When I heard The Broken Yolk Cafe was opening in Orange, I had mixed feelings. When I tried their location in San Diego, I had a less than stellar experience and poor food which made me not want to return. A few months after the Orange location opened, I gave in and decided to give them another shot. And to be honest, I’m glad I decided to try again.
Being a Sunday morning, I knew the place would be busy. When I arrived, there was at least 15 people waiting out front for a table. Turns out the wait wasn’t too horrible, taking about 25 minutes. Quick tip: there is also a small counter inside with first come, first serve seating.
The interior of the restaurant was quite modern and new but in a non fancy way. Wooden floors, lots of light, and bright pastel colors made the restaurant very inviting and casual.
The restaurant is mostly closed off with many booths and tables for larger groups.
For those who are interested, including me, there was also free Wifi.
Border Benedict
I’m a sucker for corn cakes, so I immediately knew that I wanted the Border Benedict ($11.49) as soon as I sat down at the table.
The Border Benedict is a play on eggs Benedict but with a Mexican twist and without hollandaise sauce. It is made with two poached eggs and carne asada placed on top of sweet corn cakes topped with a homemade green poblano sauce. If you love hollandaise sauce, you better ask for some of it on the side (extra charge).
The bright green pobalo sauce caught me off guard at first. I usually don’t think of bright green stuff tasting good, but in this situation, it actually tasted great. The sauce had a rich roasted pepper taste with a mild kick of sweet and spicy. It you want more heat, ask for extra jalapenos on the side.
The two poached eggs were cooked exactly how I liked them. You know they are cooked great when you slice your knife though them and the yolk runs out just perfectly. Sounds simple but many restaurants get it wrong by overcooking their eggs.
Underneath the eggs were simple but delicious sweet corn cakes. I don’t know what it is but I love these things.
Surrounding the poached eggs and corn cakes was a generous amount of carne asada. The meat was slightly cold but flavorful. I was quite satisfied with how tender the meat was.
I loved the balance and the flavors of this dish. Nothing beat the yolk of a perfectly cooked poached egg dripping down and mixing with the smoky and spicy poblano sauce, sweet corn cakes, and savory carne asada.
Last, and kind of least, the hash browns. They were under cooked, under seasoned, and forgettable. If you order anything that includes hash browns, I recommend asking them to cook them a little longer.
I could have sent the dish back for the cold meat and under cooked hash browns, but I chose not to since I was hungry and it took some time to be seated in the first place. Even with these gripes, I still enjoyed the dish and would order it again.
Golden State Benedict
The Golden State Benedict ($11.49) features two poached eggs, tomato, avocado, and bacon on an English muffin topped with an optional Sriracha Hollandaise sauce.
This eggs Benedict dish was much more classic than the Border Benedict.
My favorite part of the dish was the savory and spicy Sriracha Hollandaise sauce. You can’t go wrong with anything with Sriracha. The sauce was light, buttery, not too thick or thin, and slightly tangy.
Though simple, the flavors once again worked well together. The Sriracha Hollandaise sauce added a good amount of spice you expect from Sriracha. The bacon was salty, thick, and smokey. The English muffin was lightly toasted with a slight hint of sweetness. Add the runny yolk to all that and you have one tasty and well balanced dish.
Instead of hash browns I ordered a simple bowl of fruit. The side bowl included a slice of watermelon, orange, and cantaloupe. This option is perfect for those who want to eat healthier.
Service
The food took a little longer to arrive than I would have liked, but for a Sunday morning, I had no complaints. The food arrived correctly though the Border Benedict arrived a little on the cold side.
Throughout the whole meal, the server was friendly and multiple times checked up on me. I loved how after my first glass of water, the waitress brought back a much larger glass of water that lasted a lot longer. Small things like that showed that the servers cared for their customers.
Pros
- Friendly service even when busy
- Carne asada was tender and flavorful
- Border Benedict a unique twist on ggs Benedict
- Specials for seniors and daily specials from 6am-8am
Cons
- Hash browns were underwhelming
- Long wait on weekends
- Food served slightly cold