not too salty but with a good overall flavor. If you dig this type of thing, then the version they serve here won’t disappoint you.

[Homemade jams]

The other thing that I found exciting was their lineup of homemade jams.

Our waitress, who’s family has owned the Huddle for years, told us that the jams were her grandmother’s recipe. The jams you see above are: apple butter, strawberry rhubarb, and orange marmalade.

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