Is Breakfast Having a Resurgence in LA?

I almost feel like breakfast is a young person's game. From college on you go out to breakfast, often to recover and soak up the memories from the night before. But once real adulthood sets in (for us Americans this is after 40) breakfast is a completely home-type thing. The days of the diner and the restaurant before 11AM are rare occasions for me. My breakfast, almost every morning, consists of one or two rice cakes with avocado on them, two Morningstar Breakfast patties, and if I'm really hungry, scrambled eggs with dill & pepper. Like clockwork. Wanna come over? And if I run out of eggs I have oatmeal. That's the long and short. The skinny. The home-cooked, home-ate, let's-get-on-with-the-day breakfast. Oh, and coffee but that's a no-brainer.

But I stabbed myself in the hand this morning.

Crazy home-made bandage contraption made by my husband

While trying to cut the pit out of an avocado I deeply punctured right into the middle of my palm. I mean this is the kind of wound that tougher sorts wouldn't have cried over and certainly wouldn't have suggested going to the ER for. My husband assured me it was not hospital-worthy. But he was nice enough to not make fun of the fact that tears were streaming down my face and even went so far as to cut special bandaids to deal with the awkward location of this deep, very painful injury. (I really should be in a hospital right now).

But so... breakfast. Breakfast still needed to be eaten. Most important meal of the day, some believe. AND I just finished a script and wanted to take it easy, celebrate. Or celebrate-adjacent. So I texted my friend Max.

"Can't keep on doing it" refers to the making of my breakfast. 

So Max met my husband and I over at Cindy's which I've been hearing about and driving by FOREVER. I totally thought nothing would ever go into this spot that remained empty for what seemed far too long. And then this diner rumored to have fantastic food just appeared from heaven.

Described by the new owners (who own Firefly in South Pas) as old school aesthetics mixed with new school flavors, Cindy's offers morning faire such as a Creamed Kale Omelet ($10), a Fried Egg Sandwich with Tabasco Mayo ($8.50), and a Potato Beet Pancake plate with stewed apple and dill cream ($9.50).

At first blush, I can certainly say, they got that old-school aesthetic down. The interior is out of Retro Diner Central. Orange seats. Imperfect and comf booths. Cool lighting:

But listen, I'm a New Yorker. I'm skeptical and I'm hard on breakfast places. I've been going to diners since I was a kid (The Hastings Diner which had a kick-ass Cherry Coke) and then for big hangover breakfasts in Boston during college and NYC during "The Lost Decade." In my expert opinion, I know this is what a diner's supposed to look like. But one question remained-- would the food be good? Worth it? Reliable? I mean I don't know how fancy I want this stuff to get. Usually fancy means heavy, gloppy, weird, and a stomach ache later. 

Cindy's Roasted Mushroom Omelet

It's rare I'll only go somewhere once and blog about it but I'm telling you, Cindy's ranks. Completely, utterly, one billion percent worth it. This New Yorker says GO. It's that yummy and you won't regret it.

I got the Roasted Mushroom Omelet (pictured above for $11) which had these carmelized onions inside, reminding me of wine-y, stew-y French onion soup onions, a nice smattering of bleu cheese that must have been somehow magically melted into the eggs themselves, and a non-overpowering parsley pesto dabbed on top. I never eat pesto in anything really except for pasta and every now and again, I'll partake if it's a part of some appetizer. But this was perfect: subtly prepared and not more than a tablespoon.

Restraint. I like it. Dang, Cindy's!

My husband got the Noah's Ark for 9 bucks.

2 eggs, 2 pancakes, 2 strips of bacon. In other words, "The Uuuuushe." Terry said the bacon was good. "Nicely cooked," her muttered, in his best Tom Colicchio. High praise from TD. Max said she really liked her Mediterranean Scramble ($8.50) with spinach and feta and oregano. While she wasn't raving, she looked happy and sated.

I don't know. Maybe breakfast is simply making a personal comeback with me. Between Blu-Jam, Eggslut, Elsa's & now Cindy's, I think I might be getting down with the early morning dining experience. It's cheaper than eating out pretty much any other time of the day and breakfast just isn't that easy to master so when someone does it right, you want to go back. You want to try everything.

In other words, call me. I'm in.

Cindy's is at 1500 Colorado Boulevard just a block up from Trader Joe's and across from Little Beast. Look for the vintage 60 year old Landmark sign if you're confused at all! 323.257.7353. They're open Tuesday thru Sunday. Breakfast is from 7 to 11, Lunch from 11 to 3, and Dinner from 5 to Close (whatever that means). They're open for Brunch, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 3pm. And they do catering. You can park in their parking lot and there's plenty of street parking.

Enjoy! I'll be at Cedar's!

Eggslut: Don't Come When You're Hungry.

For The Eggslut Line might I suggest you bring a book?

When I first moved to LA no one went downtown. If they did, they were nervous. Or there was a story. Or they were going to volunteer. And they hated the streets - hated driving. No one seemed to live there, eat there, shop there--go there. 

Park your bike outside of the GCM

And yet there were always people who'd say, "It's really fun downtown" or "You ever think of living there? There're some really nice lofts." Well, that kind of talk can go on for years and years and years and the few times you give it a chance you're like, "Okay, that was gross" or "Okay, I get it. For these two blocks it was nice but then I'm done" or "The Disney Concert Hall is nice" or "It's funky. What an amazing art scene." But on the regular? Not so much.

The Exterior of Grand Central Market

Then suddenly downtown and the promise of downtown merged into one. For me this occurred about two years ago, though in reality it might have begun in 2003 with The Staples Center and began really peaking starting around 2011. More shops and businesses popped up. Food wasn't in just a two block radius and some of the finest restaurants could be found there (Bestia, Faith & Flower). Combined with the improvement of the city's Metro system, Downtown was easier to get to, easier to leave. And yes, it finally felt like it arrived.  

At that time I was volunteering at an awesome non-profit located by Skid Row (School On Wheels). Because of this I became more comfortable. I drove in and dove in. It's not like I hadn't already found some great stuff: the Library, Wurtschuche, The Lazy Ox Canteen, Mo-Chica, Disney Concert Hall, MOCA... But one night, around when I began this blog, I finally did something truly freeing. I hit The Downtown LA Art Walk (the next one is January 8th) and had one of the best nights of my life. I felt alive. It was exhilarating. It wasn't that all the danger was removed but the city was populated. And it wasn't just for two blocks. It was for stretches and stretches and stretches. 

Since then, I'm a convert. Downtown isn't just one art night, one restaurant or one cool building. And it has the ever so original Grand Central Market, a 98 year old food court, housed in the Homer Laughlin Building on Broadway and 4th. The GCM is the city's largest public market, completely emblematic of who us Angelenos were, are and in ways, will always be.

The Grand Central Market

But I had already been there. And though I'd been hearing about the renovations, how new restaurants had stalls there, there was a lot to choose from. What was worth it? Where to go? What to do? It was kind of overwhelming. 

Then one night, when at one of Mark Peel's pop up restaurants (he's opening a place in the GCM soon enough) he told us about a fantastically named eatery: Eggslut. "Eggslut. Don't you love that? What a great name." I was like, "Egg...what? Slut?" And I thought, That is brilliant. I gotta check that out.

Eggslut started as a food truck in 2011 by Chef Alvin Cailan, a native Angeleno who felt a void for good breakfast in LA. But in early 2014 he brought his very successful Egg biznass to The Grand Central Market. The lines that had once queued for his truck, now were doing so in The GCM. Frankly I'm embarrassed I hadn't heard of it before. Seemed everyone and their mother had. 

My first venture to ES was with my friend Lynda, a Kiwi, who, it turns out, had already been to Eggslut, worships Eggslut, LOVES Eggslut. At the mere mention she was like, "Yes, let's go there. Can't wait." I tumbled downtown, wearing paper on my feet, excited to take the plunge. The paper because I had just gotten a pedi. By the way, the Grand Central Market isn't exactly where you want to wear paper shoes but you know, us girls have to stay coiffed... 

Anyway, Lynda and I were on line, talking about her new boyfriend and chatting it up with the woman in front of us while perusing the menu when I realized we were talking to a stranger. That's the thing about the line at Eggslut: you're going to be there for awhile and you might make friends if you're even remotely friendly. As Angelenos, we're not used to this. We don't know how to do this. We're always in our cars or not wanting to leave our houses or apartments. 

Cave Dwelling Angelenos

But Lynda's from New Zealand and is a journalist and I'm from New York and can't shut up so it was inevitable. Still nothing and no one could interfere with the uber important discussion we were about to make regarding what to order. We knew we had to get three dishes because we had to try as much as possible. Lynda suggested the Slut and The Gaucho. For the life of me, I can't remember the third.

The Slut, for nine bucks, is a coddled egg on a potato puree, served in a glass jar. I seriously almost threw up hearing the glass jar bit. Lynda encouraged me to soldier on. 

The Eggslut Slut, 9 bucks.

As for The Gaucho, Lynda said it was "Amazing" when she had it last. This is how the restaurant describes it:

Seared wagyu tri-tip steak, chimichurri, pickled red onions, shaved manchego cheese and seasoned arugula topped with an over medium egg, in a warm brioche bun

$11.00

tri-tip: Snake River Farms, Boise ID

available after 11:30AM

The Gaucho

Let's start with The Slut. She is sublime. You break that little yolk, mix it with that buttery potato mush stuff and holy mother of God, if you're hungover, you will be in heaven. If you love eggs, you will be in heaven. If you have any taste buds at all, you will be in heaven.

The second dish, The Gaucho, was extremely well designed flavor-wise. The steak is high quality, and I love the combo of spicy arugula with manchego cheese, but truthfully, it's really a bitch to eat. They don't cut up the steak much so you kind of have to be VERY comfortable with the one you're with if you're going to eat this sucker. But really, if you're not comfortable looking a little disgusting, I don't think I even want to know you. 

Like I said, I can't remember dish 3. Didn't take notes. Kind of was in a black out. Which was a shame. Except for the little annoying realization which is: I'd have to go back!

So yesterday, the dreariest day in LA -- it looked like Paris outside without the Paris - I returned. I had plans with my friend, Laurie, who's very encouraging about the blog and thought Eggslutting would be a fun activity for the two of us to do. I love my friends.

This time the line was the line I'd heard about. Lynda and I had only to wait 20 minutes. Yesterday, I think Laurie and I were waiting for 45 before ordering and then it took another 20 for our order to be up.

It was worth the wait.

Laurie was still a bit under the weather from the holidays so we didn't really split our food. I recommended she have the Egg Slut. I decided to go for The Fairfax. Once our food was up, we couldn't find anywhere to sit - the place was packed. 

Started wandering around the market. Nothing. Then a security man eschewed us to the bbq place attached to the other side, near G & B Coffee. I wasn't so sure it was PC but I didn't care. My eggs were getting cold.

We sat down, looked at one another, had that eye contact of: Let's do this. But there was a pause. Listen, a lot rides on when you recommend something to someone and they actually order it. Due to that commitment and neurosis, I had one bite of Laurie's just to make sure it was up to par before she got her post holiday germs all over it. Just to make sure it was good. Swear! No! I'm lying! I just wanted to taste it again! And yes, I can confirm: that one bite was amazing. Yet I'm surprised I have any memory of it as I soon became so immersed in my mess of a Fairfax. In fact I forgot to ask her how she liked her coddled egg until she was almost through with it. This is how she described it: "Comforting and satisfying." 

As any good slut should be.

As for The Fairfax, Sweet Jesus I found my breakfast. It was a sloppy mess of a soft scrambled egg sandwich. The buttery brioche mixed with the cheddar, oy gevalt! And that nice kick of sriracha. Honestly, I'm a decent cook. I really don't understand why I can't make this at home but I can't. I know I can't replicate it. Frankly it's gotta be the butter. I'd never use the amount of butter that I'm sure is used at this restaurant that makes it so freakin good. Which is fine. I'll just come back. 

Run, don't walk

FAIRFAX

soft scrambled eggs, chives, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and sriracha mayo in a warm brioche bun

$7.00

Considering the volume of people who stand on line daily to egg it (they make close to 500 egg sandwiches per day) I'm shocked with the quality of this dish. I mean this might be the best breakfast in LA. End of story. So yes, damn it, it's worth the wait/weight. That gooey, messy, obscene mixture requires 7 napkins. And you'll need the 3 dollar OJ to wash it down with. And if you're a guy and you like the fantasy of the hot chick who eats the burger and gets it all over her face like in the Carl's Junior ad, bring your date here. You won't be disappointed. Or at least you'll be truly sated while you are being disappointed. 

Oh my God, I totally forgot something else I like about Eggslut.... 

They don't serve decaf! This is my kind of joint!

Happiness is a Warm Egg, bang bang shoot shoot

After we walked around a bit. Took some cool pics... 

The Bradbury Building

Valerie Petit Fours

Angelenos on line at Eggslut

Liquor Store Art

...but I gotta tell you the truth, and I think Laurie would agree, nothing beats that egg.

Eggslut is open 7 days a week, 8am to 4pm. It's located on the Broadway side of the market. You can find parking right in The Grand Central Building, entrance on 3rd & Hill. But know that the first two hours are no longer free (I was there from 11 to 1 and it cost 6 bucks). Also be prepared that the car slips are tight. If you have a Fiat, fine, if you have a big car, might take some maneuvering. You can always Take The Metro into town. Or ride your bike. I don't have a bike, nor can I ever imagine getting one. But that's because I value my life.

As for the Eggslut line, yeah, it kind of blows. It's rare you'll only be on line for 15 minutes. Don't do Eggslut if you're starving or if you do, over-order. You won't regret it. But if you can't wait, and you're in the market, I recommend Berlin Currywurst. It's right next to Eggslut. Yummy German Sausage shack that first emerged in Silver Lake on Sunset. Best fries in the city (in my humble opine) and created by real Berliners. Yummeriffic.

Enjoy!

Highland Park's Elsa's Bakery LOVE

One good thing about moving into a new neighborhood is when you finally find that place that makes you feel at ease, taken care of, maybe even a little bit nurtured.

Elsa's Bakery during the Highland Park Art Walk

That place for me is Elsa's Bakery. Elsa's is beyond cheerful; small, intimate, and they remember you. I'm the Norm, they're the Sam and Woody. But they don't tease me. They treat me (and everyone else) like royalty.



Inside are tons of classic Mexican baked goods. It's their specialty. They're famous for their sweet bread (not organs) both Vanilla and Chocolate...

Pan Dulce

Delicious and fresh breakfast pastries...


And they have a rockin breakfast. My favorite thus far is the Desayuno Chapin described as a Traditional Guatemalan breakfast: scrambled eggs with tomato and onions, black beans, plaintains, cream and cheese.

My favorite breakfast: the Traditional Guatamalen

Everything is fresh, even the tortillas...

Handmade Tortillas at Elsa's

And they have two for one tacos on Wednesday nights. That's two delicious tacos for $2.50.

But my absolute favorite thing in the whole wide world - the thing that turned it all around for me was:

Frida's Mocha with Polborones

To me, Frida's Mocha is one of the best, calmest coffee drinks ever. And yet it's still strong enough to give you the goose. Spicy, cinnamon-y, perfecto. It was adapted, maybe perfectly, from Frida Kahlo's very own Mocha drink which she had most mornings in her Mexico City home, La Casa Azul, located in Coyoacan. The owners brought the recipe back with them. She might have had it to counterbalance the alcohol and cigs from the night before.

That's my girl

I have it because it's delicious. And let's face it, I think of her every time.

This place is the real deal. In fact they found their chef who's from Puebla, Rosario, who will spend 14 hours making mole so that it's right. Those cookies you saw? Simple, satisfying, not too sweet but man, a hockey puck of goodness, those are Mexican Wedding Cookies and they're FIFTY CENTS A POP. Perfect with a Frida's Mocha.

If you're going, give me a call. I'm probably already there. In fact I'm here right now, typing this, and am supposed to be somewhere else.

That's how much I love this place.

Elsa's Bakery (Pan y Cafe) is at 5102 York Blvd., Highland Park, CA 90042. Tel. is: 323.256.9455. They serve breakfast and Lunch Monday thru Saturday from 7:00am to 2:30pm but most nights they're open 'til 10. Street parking. Always check the meters.

Enjoy!

Weekend Getaway - San Clemente

"People love the beautiful things." This from the founder of San Clemente, Ole Hanson. You heard me, Ole Hanson. I just love that name so much. You can't help but put on an old-timey voice on if you go to the San Clemente Ralphs because Ole Hanson first used it as a stable and then he opened up that same location as The Hotel For Sick People (aka a hospital). Now it's...

The San Clemente Ralphs, once The Hotel For Sick People

Ole Hanson started the town of San Clemente in the 20's. It was to be a Spanish City by the Sea. And it is. It's far enough from both nearby cities (San Diego and Los Angeles) to feel you've gotten away. And dude, I needed to get away.  

Me Feeling the Rut of Home

Of course I love living in LA. I absolutely do. But if you don't go away once in awhile you have NO perspective on where you live. Someone important said that. 

Me.

Me on Vacation is a Happy Me

San Clemente is really known as a surfer town and home to Camp Pendleton Marine Base. My friend Max's, Dad, was based here in the 60's where he learned to surf before being shipped off to Vietnam. He got his board from Hobie who had one of the first surfboard shops in the country right in Dana Point, which is the town just above San Clemente.

Surfing Family waiting to park at San Onofre

My husband likes to surf and I like to sit on the beach and do nothing so this seemed like a good place for us to go. And he already knew San Clemente. It's the town right above San Onofre where all good surfers (he is one) make a pilgrimage.

Surfers at San Onofre

But the waves were rather flat the weekend we were there so we didn't really partake too much.

Terry making a Dribble Castle

We did though swim in the water. It called to us. San Clemente has one of the nicest, most mellow and fun beaches in SoCal. I had no idea of course. And it's not hard to park there. I fear parking at beaches like nobody's business. It just sounds hard ALWAYS. Of course if you go to San Clemente and want to be very close then you should bring tons of quarters: it's 10 minutes per quarter. We on the other hand found a sweet parking place TWO DAYS IN A ROW right on the street. Parked for FREE whu-what? Two days in a row? Yep. Also the beach bathroom is clean (this from a girl who HATES HATES HATES public bathrooms) and the water is niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Frankly, it really doesn't take much to make me happy. That's another way of saying money's tight. So why then, might you ask, would I choose a beach town at high season? Because I like to research and find the least expensive way to be happy. Presenting...

Happy: The Patriots' Boutique Motel

I did not take that picture. I found it on the internet. But you get the idea. The Patriots' Boutique Motel is a pretty plain place. In fact my husband thought they should go to a Hotel/Motel Art Fair and buy some more pictures. But in reality, neither of us could care less. The most important thing - and I mean like ESSENTIAL - was the bed was comfortable. And I mean it was outrageously comfortable. Like we didn't want to leave this super plain room because we loved the plain bed so damn much. 

Who needs art?

All I need are some tasty waves, a television set and a comfortable bed and I'm fine. (also the room was super clean and $150.00 per night which included tax and whatever other fees there were. The price was right).

As for the town itself, there are two main strips: El Camino Real and Avenida Del Mar. I'm not going to lie, it's okay. It's a mixture of Radio Shacks and Subways with cute boutique stores, restaurants and surf shops. Stand-outs include Reclamation, a lovely and beautiful shop that showcases reclaimed wood and bottles used to make one-of-a-kind furnishings and art, one very delicious olive oil store, a store about mermaids, the famed Ralphs, and a sex shop, ConRev, smack dab in the  middle of El Camino Real. The girls that work there are really friendly and look you straight in the eye; they don't want you to feel shy. So don't go there if you think you can disappear. You can't.

As for the food, hmmm. Listen, this isn't the foodie capital of the world. San Clemente is a pretty straight-foward place. That being said, here are some highlights:

The Original Banzai Bowl located right on El Camino Real is a fruit, smoothie, juice place and also a hang-out for teens. I loved the interior. And concluded it's a good place to drop in if you want something refreshing:

For breakfast: My favorite place was Zebra's at 1001 South El Camino Real - which also was like a five minute walk from the motel. You walk to the left, past The Bagel Shack (which looked good and thatched), the famous Ralphs Hospital, and then you hit Zebra's. 

The guy who owns it has the best beard I've ever seen in my life. The girl who works the counter has one side of her hair in blue WHICH matches her blue vintage car. The muffins are fresh-baked every morning with fresh fruit in them. Delicious! And their coffee hit the spot. You can trust that I know a decent cup of joe. I'm a major coffee snob, there are a million references about this on this blog, so if I say the coffee is good, it's an end-of-discussion moment. Also they play Bread and Three Dog Night and America and you gotta love a place that plays soft hits from the 70's.

The other stand-out for coffee was in Dana Point, just north of San Clemente. I have no pictures or cutesie stories about JC Beans but again, the coffee was tasty, it was a fast drive from our hotel, and I forgot my wallet and the girl told me that it was okay. No Problem. Just pay me next time.

I like beach people.

Lunch? I don't got nothin to say about that but for dinner, if you're smart, you will not listen to the locals and you'll listen to me. Avenida Del Mar is where all the main restaurants are. And nail shops (yep, we got a pedi at one of the two Minghee's)... 

Terry's first pedi

But back to food. Everyone recommended we go to this one place that shall remain nameless. Here is the place that I want you to try:  Village Mediterranean Rim. It's a Moroccan-y, meaty, Mediterranean-y place with so many choices for Tagines it's unbelievable. (Tagines are slow-cooked meat & veggie stews though I think at Village Med in addition to their meat one-pots there is also a straight-up veggie option). The food is fresh and delicious, stew-y and comforting. Though not all of it is tagined - they also offer entrees like Chermoula Encrusted Salmon ($27) and Braised Leg of Elk ($25). It's romantic, open-air, the service is a little slower than you'd like but you're on vacation so who cares? The owner was born in Damascus, trained in Italy and spent time in Morocco. And Brentwood where he had a successful bunch of restaurants. Now he's here, has been for awhile. He likes all of the freshest ingredients, has good taste and a good eye -- in other words, the ambiance is lovely. So for a romantic, delicious dinner, this is a safe bet. And for what it's worth I highly highly highly recommend the Lamb Meatloaf Tagine served with cous cous. Yumtastic. Tender, tasty, filling, original.

That being said, I cannot lie. My favorite meal was a Noosa Raspberry Yogurt mixed with some salty almonds that I got at Ralph's.

Because you don't really come here to eat. At least that's how I now see it. Truthfully, before we went I'm not sure what I expected or wanted out of our weekend away but what I got was one of my favorite visits to a beach in a long-ass time.

This girl was so excited to be buried in sand. I swear, she was the most adorable thing on the planet

Nothing much beats zinc'ing up your body with sun block (might I recommend Sun Bum Zinc Oxide 50 which we picked up at Hobie's on Camino Real and it was perfect) and chilling out on the sand with a fantastic book. 

This book is so good - addictive.

There were families everywhere, couples frolicking in the waves (yep, including us), kids on boogie boards, adults on boogie boards, surfers, sunbathers, joggers - it was like that scene from "Jaws" minus the shark business.

What a grand way to get out of town and less than two hours away (even less if you download Waze). So worth the drive. And so worth downloading Waze! If you haven't done so, chop chop!

Pedi + Beach = Happy

Directions: While it's just over 60 miles south of LA, San Clemente can easily inch into a mega slow drive. Normally you'd take the 5 from LA there and back. That being said, check out Waze. We did so much circuitous stuff I couldn't possibly repeat it but all I know is we loved how fast our route was. On a Friday, when we left at 3pm we got there at 5. That's pretty amazing considering that should've been the worst traffic on the planet. Do though be careful. If you go the weird Waze way you may end up on Tollroads. Those fees have to be paid relatively quickly. To find out how paying for The TollRoads works, click HERE. 

Ralphs is at 903 South El Camino Real

Hobie's Surf Shop in San Clemente for Men is 100 South El Camino Real and for Women is at 151 Avenida Del Mar.

Info for The Beach at San Onofre

Info for The Beach at San Clemente

The Patriots' Boutique Motel is located within walking distance of the beach (and the owner even offered to drive us there. LOVE beach people!). Right now a Double during weekdays goes for $109, on the weekends it goes for $139 (not including tax and fees). Obviously this is subject to change. Book through their website for the best deal. They welcome dogs! 711 South El Camino Real, San Clemente, CA 92672. 949-218-6348.

Reclamation is at 105 Avenida Del Mar. 949-545-6400. They offer shipping.

The Olive Oil Store is actually called Oliver's Olive Oil. It's at 211 Avenida Del Mar. They offer shipping.

ConRev is at 401 South El Camino Real. It's right next to a Subway. I didn't see this location listed on their website so I included the link to their Yelp page.

Minghee's is at 132 Avenida Del Mar. Walk In's welcome.

The Original Banzai Bowl is at 120 South El Camino Real. 

Zebra House Coffee is at 1001 South El Camino Real.

JC Beans is at 34114 Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point. 

Village Mediterranean Rim is located at 123 Avenida del Mar. They do take reservations. 949-361-8970. Casual but nice attire.

Enjoy!