Parkhouse Eatery - San Diego, CA

After an exhaustive sightseeing trip in Europe, we were quite happy to return to San Diego where all we had to focus on was food. I had been wanting to return to Parkhouse Eatery so drove us out to the University Heights area. Despite the holiday weekend, our wait at 10am was only a few minutes for an outdoor table. Within an hour, the waiting time had increased to 45-60 minutes so don't come too late!

Bubble Flight 17.50 - choice of four

To kick off our first breakfast back home, Dennis ordered a flight of mimosas! From left to right: Pink Goddess. Pom Passion. PH Sunrise. Blueberry.

What a flurry of fun names for the drinks! The dark ones were our favorites. Little pink guava particles flurried in the lightly flavored Pink Goddess. The sharp tang of pomogranate permeated the Pom Passion. I loved the lava lamp look and texture of raspberry puree dancing with orange juice in the PH Sunrise. Initially, the taste of lemonade was prominent in the Blueberry, with puree sticking to the sides, but mid-glass it mixed properly, creating a blueberry explosion in the Blueberry.

Green Chilaquiles 12.95 + chorizo 3.25 - Crispy tortillas, house made tomatillo salsa, sautéed and topped with two eggs any style. Topped with onions, cilantro and Cotija cheese

Dennis yearned for something more "San Diego" instead of European so this was a reasonable compromise. The crunchy tortilla chips with melted cheese felt refreshing mixed with the meaty chorizo chunks. The mild verde sauce was dippable and the cracked yolks elevated it to breakfast worthy. On the side was a squiggle of sriracha. We requested salsa and a large container appeared, with salsa that packed a punch! Dennis also mentioned that there were more meat choices if you chose the red instead of green chilaquilles. 

Tres Egg Sausage Scramble (PH chicken sausage, mushrooms, spinach and parmesan) 12.95 - served with house mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes, Bread & Cie french white toast

I was in the mood for savory so went with a simple scramble of seasoned sausage, mushroom bits, spinach, and fresh parmesan in my eggs. Overall, it needed a little more salt and seemed a bit average. Dennis thought it was very good but also would have preferred some ketchup on it (he loves his ketchup with his eggs!). The side of bread had the perfect amount of crisp with a fabulous chew plus a light drizzle of olive oil. The thick and lumpy mashed potatoes were slightly mealy and somewhat plain on its own. Here's what I thought was missing...

PH Chicken and Pancetta Gravy with Grilled Focaccia bread (half order)

Put that on the gravy train and I'd totally take a ride! The large nibbles of meat and succulent finger licking good gravy was the favorite item on my visit with Mary! You can read about the rest of our visit on Mary's blog post. 

Southwest Crab Benedict - Two poached eggs, homemade crab cake and tomato atop grilled focaccia. Topped with a California Chili hollandaise served with roasted potatoes

On that previous visit, I had also ordered one of my favorite brunch items - eggs benedict. I kept trying seafood with my bennys but even this one couldn't convert me... I still prefer land walkers like bacon or ham. The pancakes we saw others get were huge too!

The meal was wonderfully satisfying and we felt ready to face the real world once again. Never forget that breakfast is the most important meal of the day! What's the last brunch place you tried?