My very first breakfast for this challenge was also a bit of a personal victory for yours truly.  I have tried at least 4 times to dine at Snooze and my hopes were dashed every single time as the wait has been so long, I would surely die from starvation.  This place is popular.  Really popular.  Like, puts out on the first date popular.  The key, I’ve discovered, is to go early and on a Monday.  Snooze is located in the heart of Hillcrest, San Diego’s legendary Gayborhood.  As most young gay men are still staggering home from last night’s exploits, shaking off the long island ice tea haze and planning to catch a disco nap before hitting the gym for 8 hours, the morning streets of Hillcrest are left to lost heterosexuals and middle aged gays who harshly judge the younger, prettier versions of themselves waltzing by.  A PERFECT time for Snooze.  We got in with absolutely no wait.

It’s style is cool retro-meets-industrial-chic.  The staff is nice, the attitude is sassy and random screams can often be heard from the kitchen, volume levels ranging from a rowdy crowd watching a football game in Paraguay to one of the staff being ritualistically set on fire.  If it’s the former, his or her sacrifice is well worth it because sweet lord Jesus this place is off the chain.  A treat for me and my lucky dining companions:

Abby-Swim instructor, Disneyland buddy, Stresses about making food for my other food-savvy friends

Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many

Amy-Vegetarian Belle, Author, Event Planner

Anna-Canadian goddess, theatre dresser and puppet builder.

Daniel-Metal lover.  Can tell you everything you want to know about great beer.  and he will.

Durwood-Best friend, comedian, San Diego’s go-to young black non-singing actor

Larissa-Writer, crafter, has a cat named Brak

Eight people. One booth. A friend’s elbow in your chest for the whole meal helps you digest your food better.

Snooze is said to have some amazing coffee.   Anna seconded this and insisted we all read the back story.  The back story is printed on their table menu and is roughly 17 paragraphs long, so I didn’t read it, but it looks legit enough.  For the meal, I ordered the OMG! French Toast.  Fresh brioche stuffed with mascarpone and topped with vanilla creme, salted caramel, agave soaked strawberries and toasted coconut.  It was every bit as amazing as it sounds.  Soft, sweet and rich.  Think dessert for breakfast.  Amazing.

If I didn’t already have type 2 Diabetes, this would seal the deal.

The rest of the table was split between sweet and savory fare.  Aimee ordered the blueberry danish pancakes with a side of chicken sausage.  Snooze makes their own sausage it is amazing.  juicy with great spice.  Aimee enjoyed the controlled sweetness of her dish and liked the whole almonds included with her pancakes.

Finish this plate so Violet Beauregarde’s death will not have been in vain.

Durwood ordered the Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes.  I tried these and it basically tasted like the cake of it’s namesake, which I had no problem with given the great fan of dessert that I am.  Durwood called it a good marriage of sweet flavors without overkill.

While I stood drooling over his plate of Hawaiian inspired delight, Durwood reminded me that “Aloha” also means “Goodbye…”

Dan ordered the “Sandwich I am” AKA the “Thing I’m going to order from now on”, Udi’s soft pretzel roll filled with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and a sausage patty, served with a side of smoked cheddar hollandaise & house hash browns. He chose to switch out his hash browns for Snooze’s special pancake of the day, chocolate pancakes with white chocolate chips and a peanut butter cream, which was chocolately goodness on a plate.  Dan said the sandwich was fantastic with a nice toast on the pretzel roll.  It was well balanced with the spicy sausage but the real stand out was the smoked cheddar hollandaise, which Dan volunteered to drink from a thermos.   That’s some serious saucy love, right there.

Egg McMuffin, you ain’t shit…

Anna ordered the Ham Benedict III and also chose to switch her hash browns with the lauded pancake of he day, the sugar coma from which she delighted in.  While she felt the poach was a bit runny and under done, the ham was great, thus sealing her overall approval of the dish.

Abby had The “Lower East Sider”, lox style salmon, accoutrements including Snooze’s house-made herbed goat cheese spread, eggplant and tomato tapanade, firmly poached egg, dressed greens and rustic bread.  She loved the tapanade and raved about the side of homemade granola (which Aimee theorized would be even more amazing on top of Durwood’s pancakes.  THIS IS WHY I EAT WITH THESE PEOPLE!)

Amy’s breakfast was Tofu scramble with carmelized onions, spinach and basil.  She also chose rye toast and opted to keep her hash browns, which are apparently legendary.  I would’ve tried them but I had eaten so much of my french toast at that point, I could only communicate through a series of shaky hand gestures and incoherent grunts.  Amy said the dish was delicious with the real high point being the addition of the onions, which added a great flavor.

The only sour note of the meal was Larissa’s dish; She also ordered the tofu scramble but hers seemed to lack the right amount of seasoning, thus resulting in a not so awesome experience.  Larissa had eaten at Snooze before with great success so she was willing to chalk this up to an isolated incident.

My overall report on Snooze: A home run.  I completely understand why folks are willing to stand on a blazing hot sidewalk for hours to get in.  The food is delicious, it’s cheap ($127 for a party of 8 people.  8!) and the menu is varied enough to peak curiosity & encourage repeat visits.

and I plan to do just that.

Further reading: http://www.snoozeeatery.com/