Mission (San Diego, CA)

Once in a blue moon I'll have the craving for a full on breakfast meal . Once in a blue moon my most cherished dining companion will also have such a craving. Once in FIFTEEN blue moons both of us will want to eat go out and eat breakfast. Of course being the incredibly slow waking person I am on the days I don't have class, breakfast tends to be eaten around lunch time.

After browsing the web, we came upon a coupon from SignonSanDiego.com for a breakfast special at The Mission . The Coupon is valid M-F 7am - 3pm and is good for TWO blackberry pancakes, TWO pieces of bacon, and TWO eggs for a recession proof $6. Since I've never heard of Mission I wanted to do a little reading before I dropped some hard earned cash. Who knew if this was another Denny's-like restaurant... fortunately for us.. it wasn't.


The restaurant specializes in creating simple but focused breakfast and lunch entrees filled with fresh fruit, herbs, and veggies. They have their own unique take on Mexican breakfast cuisine for a few dishes. The portions here are large, but not so ridiculous you couldn't fathom the possibility of not consuming it all. The dishes are well prepared, not oily and sloppy like many popular breakfast eateries in San Diego. Not only is flavor a key part in their dish preperation but so is plating. If it looks good, most of the time it tastes good =P.

I was torn between the Plata Verde Con Huevos, sweet corn tamales with eggs and tomatillo sauce, and the Mission French toast. I finally settled on the Mission French Toast, I was looking for a sweet and filling dish and the savory element was complimented by a side of eggs and potatoes.

Mission French Toast

Fresh baked Cinnamon Bread on a palette of berry puree, accented with fresh fruit

The cinnamon bread is used as a base for the french toast creating a very deep earthy richness in the toast. The bread itself is buttery and soft, the thickness of the toast just adds into the "sponge" like texture that I mostly find in Chinese toast. The powdered sugar adds a sweeter taste to the french toast, but isn't completely necessary. It's like eating a really good cinnamon bun that isn't too sweet, doesn't stick to your mouth, and doesn't require a gallon of milk to wash down.

I was kind of indifferent to the berry puree, thought it was a bit too tart for my taste.. especially with the depth of rich and sweet layers of flavor.

I ordered a side of two over easy eggs and their Crispy Rosemary potatoes ($3 more)

Perfectly cooked eggs, I love having the warm thick yolk spill out over the potatoes. I could put an over easy egg on rice, noodles, potatoes, fries, pancakes.. it doesn't matter.. I love it either way. Add in a bit of Tabasco sauce and you're golden.

(good transition)

Golden like the crispy pan fried rosemary potatoes. The potatoes are first cooked in a large pan on a giant metal cooking surface then tossed into a small pan with oil , rosemary, and salt to infuse it with the necessary flavor and create the crust around certain areas of the potato. If you read my blog enough (thank you if you do), I am not a big potato fan. I really like my fries extra crispy.. and devoid of potato. But I really liked this. The potato was not overwhelmly starchy and had just a hint of rosemary and salt that gave it the necessary flavor to not overwhelm the sweetness of the french toast. I particurarly enjoyed the crisp edges.

My breakfast partner had the Coupon special of Two Blackberry pancakes, two eggs, and two pieces of bacon

Two generous flaps of buttermilk pancakes liberally stuffed with slightly cooked blackberries with a hefty coating of powdered sugar. The pancakes were light and fluffy with a soft texture that kept composed in your mouth without becoming mushy when you bite into them. The blackberries were so fresh and sweet that I didn't even need syrup or butter to add exterior flavors to the pancakes.

This was a particularly good deal at $6. Fill you right up with fresh fruit and large well prepared portions. Everything you could want for a breakfast. Or you could have an overly greasy breakfast like this for the same price.


Do yourself a favor, use the coupon (or don't) and drag yourself to some breakfast at Mission. If you're lazy like us, you can even eat it at 12pm! They have 3 locations around San Diego so no excuses if you live south of La Jolla aight?

Mission
3795 Mission Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92109
Daily 7:00am-3:00pm

2801 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

1250 J Street
San Diego, CA 92101