Cafe with a view

When the weather gets warm and the sky as clear and blue as the ocean, I crave the outdoors and views and the sea 'breeze'...

A few weekends ago, I met my friend Michelle for a late breakfast at Pacifica Breeze Cafe in Del Mar. It's the casual breakfast and lunch cafe attached to Pacifica Del Mar Seafood Restaurant. Even with the packed house and longish wait, we nonetheless had a great visit and a wonderful meal. I had the Arugula Mushroom Omelet with a cup of their Pacifica Blend house coffee and Michelle had the Caramelized Pecan Waffle with a mocha.

I love eggs. I don't love them overcooked so it's a little iffy for me when I order eggs at restaurants as they tend to be browned. But this omelet was perfectly cooked. No brown outer crust just a light, soft and perfectly cooked egg.

The sauce had a light mushroom flavor but with 'mushroom' in the name of the dish, I expected chunks or slices of earthy mushrooms peppering the omelet. Besides a teeny bit of chopped mushroom here and there, they were virtually non-existent. I also would have preferred a bit more arugula in the omelet or perhaps even a few freshly chopped leaves dressing the plate. The accompanying potatoes were perfectly crisp and well seasoned.

Michelle loved her waffle. Not being in the mood for sweet, I didn't taste it but it did look great. It was golden, topped with chopped apples and a maple flavored whipped butter that I did taste and found it fluffy and tasty. But an entire waffle spread with it would definitely tire my taste buds. I'd use it quite sparringly myself.

Our time there certainly left me with a craving for a little more.

So, I played hooky on Monday and invited my mother out for breakfast. She doesn't go out for meals much and I wanted it to be fun and special for us both. I told her I was taking her to Del Mar which is about 30 min north of downtown San Diego (that is, if there isn't traffic!) and she exclaimed, "Yay! It'll feel like a vacation!"

Del Mar was almost as buzzing at it had been on the weekend. I forget that it's summer and San Diego is definitely a summer vacation destination. Our beach communities get bombarded. But luckily for us, the cafe had a few empty tables so we grabbed menus and sat down to decide.


Independently, mom and I both settled on the same dish, the Chef's scramble. It's ground beef scrambled with mushrooms and onions served in a pastry shell.

It was a definite winner. The eggs were lightly scrambled and there were plenty of large mushroom chunks. The pastry was light and golden and was a nice change from the toast and eggs which is the normal pairing at my house. The dish also provided nice fodder for my own future experiments with puff pastry.

After a leisurely breakfast with gorgeous views what else to do but go to the beach and dip our footsies in the wonderfully warm Pacific Ocean?


Ah, the joys of living in this wonderful beach town...Outdoor cafes with views of a seemingly endless expanse of crisp blue water.