Breakfast at Kono's

Some good news and a small bit of "less-good" news.

On the really good news front, Kate met with the Infectious Diseases physician today and learned that she has increased her efficiency level in using oxygen from 81% to 95%. I'm not sure if that is the right terminology, but the end result is that she is not as dependent on the portable oxygen tank as she had been when the problem was first diagnosed.

She also learned that she had some type of alpha strep infection, but the doctor was unable to specify the source or cause of the infection. At this point in the recovery process, this issue is becoming less important.

Finally, the less-good news is that Kate has not felt literarily-energized to begin writing a restaurant review, so you are left with the writings of a "foodie-writer challenged" substitute.

As we hinted yesterday, breakfast in Pacific Beach, just north of San Diego, CA, meant breakfast at Kono's Surf Club Cafe.

We learned that the line that greeted us upon arrival is often longer, but it moves quickly because the locals order their "usual" and the tourists can study the short menu as the line moves inside the small eatery.

Once inside, we noticed the surfer theme in the decorations and the continuous showing of surfer videos on the monitor.

Following the advice of my cousin Karen and her husband Dick, we passed on the tables inside in favor of the outdoor tables.

Their knowledge of prime seating locations led us across the street, past a funky gift/supplies shop, and onto a patio with seating overlooking the beach.

What a glorious setting for breaktast.

Karen and Dick located a table, and Dick and I then returned to pick up the orders. Leaving this table even for a short walk back across the street was difficult--the surf, the fog, and the view were captivating.

In preliminary planning sessions, our knowledgeable hosts had described Kono’s Surf Club Café as legendary for its good cheap eats and huge portions.
Now the word "huge" is sometimes hard to quantify. It appeared that Karen and Dick were well aware of the precise definition. They ordered a very reasonably-sized Breakfast Sandwich that included eggs, bacon, cheese, tomato, and mayo on a toasted English muffin.

A good and very sufficient breakfast.

Kate ordered the Egg Burrito #2 (one of four egg burritos on the menu). In Kate's mind, this burrito with eggs, green chili, cheese, and pica sauce in a flour tortilla met her definition of "huge."

But it was the just-the-right-amount-of-heat that the chili provided that reduced this burrito to a manageable size that could be eatern in one sitting.

I passed on the Big Breakfast #1 (the Egg Scramble with pancakes) and the Big Breakfast #2 (the Egg Scramble with French toast) in favor of just the Egg Scramble. In addition to the egg, there was bacon, green pepper, cheese, and Kono potatoes with an English muffin in this dish. "Kono Potatoes" are home fries with the green peppers, onions, and cheddar cheese melted into them.

The magic of this dish was that the ingredients were not just thrown together in a pile. The taste gave me the impression of a dish that was built by adding one ingredient after another at just the right intervals so that the chili, peppers, onions, and cheese were not just on the potatoes and eggs but in them in a perfect combination. And all for $5.50.

Nothing more needed to be said than “Dig in.”

There is only one person who can award Addies, but suffice it to say this was one fabulous breakfast.