The Broken Yolk Cafe of Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, California

The Gaslamp Quarter lost a beloved breakfast diner earlier in the year when the Sun Café, the quirky family diner that had served the area since 1926, closed its door and was transformed into a Mexican taco joint. So, the opening of the Broken Yolk Café on 6th Avenue between J and K Streets a few weeks ago was a welcomed development for the area's breakfast junkies.

If you have been to the original Broken Yolk in Pacific Beach, then you already know much of what to expect. It is a laid-back establishment that exudes a very leisurely seaside air even when surrounded on every side by modern buildings. Even for a breakfast-oriented joint (that also does brunch and lunch), the menu here overflows with selections of omelets - ranging from the basic stuff you can cook yourselves at home to the decidedly psychedelically innovative combination platters.

For all the ideas, though, food quality here is strangely inconsistent. Sometimes the eggs are overdone and other times way undercooked. I had the Rancher Omelet (with bacon, fried potatoes, bell peppers, green onion, tomato, and sour cream) the first time around and found the bacon quite lifeless from having spent way too much time on the grill while the omelet itself could use a few more heated minutes before landing on the plate. My second visit found the John Wayne omelet on a very dry egg day, which was a bit sad since the chili would have gone down a lot better had the egg not been so overcooked (though, thank goodness the biscuit was done just right). A couple at the next table were having French toasts the size of Paris... If I manage to drop in on this place again that'll likely be what I'd order considering how much those folks were enjoying them!

Serving size is big enough to fill up a starving sumo wrestler, which sort of lessens the sting of the price tag a bit. Service was friendly and pretty fast on both visits... Though, being a cheapskate that I am ($10 breakfast is a little much for my current budget), I don't think I'll be returning there anytime soon. There are a couple other breakfast places in downtown that serve more consistently good food for the same (or cheaper) price.

The Broken Yolk Café (Gaslamp Quarter Downtown location): 355 6th Avenue (between J & K St, San Diego, CA 92101 Tel. (619)338-9655
Website: www.thebrokenyolk.com