Hope: Ok, so admittedly, the inclement weather we’ve had the past few weekends put a bit of a damper on our riding. However, rest assured, we continued to eat and critique food, although we did it in the car and merely returned to two of our very favorite restaurants-Allison’s Country Café and Pete’s Breakfast House. Both weekends, we made a point of stopping by Allison’s to stock up on their amazing cinnamon buns; to the point where both Gary & I have gained a good 5 pounds (each) since we last blogged about our adventures!
Gary: This is a fact about the gaining weight that Hope just mentioned. I am going to make it a point that during the week I eat just veggies or something just so I can continue to get my damn pants on. I refuse to go to another size up because if I do that there is no return.
Hope: The week before last was Pete’s—I ordered an omelet with Ortega chile, onion, and cheese with a side of fruit and of course, an English muffin. The omelet was fluffy and very flavorful, the fruit plate was filled with sliced strawberries, bananas, melon, and oranges. The coffee was superb (I’m a dedicated tea drinker, but I LOVE the coffee at Pete’s), as was the service and of course, the food.
Gary: I ordered one of the blackboard specials—the Poli: a split toasted English muffin topped with avocado, grilled tomato, grilled ham, jack cheese, and poached eggs with a side of grilled Italian sausage. The coffee was as Hope said, superb. This meal was g reat. The thing that trips me out is that no matter what I order at Pete’s, it is always excellent; their consistency in everything is amazing. I don’t know about Hope, but I am starting to feel like family at Pete’s. That’s how well we are treated and I really appreciate that.
Hope: Last week, we again braved the inclement weather in Gary’s car (which in of itself, is an experience) and headed to Allison’s. I had an omelet with onion, Serrano chiles, and cheese with a bowl of berries (strawberries, blueberries and blackberries), and an English muffin. Hope: Mind you, I took much of it home, but we definitely rolled out of there full and happy!
Gary: When Hope says braved, she means it. I am not a very good ‘cage’ driver. I don’t do it often enough to gain many skills or patience, although I did amaze her by successfully parallel parking on the first shot (I got lucky). My car is 12 years old and has only 60,000 miles on it because the only time I use it is when it rains, about 5000 miles a year. Anyway, I ordered eggs benedict with home fried potatoes and we split an order of their deluxe biscuits and gravy (and you wondered how we each gained 5 pounds…lol…).
Hope: Despite the fact that the last three (work) days have been in the high 80s to low 90s, today started off in the high 60s with promises of gaining only a few more degrees through the course of the day. Partly cloudy skies were above with a breeze that only seemed to make it feel colder. But hey--we’re bikers, right? The initial plan was for Gary to meet me at my place between 8:30 and 9:00, but it’s already 9:05 and he’s not here. Shocking, I know! The worst part is, I am h-u-n-g-r-y!! No doubt he’ll have an excuse like oversleeping, having to take care of a sick turtle, or loosing track of time. That’s ok..because he’ll tell me he saw a lot of people getting traffic tickets and I’ll freak him out by riding 80 mph!! Gary arrived at 9:10 and said something about running out of mascara or some shit like that (yes, I’m kidding). Rather than indulge him in wasting more time, I fired up my beast and we were off to a new place—The Golden Egg Cafe.
Gary: I actually got up early and was excited that the rain was finally gone and I get to ride today. I got there at 9:05AM (her stomach was telling time and was a bit fast) and it wasn’t because of some lame excuse (although in the past I have given some) but rather, because we decided to try to put our riding and eating experiences on video, so this was a test run. You will have to wait to see the ‘pilot’ to understand why I was late (LOL).
Hope: We jumped on the 126 and exited at 10th street in Santa Paula, hanging a left onto Santa Barbara Street and a right onto Dean Street. After a quick left onto Santa Paula Street, we were immersed in orange and avocado orchards with no other vehicles. We took a right on Cummings and were on Foothill in a few minutes. After another 20-25 minutes of beautiful scenery and smells, we turned left onto Seward and a right onto Main Street; The Golden Egg Café is about 3 or 4 doors west of Pete’s Breakfast House.
The Golden Egg Café is simply decorated with small indoor tables as well as large patio tables outside. Because it was on the chilly and overcast side in Ventura, we opted for an indoor table. We were greeted, ordered tea and coffee and started looking around at the décor as well as the menu. The first thing I noticed was a bottle of 100% real maple syrup on each table. Yes, REAL maple syrup! There were a few specials on the board, but I opted for a bacon, cheese and avocado omelet, home fries, and an English muffin.
Gary: I went with my usual corned beef hash, eggs over easy, and sourdough toast. Add a side of country gravy and some banana bread, and I was well on our way to feeding my tremendous appetite.
Hope: Being such a small place, the noise level was a bit too much for me. Factor in a difficult child (who belonged to the owners) and my patience was g rowing thin. Mind you, if this had been another customer’s child, that’s one thing; but when the owners opt to bring difficult/young children to work with them, supervised only by another child, I’m not happy. After all, I didn’t sign up to eat at Daycare Restaurant. The food came and I was famished. I was unimpressed that they initially served our eggs without the toast/muffin.
Gary: This is an issue for me because I need the toast to eat my over easy eggs and I won’t start eating them until I can start dunking. Not only that, when Hope is hungry she gets cranky so between the kids, no toast, and the noise level, it was not a pleasant experience. The acoustics were poor and the noise level was quite high, even for me, and my hearing sucks. My meal was g ood and everything was prepared the way I ordered it but the hash was not great, so I wasn’t impressed with that. The owner was a nice enough lady but again, it seemed like a day care center so if I was to go back, I would put in earplugs and Pete’s and Allison’s would have to be closed or like Hope told me, ‘burned down’. LOL
Hope: My omelet was ok, the potatoes were very good, and the country gravy was excellent but Gary’s (homemade) corned beef hash tasted like it had come right out of a can. Staff service continued to be good but again, the noise level killed it for me. After eating as much as we could, I ordered a cinnamon roll to see how it compared to Allison’s. Unfortunately, it didn’t even come close. Made from biscuit mix, it lacked the consistency and flavor one would associate with a good cinnamon roll, so it got tossed. Would I eat there again? Considering it’s a few doors from Pete’s and a few miles from Allison’s? I don’t think so…..
Gary: This place is o.k. if you’re looking to bring your 3 year old and let them run around and cry. However, if you’re looking for a good place for breakfast to start your day, I wouldn’t recommend it (unless you bring extra bungee cords to keep the children outside…lol)…
The Golden Egg Cafe
2009 E. Main Street
Ventura, CA
805-641-2866
Safe riding!
H & G
