Summer Sunday Breakfast in Mission Valley
Plus: Hospitality Point Park, News Briefs, LV Recreation Center Happenings, and Foster Kittens
Do you ever wake up on a Sunday morning with an urge to have a really nice breakfast but not want to cook it? Well, this past Sunday morning we awoke with that very urge. Living in Linda Vista affords us the choice of so many good breakfast places – Perry’s Cafe, the Broken Yolk, Denny’s, any Old Town Restaurant, the Waffle Spot, and more. We also thought we could kill two birds with one stone and write a review at the same time. So, we grabbed our young carnivore sidekick (YCS) and took off on our Sunday breakfast quest. We had toyed with the idea of doing an update about Waffle Spot, but our carnivore sidekick said he wanted to try someplace he hadn’t been before, so we decided on the Breakfast Republic located in Mission Valley. Technically it is a little outside of Linda Vista, but the location at 1570 Camino De La Reina in Park Valley Center is only 1.7 miles and 7 minutes from home, so we thought that was close enough.
We knew we had made a good choice as soon as we arrived at the Shopping Center. There was a crowd of people eating inside and outside and waiting for tables. Breakfast Republic does not take reservations, so when we got there we were told there was a 45-minute wait. That didn’t seem excessive since it was Sunday morning which is a usually high volume time for breakfast, so we waited patiently. (Breakfast Republic also has locations at Liberty Station, Carmel Valley, Encinitas, East Village, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach and more).
They call you on your phone when your table is ready; we were eventually seated inside. The tables were socially distanced, and our waitress was masked and friendly. The menu is very extensive as you can see. Conveniently for us, they happen to have many menu items for those who do not eat meat. They have several types of Eggs Benedict dishes, omelets, scrambles, pancakes, French toast, specials and vegan dishes. Prices are about the same as other breakfast restaurants.
My co-editor ordered two vegetable breakfast tostadas for $10.75. This included black beans, Monterey jack and cheddar cheese, green onion, avocado, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, and two eggs any style which were served with house potatoes. This was a very large platter and I could hear the crisp tostados crunch from my side of the table.
Our carnivore ordered Breakfast Jambalaya, which might have been the most expensive item on the menu, which usually happens when I am buying—$16.00. This dish included shrimp and Portuguese linguisa sausage, rice, green onion, red bell pepper, fire roasted tomatoes, topped with three eggs any style. It was declared to be extremely tasty, very spicy, filling and awesome. More words than usual from YCS, but couldn’t resist the “awesome”.
I ordered the Mushroom and Pesto Eggs Benedict—$14.00. It included button and oyster mushrooms, red bell peppers, spinach pesto sauce, and two eggs on English muffins. This menu item came with a big bunch of potatoes which I shared with YCS and still had more than enough. I love pesto, spinach and mushrooms, so this was a perfect dish for me. It was so good! There was too much food we boxed some to take home.
The menu includes many interesting items we would like to try in the future, like brioche French toast, Mr. Presley French toast which is peanut butter stuffed French toast topped with bananas foster and bacon and many more items you can check out.
We all would highly recommend this place. The service was friendly, the portions very large, the prices reasonable, and most importantly, the food was delicious! The restaurant also has an array of cute t-shirts for sale. There is plenty of parking. Their website indicates they made 8,938 meals for laid-off workers in San Diego during the pandemic.
Breakfast Republic
1570 Camino de la Reina, San Diego, CA 92108
Hours are: 7AM – 3PM, Dine-in, Take-out, and Delivery
Phone: 619-310-6214
Hospitality Point Park…Easy Access from Linda Vista
By virtue of its proximity and easy access from Linda Vista, I contend Hospitality Point Park—an often overlooked San Diego gem of a site located between OB’s Dog Beach and MB’s Mission Point Park— should be considered one of the major benefits of living in Linda Vista. Residents of Linda Vista would be remiss in not taking advantage of this wonderful nearby venue as a place to relax, fish or picnic, or as a scenic exercise destination. Once there, you will indeed feel like you have been given a front row seat to observe some of the best physical features that make up the California Dream.
What’s so great about the relatively small City park referred to as Hospitality Point? How about the incredible views of the water afforded by its unique location? How about the cool, soothing ocean breeze that seems to always be blowing through the area? How about the serene atmosphere it offers to those seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of normal everyday life? How about its proximity to Linda Vista, as well as its easy access from our neighborhood not only by car, but also by jogging, walking or biking?
Now, I realize an article featuring Hospitality Point Park may seem like somewhat of a stretch for a newsletter focused on Linda Vista and its adjoining communities. However, one of the great things about Linda Vista happens to be its proximity to so many of the city’s fantastic locales. And by being situated only four or five miles away from the western most edges of Linda Vista, this venue is more than worthy of being associated with our community. I consider it an unofficial, non-contiguous extension of Linda Vista—what can be considered our community’s westernmost park.
For those unfamiliar with the location of this park—and its easy access from Linda Vista—imagine standing at the corner of Friars Road and Napa, right next to the Western Division Police Headquarters. Then imagine continuing west along Friars Road until one arrives at the entrance to Old Sea World Drive. If you are jogging, walking, or cycling, you can continue west for a mile along the Old Sea World Drive segment that makes up the scenic San Diego River Walk. You will then follow a path that goes under the West Mission Bay Drive bridge. Follow this path another mile west (parallel to Quivira Way) until you reach the park. You won’t be able to miss it—going any further west would require a rocky walk along the jetty before falling into the ocean. The park is practically a straight line away from Linda Vista.
If driving, you need to take Sea World Drive until you make your way to West Mission Bay Drive (heading west toward Mission Beach), then turn left at Quivira Way and drive until the road ends.
When you finally arrive at the park, you will understand its value as a special scenic vantage point. You will be amazed at the dramatic views of Dog Beach, the entrance to the Bay, the ocean, the Mission Beach jetty, and Quivira Basin. It’s like standing at the edge of paradise. You’ll have fun watching the variety of boats as they sail or motor by the park. And you’ll find the shimmering blue water has a mesmerizing effect guaranteed to comfort anyone frazzled by thoughts of rising inflation, the Delta variant, or Britney Spears’ latest legal problems. Want to picnic? You can take advantage of the benches and a gazebo that provides a shaded area, or you can just pull up your lawn chairs and place them near the water to take in the sun and the ocean breeze. It’s an awesome place if you want to chill out and forget all about the rest of the world.
If you want to walk a bit further, you can go west alongside the rocky jetty to take in some more fantastic views. Enjoy the colony of feral cats that go in and out of the rocks. I believe there are some regular visitors who provide these cats with food and water.
There are several nice parks in Linda Vista, but should you decide to venture forth and discover new territory—by foot, bicycle or car—then make your way west to Hospitality Point Park. As I have tried to explain, it is both tucked away from the rest of San Diego, while at the same time within easy access of Linda Vista.
Spend any time there, and you can expect to be in a more relaxed mood upon your return.
2500 Block of Quivira Way
LV News Briefs
—The Office of Assemblymember Akilah Weber, M.D. (District 79), reports that “for nine years, the 79th Assembly District has hosted a Backpack Giveaway event, where students receive free backpacks filled with school supplies for the upcoming school year. We will be giving away 1,000 backpacks stuffed with supplies and sanitation kits to prepare students for in-person learning. Join us on Saturday, August 14th from 10am – 1pm at Horace Mann Middle School, where we will also have a free vaccination clinic, free helmet fittings and helmets, and more giveaways! To ensure we have an accurate count, we ask that you complete the registration prior to the event. To register, you may visit:https://bit.ly/ad79backpacks. Please note that registration will close 3pm on Friday, August 13th. CDC guidelines will be followed during this event.”
—The Office of City Councilmember Raul Campillo (District 7) reports that “Several months ago our office wrote a letter of support to Congresswoman Sara Jacobs’ office for the funding of the Linda Vista Outdoor Learning Patio Project.” Congresswoman Jacobs recently announced that funding for this project in the amount of $500,000 has been advanced through the Appropriations Committee. Here is the link to Congresswoman Jacobs’ Twitter page where she announced the news...
—Congresswoman Jacobs Linda Vista Tweet:
The LV Update will let readers know if/when the the funding receives final approval.
—SD Loyal SC team coach—Landon Donovan—was just named USL Championship Coach of the Month. You can read all about it here. The SD Loyal SC play their home soccer games at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium.
Happenings at the Linda Vista Recreation Center
Since the pandemic restrictions have eased, the Linda Vista Recreation Center has become one of the busiest place in the community. We saw evidence of such activity this past Friday evening as the Center played host to a Movie Night for the community. Local residents were treated to a big screen, under-the-stars viewing of The Croods. In addition to the movie, teens were able to participate in a number of activities as part of Friday Teen Night (which runs each Friday through August). Furthermore, everyone in attendance was able to enjoy a free dinner buffet, courtesy of funds provided by the San Diego Park Foundation. All the activities amounted to a very fun, festive occasion.
The Linda Vista Recreation Center is continuing to coordinate a number of other events this summer including, for example, a Robotics/Coding class, free lunch meals for kids every Monday-Friday during the summer, and a Theatre Arts class for kids age 10 to 16.
This Wednesday I sat in on the Theatre Arts class, run by Parks and Recreation instructor, K.J. LeCesne. According to the City web site, this class is “a program designed to enhance the imagination, emotion, and knowledge of young actors by teaching participants about the skills required to bring characters and performances to life. The goal is to help actors learn how to discover the ‘who, why, where, when, and how’ of a character and how it fits into the scene or play.”
I watched as LeCesne, a 4-year veteran of the La Jolla Playhouse, led improvisation drills for 12 highly enthusiastic local youngsters.
LeCesne commented that he will be leading one more Theatre Arts camp this summer, and he plans to produce a musical at the LV Recreation Center sometime this fall. He will be on the lookout for about 20 young actors to play the roles. Past productions at the Center have included Aladdin and Alice in Wonderland.
Please go here to get full details on all LV Recreation Center activities.
Foster Kittens Soon Available
If you or anyone you know is thinking about adopting a kitten or two, you may want to keep the above two kittens in mind. We are currently fostering them for the SD Humane Society. They will be available for adoption in the next 10 to 14 days. They are both very social and playful. If you are interested, or know someone who is, please contact me at srodriguez2@san.rr.com and I will provide further details.
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Thank you so much for doing the Linda Vista Updates. I have loved every one of the stories except for this particular one on Breakfast Republic. With great respect, this is my ‘Letter to the Editor’. I would like to suggest, instead of doing a restaurant review of chain restaurants that make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year like Breakfast Republic owned by a corporation called Rise & Shine Restaurant Group, is to review mom and pop restaurants and focus on local businesses that are still hurting and focus on the owners that are connected to what is the heart and soul of Linda Vista. Breakfast Republic got a huge government pandemic bailout where smaller businesses in Linda Vista did not. It’s founder Johan Engman has HUGE white privilege background as he worked as a big financial adviser in corporate big Pharma. He is in no way connected to Linda Vista or the hard working people that have had decades of struggle to get to have the chance to own a business. He is from an upper middle class family in Sweden. Yes, he does have minorities on staff now in the corporate office but we all know being white grants you a lot of access to loans and extra startup cash that minorities have to jump through far more hoops. He had little issue gaining a visa as a Swedish white man, which any other minority only dares to dream could happen as easily as it did for him. Ask anyone begging for asylum in all the war torn countries that currently make up some of the minorities of Linda Vista (Mexican, Venezuelan, Guatemala, Chinese, Vietnamese, Afghans, Iraqi refugees all living in the blocks around me and the affordable housing units in LV). When reviewing, as I learned from reporting, is try and tell the back story especially when it involves corporations. We have some FANTASTIC minority owned businesses in a predominantly minority neighborhood. As a white gay man, I know and recognize my privilege. I am both a UNC Chapel Hill and Harvard grad. I acknowledge my struggles are no where near what Linda Vista minorities face. We bought in this neighborhood, to not change it into some white neighborhood but to help from within to keep its beautiful diverse charm. And it is my duty to make sure that my fellow minority neighbors are very much represented as their voice is rarely heard. So I’ve learned to speak up when they are too afraid to. Because that is what makes up most of Linda Vista. I bring this up because the restaurant groups’ founder’s own story oozes white privilege. Here are his words….he even admits he fudged the truth to get his big time accounting job in big pharmaceutical group to offset his expenses when starting his chain. https://riseandshinerg.com/about-us/
An AMAZING breakfast place owned by a MINORITY family (instead of a bunch of white businessmen) is called KAMILA’s at 5252 Balboa Ave located behind RiteAid at Balboa and Genesse right in Linda Vista. It used to be Country Waffles but they broke off before the pandemic and became an independent little mom and pop (literally) breakfast and lunch joint. Far less greasy than Perry’s and less expensive. We eat there quite often. They have outdoor seating and far less wait. I hope, in future, the voices of the unheard get heard. We are outdoors in our front yard often. I make sure to say hello to all those walking by. That is how I know the people I mention don’t get heard when part of this neighborhood. I encourage each of them to be a part of Linda Vista events. Thank you so much. Keep writing and doing this wonderful online blog. -Jonathan Widener