These days you can pretty much find a new restaurant cropping up on every corner in San Diego.  While it’s always fun to play with the new toy, there’s also a ton of classic eateries that have been here since forever.  This week’s challenge is one of those places.  Family House of Pancakes dates back to 1964 and is pretty much an institution for anyone who grew up in the Southern San Diego neighborhoods of National City or Chula Vista.  In an effort to side step any nostaligic bias, I brought with me 5 San Diego transplants and a girl from Santee.

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 B-Vegetarian Belle, Author, Event Planner

Amy J-Rocky Horror performer, Michigan football loyalist, a common floozy

Joe-Theatre and beer enthusiast, podcast co-host, Co-Creator of World’s Cutest Baby

Lily-World’s Cutest Baby (a Joe & Nicole production)

Nicole-Stage Manager, Cupcake diva, Co-Creator of World’s Cutest Baby

We were comforted by the comfort of comfort food. It was all very comfortable.

This place instantly reminded me of every family restaurant my parents ever took me to when I was growing up in Rhode Island in the 70’s.  Wall-to-wall wood paneling, hotel art on the walls, giant booths, coffee urn on the tables, a sweet waitress who you could tell had worked there for a minute.  Hopefully the food would be as good as I remember from this place I’d never set foot in before right now.  The stakes, they were high.

Aimee had Chicken Fried Steak  with grits and a side of pancakes.  She liked her steak a lot and praised the really good gravy, which was peppery with big chunks of sausage.   She also approved of the grits and said her pancakes were awesome.  Abby ordered the Southern Style Eggs Benedict with a side of sausage and an orange guava juice.   She ordered her eggs medium but they came out hard.  She also felt the gravy didn’t really compliment the sausage patty and there biscuits weren’t that great.  The bright spot of her meal, however, was the grilled tomatoes with breading.  Great concept and flavor.  I tried them and they were pretty damn good.

Imagine a pork chop and a tomato had a baby. and then we ate the baby. and it was delicious.

Joe had the Bacon Breakfast Burrito with home style potatoes and cheese.  The burrito was “so effing huge” it defeated him.  It had lots of bacon and was very good.  Here’s hoping Joe’s next battle with his breakfast will work out in his favor.  Nicole ordered the Biscuits and Gravy with a side of potatoes and scrambled eggs.  While she very much enjoyed the sausage, she said the biscuits and gravy failed to impress.  Lily had Banana, potatoes and egg because she is a baby.  Also her 3rd attempt to steal Joe’s bacon turned physical.  The little lady is a biter.

Amy J had the Pecan Belgium Waffle with an over-easy egg & potatoes.  She was a big fan of this dish.  She said it was really well flavored with LOTS of pecans.  The potatoes met with her expectation (the accompanying salsa was a nice touch).  She mentioned that she ordered her eggs over medium with the thought of dipping her waffles in it but the waffle was so flavorful, she didn’t need to.  Amy B ordered the Banana Pecan Waffle.  She loved the fact that pecans were included in the waffle batter.  Next time she will order extra whipped cream (Her prediction, not mine.  That would be weird.)  The portions were also huge.

I was happy to see my favorite breakfast thing ever on the menu; Strawberry Belgian Waffle.  It’s hardly unique but it’s something I love and this whole place had me feeling nostalgic so I went for it.  First off, they COVERED the damn thing in whipped cream and for me, that’s pretty much the best way to consume anything served with whipped cream.  The waffle itself was really great.  It was soft, mildly sweet and really fresh.  The only not-so-awesome note for me on this dish was the strawberries.  They were not fresh and slathered in sugary goo.  I know this is pretty standard but I prefer less glaze with my strawberries.  Aside from that, the whole dish was really tasty.  The side of bacon and eggs were top notch.

CREEEEEEAAAAAMMM. Sha-boogie-bop.

So overall, I have to say I don’t have a hard time understanding why Family House of Pancakes has been a staple in San Diego for so long.  The place had charm for days, the staff was nice, I never saw the bottom of my coffee cup & the food was inexpensive and tasty.  I look forward to going back.

Further reading: http://familyhouseofpancakes.com/

To see all the pictures from this week’s restaurant, be sure to follow The Boy who ate San Diego on Instagram