In 1997, my husband and I came to visit San Diego after hearing the Counting Crows song “Long December’ and agreeing that it had been too long since we’d seen the ocean. Immediately upon returning from vacation, we sold our house in Ohio and moved here. Why? Because of advice we got from a server in a beach burger joint. We said “We love it here!” She said, “Why don’t you move here?” We thought she was brilliant and we took her advice.

Why am I telling you that instead of talking about breakfasts? Because when we moved here in 1997, we stumbled in this amazing breakfast place in PB (Pacific Beach) called The Eggery. Breakfast! At the Beach! For many years, we had a tradition of getting up on Saturday mornings, having breakfast at The Eggery, going o to the Farmer’s Market to pick up flowers, eggs and strawberries, and then taking a walk down the beach to Crystal Pier.

Fast-forward 16 years to 2013. One Saturday morning, we hopped up to go to the Eggery, and arrived to find it was closed. Just vanished, gone, evaporated into the ocean mist. I thought I might have to be medicated to deal with the sheer panic of knowing I would never again feast on the California Bennie.

So, when the Truckstop opened in the same location, we refused to eat there and held a grudge against them. My husband and I spent a year calling it the Un-Eggery every time we walked by and scowling at it with disdain.

But one weekend, we tried to go to the Beachwood in PB for Sunday Brunch, and they advised us they stopped having a Sunday Brunch during football season (curious) and we were super hungry. I sheepishly suggested that we could try the Truckstop just once, and Jeff reluctantly agreed because our stomachs were growling and the other option was no breakfast at all.

We wanted to hate them, but we could not, so now, three years later, we have worked it into our rotation and went to visit them again last week.

When we arrived last Sunday morning 2/28/16, Son of a Preacher Man was blaring over the speakers, which was a perfect Sunday morning breakfast song.

We were seated right away and our friendly server brought out a basket of fresh, warm donut holes, which were little cinnamon sugar balls that dropped from heaven. The donut holes were accompanied by a pot of steaming hot coffee on the table so I could keep refilling my own cup, which I love.

My husband refused the donut holes fearing they would “ruin his appetite.” Who are you and what have you done with my husband? But, yay me, I got to eat all the donut holes. His second worst decision to the time he refused to eat the pastries I bought in Paris because he thought they were too expensive.

The specials board listed Coconut Waffles as a special. I need read no further. I will order anything with coconut in it because it helps me pretend that I am on an island in some lush, tropical setting.

My happy island themed waffles arrived and looked like fluffy clouds on my plate – 2 perfect, crispy on the outside/tender on this inside Belgian waffles covered in a decadent pile of coconut laced whipped crème. These waffles were so delicious I wanted to eat them like the kid in the Christmas Story movie and just pig snort them off of my plate and into my happy mouth.

I ordered it with a combo, and also enjoyed their fresh/not frozen hash browns and perfectly cooked over-easy eggs, a cooking feat I cannot accomplish to save my life.

My husband Jeff did not want coconut waffles and said something about not liking coconut. I responded with a quote from my favorite movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life” “Say brainless, don’t you know where coconuts come from? Jibe aside, he ordered “Hubcaps” which turned out to be pancakes as large as the largest plate you’ve ever seen. On the upside, the top giant pancake was perfect. On the downside, the one underneath it was slightly scorched and Jeff grumbled about how the shady chef covered up the scorched pancake with the perfect pancake.

The breakfast soundtrack continually delighted my ears the entire time we were dining. Dancing in the Moonlight played and it took me back to 6th grade when I got caught listening to it on a transistor radio with my friend Mike Holley and we both had to stay inside at recess. The next tune was Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros singing Home which made me want to get up and dance like a hippie through the restaurant, but I was so engrossed in my coconut waffles that I resisted the urge.

We finished our food and our pot of coffee and got our check which came to $31 for two people which included our breakfasts, coffee and juice. Not to mention that my husband ate his pancakes for two more breakfasts after that because they actually were the size of hubcaps.

Another bonus, the Truckstop is in a strip mall less than a block from the beach that has an underground parking deck. You get two free hours of parking with validation from dining, so you have plenty of time to get breakfast and then take a walk on the beach, which is exactly what we did.

Total for 2 was $31 for food, coffee, and juice. Visited on 2/28/16

3 waffle rating

In theory, my husband and I would like to be thin, but we like pancakes, waffles, omelets and warm biscuits dripping with honey even more. So, rather than torture ourselves dieting, we instead decided to eat our way through San Diego, one breakfast joint at a time.

We were inspired by this article from San Diego Magazine, but will not stick to their list completely because we know of many other wonderful breakfast places they failed to list. We want to be equal opportunity breakfast eaters.

Our first breakfast date was to the Crown Bistro in Coronado, which can be reached either by crossing the most beautiful bridge in San Diego, or by coming up from the south on a scenic drive through “the Strand” both routes will take your breath away with their beauty.

But we aren’t here to talk about scenic drives; we are here to talk about food. The article in San Diego magazine listed this place as “under the radar” but clearly it isn’t under the radar anymore. When we checked in, they told us the wait was 20 minutes, but it actually took 45 minutes to get seated.

You should know right up front that I am a terribly impatient human being. I don’t like to wait and most often just leave any place with a line. But because we were on a quest, I forced myself to sit and wait.

The waiting was less horrible than usual waiting because the Crown Bistro happens to be attached to the lovely, dog friendly Crown City Inn, and while I was waiting, a delightful little schnauzer stopped in to say hello. Bearded dogs notwithstanding, I disliked the amount of time it took to get a table. The hostess kept coming into the lobby to call names of other people who had been waiting, many of whom had given up and gone about their day to find sustenance elsewhere.

When the glorious sound of our name being called finally happened and we secured a table, we noticed with disappointment that none of the other diners had food.

By this time, my stomach was audibly growling. I feared the schnauzer might think I was challenging him to a duel.

Our server arrived and was warm and friendly. She brought coffee shortly after we were seated. She thanked us for our patience. I fought the urge to tell her I was actually quite impatient and she should not thank me for a trait I didn’t possess, but having just come from church, I kept my snarky comments inside my head.

We reviewed the menu and it had a nice array of selections all under the $15 price and most hovering around $9.95. I ordered one of the items suggested in the San Diego Magazine, which was Bananas Foster French Toast. (Pictured above.) I also ordered a side of bacon, because…. pigs are delicious. (Disclaimer: My husband is a vegetarian and did not order any pig products.)

After ordering, it took another 25 minutes to get our food. Was it worth the 70-minute wait to eat? I was quite pleased with the Bananas Foster French Toast. My husband asked me if it was really that wonderful, or if it was the rum it was soaked in talking. Please. French toast with sauteed bananas, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream and rum sauce? What’s not to love? Side note -Rum flavored things always make me daydream about pirates.

My husband ordered blueberry pancakes, and described them as “plain,” which is Jeff-speak for anything he finds unremarkable. Just your garden-variety blueberry pancakes, like the sort you could get at Denny’s or IHOP.

I feel compelled to mention that the tables were very tiny. With both of our plates, water and coffee, everything was touching. When my side of bacon came, the plate wouldn’t fit on the table.

Now for your reading enjoyment, here is a conversation I overheard while we were eating. I actually put my fork down from the deliciousness of banana French toast to record this exchange.

Guy: How long is the wait?

Host: Half an hour. At least half an hour.

Guy: At LEAST half an hour? Could it be as long as an hour?

Host: (long pause…) Um….No, let’s just say half an hour.

I knew that was not an accurate assessment because when the same host told me 20 minutes, it was 45 minutes, and there were only 3 other people waiting. The line was much longer. But I said nothing, because it embarrasses my husband when I give handy tips to strangers.

Bottom line- week 1 was a little hit and miss. The location is darling, the bistro is quaint, and the staff was friendly, but incredibly slow. (They thanked us for our patience a total of 4 times.) My food was very good; my husband’s food was merely average.

If it’s a sunny day and you have nowhere particular to be, stop in and give them a try. But if you’re in a hurry, or want to spend less than two hours eating breakfast, go elsewhere.

Total for 2, food and coffee = $35.00 – Date visited 02/21/16

– tlw