{"id":235981,"date":"2013-01-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/restaurant-review-morning-kick-start-in-the-gaslamp\/"},"modified":"2013-01-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-11T08:00:00","slug":"restaurant-review-morning-kick-start-in-the-gaslamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/restaurant-review-morning-kick-start-in-the-gaslamp\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant review: Morning kick-start in the Gaslamp"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toscana Caf\u00e9 & Wine Bar<\/strong><\/p>\n

238 Fifth Ave. (Gaslamp Quarter)<\/strong><\/p>\n

619-231-5788<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prices: Breakfast, $8.95 to $15.95; lunch, $12.95 to $15.95; dinner entrees, $12.95 to $33.95<\/strong><\/p>\n

Frank Sabatini Jr. | Noticias del Centro<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Late American journalist John Gunther would have raised his thumbs to Toscana Caf\u00e9 & Wine Bar when he said, \u201cAll happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant<\/a>
Toscana Caf\u00e9 & Wine Bar opens early for breakfast. (Photo courtesy of Alternative Strategies)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For anyone combing the Gaslamp Quarter for a morning meal, the pleasure begins with Toscana\u2019s early-day quietude over a wide cup of mocha-style Peerless Coffee. Though located on one of San Diego\u2019s busiest urban streets, if you get there between 6 and 11 a.m., you can proceed onto a hearty, white-linen breakfast without cattle lines.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Gunther would have enjoyed wine with his omelet after settling into a cozy banquette or while savoring the sunrise from the caf\u00e9\u2019s east-facing outdoor patio.<\/p>\n

For us, coffee and orange juice hit the spot, but those tempted by the bottles poking out from numerous wall shelves can get a jumpstart on the Chianti before lunch and dinner service begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravelers on different time zones occasionally ask for wine,\u201d said our waitress, while pointing out other available libations such as Bloody Marys and Greyhounds.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant<\/a>
Norwegian salmon carpaccio. (Photo by Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a bleary-eyed twosome, we kicked off with Norwegian salmon carpaccio, plated with tomatoes, red onions and capers.<\/p>\n

Crostini and a few shavings of strong Parmesan cheese rounded off the dish, which reminded me of the pretty ensembles served at daybreak on overseas flights, when airline food in both coach and business class used to rouse the senses.<\/p>\n

Omelets and wraps are made with three eggs, although you\u2019d bet there are four.<\/p>\n

Our Florentine omelet was mondo, stuffed generously with juicy sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, crimini mushrooms and Fontina cheese. The eggs were spongy like a frittata, but kept moist from the organics. Fresh fruit sealed the deal, along with rosemary potato salad bounded with olive oil rather than mayo.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant<\/a>
Florentine omelet with rosemary potato salad. (Photo by Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Italian wrap packed with eggs and potatoes was also hefty. Without warning, it contained semi-sweet Hawaiian sausage inside in lieu of the spicy, fennel-laced meat my taste buds anticipated.<\/p>\n

We were told afterward that the kitchen had temporarily run out of Italian sausage, which left the broccolini and Roma tomatoes searching for their Italian connection. Needless to say, the flavors merged favorably, especially when applying Toscana\u2019s ravishing hot sauce to it, made with white wine vinegar, fresh peaches and chili peppers.<\/p>\n

We couldn\u2019t resist ordering the four-stack of caramelized banana pancakes flanked by candied walnuts.<\/p>\n

Compared to hotcakes served elsewhere, which often absorb the flavors of other foods cooked on the same grill, these were remarkably clean tasting.<\/p>\n

Also, the menu touts the maple syrup as house-made, and it indeed tasted less sugary than most. Butter, however, went missing in action until we asked for it.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant<\/a>
Banana pancakes sprinkled with candied walnuts. (Photo by Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Given the Gaslamp\u2019s shortage of breakfast spots, Toscana fills a niche for locals and tourists alike with other dishes that include brioche French toast stuffed with mascarpone cheese, a variety of omelets with bacon or apple wood chicken sausage as side options and other Italian-inspired wraps, all boasting substantial weight.<\/p>\n

During lunch and dinner, when wine and spirits flow with greater ease, the bill of fare verges into paninis, pastas, seafood and meats. Although when it comes to the most important meal of the day, the caf\u00e9 hits the high notes to start your engine purring.<\/p>\n

Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/em> es el autor de Secret San Diego (ECW Press), y comenz\u00f3 a escribir sobre comida hace dos d\u00e9cadas como miembro del personal del antiguo San Diego Tribune. Desde entonces ha cubierto extensamente la escena culinaria para NBC; Revista Pac\u00edfico San Diego; Noticias de la parte alta de San Diego; Gay San Diego; Revista Living in Style y The Gay & Lesbian Times. Puedes localizarlo en <\/em>fsabatini@san.rr.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Toscana Caf\u00e9 & Wine Bar 238 Fifth Ave. (Gaslamp Quarter) 619-231-5788 Prices: Breakfast, $8.95 to $15.95; lunch, $12.95 to $15.95; dinner entrees, $12.95 to $33.95 Frank Sabatini Jr. | Downtown News Late American journalist John Gunther would have raised his thumbs to Toscana Caf\u00e9 & Wine Bar when he said, \u201cAll happiness depends on a […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":235982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Restaurant review: Morning kick-start in the Gaslamp","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11600,11550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-235981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sdnews","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}