Lemon Grove Deli and Grill
July 06, 2019
I hardly ever go out for breakfast, I don't know why, well yes I do, that means I have to make myself presentable before I really want to.
Today I was presentable enough to go out and have breakfast.
On my staycation, I'm trying to target family owned and operated restaurants, Lemon Grove Deli & Grill came across my radar. Since they are open for breakfast and lunch only, it's a pretty good bet I'll get a great breakfast there. FYI they close at 2:00 p.m.
Two of my favorite restaurant breakfasts are Chicken Fried Steak or Corned Beef Hash, both of which they have on the menu, surprise, surprise...not.
When the nice cheerful waitress came to take my order, I love it when they call you dear and sweetie, I asked if the corned beef was house made or canned, it's canned so I ordered the chicken fried steak.
Nope, no eggs. I wish I could but we just don't get along.
My choices were hash browns or home fries, pancakes, toast or biscuits and gravy. The chicken fried steak was very nicely cooked, nice and crunchy outside and tender and juicy inside. Job well done. That and the pancakes were the best part.
The hash browns were cooked very well also, nice and crunchy edges, soft insides, only they tasted a little off, I can only describe them as tasting like the grill. No, I've never licked a grill, that I can remember anyway, but I've cooked on and cleaned many of them in my time. I think the biggest disappointment was the gravy, the best I can call it is nondescript. I tasted it alone several times and I can't tell you what it tasted like, just very bland, even salt and pepper didn't help it. It wasn't awful, just no flavor at all. The pancake was so good I ate it without any syrup, I didn't want anything to mask the flavor of it. I ate only 1/4 of the top one. Now I wish I would have brought the rest home, it would have made a nice snack this afternoon.
It's obviously a local hangout, most everyone in there knew each other. It reminds me of Cheers, ♫♪ "where everybody knows your name, ♫♪ and they're always glad you came". ♫♪ You'll thank me for the earworm later.
My sister and her husband would go in there for sandwiches, the tuna salad was their favorite. I think I'll go back and try one of the sandwiches.
I'm not going to write them off just yet.
And that's that!