BG's Cafe

BG's Coffee Shop & Deli

428S ‘A’ Street
Oxnard, CA 93030

(805) 487-0700

Gary    This is when you know you’re a biker to the core and in need of breakfast. I arrived at Hope’s about 10:30AM (yea, another late start. I am working on it, damn it) and the sky and the weather forecast was calling for rain to start about 2PM. It was cold, cloudy and windy but we looked at each other and said, if were going to do this ‘ride 2 eat’ thing, let’s get on our bikes and go. Plus I was hungry so not much stands in the way of a good meal.

Hope   Waiting for Gary is often a true test of my patience; it’s no wonder his pet of choice is a turtle!! Once he pulls up, he informs me of the 2:00 forecast and my first thought is to go to the closest restaurant as by this time, I am so hungry that I feel my stomach lining eating itself! Once we’re flying down the 126, my thoughts turn to really wanting to try out a new restaurant. I look to the sky and it’s cloudy in one direction and not so cloudy in another. Since I am always the one who leads, it’s up to me to make the decision…new food/get rained on...what to do, what to do… to hell with it...let’s ride!!

Gary    In spite of the weather, the ride was nice. Of course, when I am on my bike that is where life is always good.  Plus, Hope is the best road captain when it comes to the back roads of Ventura County. I don’t know how she does it but I don’t really care. The scenery is always very cool and I don’t have to think. I am a road captain with my club so I think enough with them plus following a chick on a bike is the really ‘nice’ part of the scenery.

Hope   I tell Gary we’re about a half hour away from breakfast..and we’re headed to Oxnard. He brags how he has a windshield, leg guards, blah, bah, blah. I don’t have any of that shit or rain gear, and I‘m still not chickening out. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen?  I get rained on, catch pneumonia, and spend a month in bed eating soup?? Screw it!!

We follow the 126 to Wells Road and head south through Saticoy. We turn right at Vineyard and take a left on Oxnard Boulevard. After a quick right onto 4^th street and a let onto A Street, we’ve arrived. We park right in front and begin the arduous task of wrestling out of our leathers.

I walk inside and for a minute, I thought I was invisible. I’m standing in front of the hostess and it’s as if she’s staring blankly into space. Not a good sign. After she snaps back to reality, she leads us through the restaurant (the place is massive) and sears us in a big corner booth.

Gary    Once inside of BG’s, we noticed they still had Valentine’s Day balloons tied to the tables. Ahhh, that was two weeks ago. Anyway, I thought that was a little strange but we didn’t have to wait. They don’t have a counter, but we got a huge booth and sat down.

We didn’t wait that long before a waitress showed up. We ordered coffee, looked at the menu and noticed they had a mixture of American & Mexican breakfast dishes. Since I am such a creature of habit and I am on this quest to find the best corned beef hash around, I ordered the usual. I did ask if it was homemade because if its not, whats the point. I was told it was. Hmmmmm....

Hope   The décor had a lot to be desired but I figure—we’re here for the food, not the art work but still…it would have been nice if it were more inviting. The Valentine’s Day decorations weren’t doing it for me for several reasons. I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY. As Gary says, “It’s an annoyance and it makes people feel guilty about doing something they should be doing all the time.” If you love/care about someone, do NOT wait until February 14th to let them know! And don’t feel obligated to follow society’s rules of flowers, chocolates, etc. Once upon a time, someone insisted in getting me a Valentine’s Day gift and well, being a bit more practical and not caught up the materialistic game, I opted for new tires for my bike. Now there’s a real present!!

Gary    While we were waiting, we were checking the place out and on the wall across from our table there was a clock on the wall that was backwards. Pretty cool actually, but I am glad I don’t indulge in my old habits anymore or I would have thought I was tripping. While we were waiting our coffee cups became empty and since now we are spoiled by our other adventures, our patience level is nill. So Hope had to get the coffee pot and refill us. Now you can imagine what that puts in Hope’s head. I will let her tell you.

Hope   My coffee cup needs to be refilled and there is not a waitress in sight. Several minutes go by and now I’m getting irritated. So, I walk over to the coffee machine and grab the pot. On the way back to our booth I also fill the cups of other diners. I am not impressed with this place!!

Gary    Now I have told you before that I am a pain in the ass when it comes to my eggs. When I say over easy, that is what I mean... Well, these weren’t over easy, they were over medium, the potatoes were medicore at best and I don’t care what they say, the corned beef hash was not homemade even though the waitress repeated it many times. If it is they have the canned companies hash down pat. The bread was just store bought bread, the jams and jellies were in packages, so to me this is equal to Denny’s. Not bad, but certainly nothing special. To be fair, their Mexican breakfast may be much better because they do have one homemade hash. It is made with chorizo and I have to say that was really good. But if you’re going to have both types of food on the menu, make them both good.

Hope   My breakfast was eggs over hard, home fries, and an english muffin with a side of country gravy and it looks like Denny’s special!  I looked over at Gary’s hash and it doesn’t look anything like Pete’s, Allison’s or Café 126. It looks, well, like it was just popped out of a can and warmed. I take a look at the expression on Gary’s face and I know this is not going to be good.

We finish eating what we are now referring to as Denny’s breakfast and we’re sorely disappointed. Gary decides to order some chorizo hash and we’re again assured by the waitress that it is homemade. So, were served another breakfast and sure enough, it is….and it’s delicious. We assume this is one of those places where the Mexican breakfasts are better than the American versions.

All in all, it was a pretty ride, we didn’t get caught in the rain, our bellies were full, but the only thing outstanding about his place was the chorizo hash. I give it a 4 (out of 10) …..