Please note-Adam’s Steak N’ Eggs has permanently closed
Adam’s Steak N’ Eggs has been in Mission Valley since I was a kid and the row of hotels and motels on each side hasn’t changed over forty years. Known for breakfast steaks and egg combos, the screw drivers and Bloody Marys are also eye openers. A lumberjack dish of carne asada and eggs with tortillas and beans was a good way to start the day.
Lunch and dinner under the same roof is Albie’s Beef Inn with an old time piano bar in the cocktail lounge. Happy owner Ted has regulars he calls by name and they order “the usual”. Throwback to good ole days!
Adam’s Steak n Eggs
1201 Hotel Circle, South
San Diego, Ca 92108
Before Golden Hill became trendy South Park, there was The Big Kitchen Café. In all the passing years, it hasn’t lost its funky, hippy, political character. One look inside and you realize how Whoopi Goldberg fit right in as a dishwasher and waitress in her younger days.The restroom is outside and the furniture is outdated and shaky. But, the food is still large, filling and made by a chef who I wouldn’t argue with. I asked what the unique spices were on the fried potatoes and the waitress said, “love spices”. I don’t even want to know! But I do know the pancakes are so big, its hard to eat even half of one. And the biscuits are smothered in gravy and so rich and creamy.
Big Kitchen Cafe
3003 Grape St
San Diego, Ca 92102
619.234.5789
Tender prime rib, juicy steaks, creamy baked potatoes and cheese laden French onion soup, Bully’s East Restaurant off hilly Texas St is the place. It has been in the same roundabout parking lot since 1971. The original horse shoe shaped bar is perfect for sipping strong drinks and chatting with locals. Dimly lit, red vinyl seats and clubby atmosphere serving Midwestern beef and baskets of bread. Through many remodels, one support beam in the front of the building has been in place over 40 years and will always be there, just like the quality and prices.
Bully’s East Prime Bistro and Sports Bar
2401 Camino Del Rio South
San Diego, Ca 92108
www.bullyseastsd.com
Generations of fishermen and their families have frequented the Waterfront bar and grillafter grueling months at sea and the old pictures on the walls tell the story. Back when San Diego had one of the largest tuna fleets in the world, the Waterfront was the place for catching up with neighbors in the area known as Little Italy.
The menu has salads, Mexican food and burgers but best known for their famous Italian style fish and chips and cheap drinks. This a blast to the past local hangout even if there are TV’s to watch sporting events the old fishermen never dreamed of.
Waterfront Bar and Grill
2044 Kettner Blvd
San Diego, CA 92101
619.232.9656
www.waterfrontbarandgrill.com
It’s the people and the food that makes Perry’s Café on Pacific Highway a classic place to have breakfast. Family owned and many of the servers have worked there for years which keeps it all running smoothly. Everyone is happy with the best frittatas, home fries and muffins loaded up on plates. Just watching the servers load up their arms from wrist to biceps with full plates of food and going back for more is a workout on any given morning.
Perry’s Café
4620 Pacific Highway,
San Diego 619.291.7121
