Every time a new Broken Yolk Café restaurant opens, a few new menu items get added. If you haven’t been into the restaurant’s Eastlake location in a while, there are a few new culinary surprises awaiting you.
“Whenever we open a new restaurant, we update our menus,” explained Douglas Rivas, general manager of the Eastlake location.
There are currently 14 locations in San Diego and Orange counties. The original restaurant opened in Pacific Beach in 1979, followed by the Eastlake location (884 Eastlake Parkway) nine years ago.
As the chain grows, so does the menu.
The now rather extensive menu starts with eggs and builds on that.
Two-egg combo platters ($7.95 to $11.95) are served with a selection of smoked ham, Canadian bacon, pork chop, ground beef patty, Italian sausage, bacon, link or sausage patty or corned beef hash.
Sides include a choice of homefries, hash browns, Mexican rice, refried beans or fresh fruit and a choice of homemade biscuit, blueberry muffin, English muffin, tortillas or toast.
Breakfast craves include New York steak and eggs ($14.95) and chicken fried steak and eggs ($11.85).
Griddle favorites include the stuffed French toast ($10.95) and Belgian waffle ($7.95). The menu continues with pancakes and crepes, omelets, south of the border favorites, half-pound Angus burgers, fresh soups and salads, sandwiches and wraps.
South of the border favorites ($9.95 to $11.95) include huevos rancheros, huevos con chorizo, machacas, breakfast quesadillas, chicken enchiladas, chilaquiles, burritos and tacos.
Popular new additions include the Greek yogurt parfait, wellness wrap, Golden State Benedict, country Benedict, sun-up breakfast sandwich, tiki toast, fiesta burrito and baja breaksfast taco.
The wellness wrap ($11.95) features scrambled egg whites, sautéed spinach, roasted red bell pepper and feta cheese wrapped in a spinach tortilla and served with fresh fruit.
The Golden State Benedict ($12.45) features a toasted English muffin with sliced grilled tomatoes, avocado, applewood-smoked bacon and two poached eggs topped with Hollandaise sauce and sriracha sauce.
The tiki toast ($10.95) is an exotic creation featuring three extra thick slices of sweet Hawaiian bread dipped in egg batter then griddled to a golden brown and topped with strawberries, blueberries, caramel drizzle and shredded coconut.
The fiesta burrito ($11.65) includes scrambled eggs with onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, season shredded beef and Cheddar cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla and smothered in homemade salsa verde with toppings of sour cream, sliced avocado and salsa.
The two baja breakfast tacos ($10.95) include two corn tortillas filled with beef chorizo sausage, scrambled eggs and avocado, topped with homemade salsa and Cotija cheese, served with Mexican rice and black beans.
The menu continues to include such bestsellers as the chilaquiles, eggs Benedict, stuffed French toast, California burrito, half-pound Wild West Angus burger (stacked with onion rings, barbecue sauce and Cheddar cheese), club sandwich and very berry salad (mixed spring greens, goat cheese, caramelized walnuts and sliced strawberries served with a raspberry walnut vinaigrette).
During a recent visit, we tried the California breakfast burrito ($11.65) and chicken and waffles ($11.35).
The burrito includes scrambled eggs, bacon, Cheddar cheese, homefries and avocado wrapped in a flour tortilla. It is served with homemade salsa, Mexican rice and refried beans.
Mix a bit of salsa and beans with each bite, and it’s quite flavorful.
The chicken and waffles was something new that caught our eye. It’s popular elsewhere in the country and catching on here.
Three crispy fried all white meat chicken tenders are served on a Belgian waffle with a pecan drizzle and whipped butter.
The waffle is better if you let the butter melt into it. Also, don’t be bashful to order another serving of the pecan syrup.
The golden chicken tenders cut easily and are not overcooked, remaining juicy inside. I like to dip sausage links in syrup when I am at home and tried the same with the chicken pieces – they were heavenly in the pecan syrup.
On second thought, the pecan syrup is heavenly!
Seven breakfast specials ($6.95) are served 7to 8:30 a.m. Among the most popular are the two eggs, two pancakes and two pieces of bacon or sausage.
Other economical taste treats are the two eggs any style with bacon or sausage plus homefries and toast and the biscuit smothered in country gravy served with homefries and two eggs. Another breakfast special features beef chorizo scrambled with two eggs served with beans and tortillas.
The restaurant continues to update its Iron Man/Iron Woman Hall of Fame with photos of customers who have managed to consume the eatery’s monster-size 12-egg omelet. The cost is $32.95. However, if a customer can finish it in less than an hour, the plate’s on the house.
The omelet is filled with mushrooms, onions and American cheese smothered with the restaurant’s own house-made chili and more cheese, a generous pile of home fries and two biscuits. It’s served on a 15-inch pizza plate.
Only about five percent finish it within the prescribed time period.
“We get at least one a week, mostly on the weekends,” Rivas explained. “ Not too many finish it. It’s huge. Big guys come in to try it, young guys come in three or four at a time competing against each other.”
So far, 68 individuals have finished it, the fastest in 43 minutes. Winners get a t-shirt, a photo on the official hall of fame board and customer applause.
“Whenever we bring it out, customers look over and take pictures of the plate,” Rivas said.
Seasonal favorites include pumpkin pancakes in the fall.
The Broken Yolk Café is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. For more information, call (619) 216-1144 or visit www.thebrokenyolkcafe.com.
