mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Everybody has to eat. Kirk and His Missus are eating, safely, in another part of the world. ed(from Yuma) is eating mostly in Yuma. Cathy is writing about where she has eaten.
Some people have asked me how I 'find' the restaurants where I eat. Basically, it is drive and stop, looking for where somebody who lives or works nearby would chose for a convenient meal.
The County of San Diego is about 4200 square miles and is home to eight airports in addition to the three airports in San Diego City limits: Lindbergh Field, Brown Field and Montgomery Field.
In El Cajon, Gillespie Field is conveniently located between Highway 67 and a Trolley station. (it's the Northernmost station which has both green and orange lines). It is the oldest and largest of the eight county airports, and the land includes many airport related businesses (flight schools, aircraft storage, repair and maintenance shops, avionics and instrument shops) as well as two Business Parks. About 2000 people are employed nearby. People need to eat. 
In the far corner of the automobile parking lot, conveniently located next to the airfield, where private plane owners can also park and walk …
right next to the Control Tower is the Gillespie Field Cafe. It serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays (and is applying for a liquor license and is open from 4 p.m. until about 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.)
It is open at 6:30 a.m., Monday thru Friday and 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Cafe closes about 2 p.m. on weekdays. On March 1, 2011, Roxanne and Peter, took over the running of the cafe. Roxanne is the waitress, Peter is the chef. There are both an indoor and an outdoor eating area, with an unobstructed view of the airfield. They serve good, diner food. Not gimicky pseudo-diner food. This is the real thing.
I was fascinated by the description of '4-5 eggs' being used to make an omelet (in addition to the 'comes with two' part of the menu).
A "Build Your Own" Omelet ($9.75) made with 4-5 eggs, bacon,sausage, mushrooms and avocado. Fresh mushrooms, crispy bacon, really good breakfast sausage. Sides of cottage cheese
and a biscuit with gravy. Good biscuit- fluffy and soft, but almost underdone. I didn't mind not having a crispy crust, because I was mostly using the biscuit as a device to eat the gravy. Great gravy- smooth, with sausage bits and a nice, pleasant combination of Peter's special seasoning including black pepper.
Then there was Breakfast Combo #2 ($7.75) (not the weekday specials; the Breakfast menu is four pages, including waffles ). Six wedges ( 3 slices) of French toast, 2 eggs and two bacon. Properly cooked French Toast made with a thicker white bread. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Not quite creamy soft as an egg bread would be, but very good and egg soaked and cooked through. I did not need the syrup. The bacon was crispy and not thin but also not really thick. It had a good flavor and just enough saltiness.
Perfect poached eggs. Fresh eggs. Creamy eggs. My kind of breakfast.
Of course, Farmer John's coffee ($1.95)…always fresh and hot pot, since everyone here seems to order it.
One weekday, The Mister was home and we came here for lunch.
We had to have a side order of onion rings which are lightly battered and perfectly fried to go with our lunch selections, in this case, hamburger based.
All the burgers are 1/3 pound coarse ground beef, hand formed. The menu says Angus beef. The Patty Melt ($8.29), cooked medium (we were not asked the level of doneness) and topped with a lot of sliced fresh grilled, unburned onions and Swiss cheese, on a very good rye bread, which was not greasy, but lightly grilled. There were almost too many onions, even for me…but I managed. The side of potato salad I chose was good, made with skin on red potatoes, finely chopped carrots and celery. I think it was made with a 'Light" mayonnaise, which I don't crave. 
The Mister ordered a chili burger on this visit ($9.29) The same 1/3 pound burger, topped with Cheddar and the Cafe Chili on a toasted sesame seeded bun. The chili, made with beans, is really good and I will order it as a meal on another cold day. The cole slaw was fresh and crispy and lightly dressed with a vinegary mayo mix. I added salt and pepper to it.
Even if you are seated indoors, there is a view of the airfield and runway.
Not fancy, not a large place. Good food and lots of "regulars" who eat here. A true diner.
Gillespie Field Cafe 2015 N. Marshall (at Bradley) El Cajon, 92020 (619) 448-0415
What a cute place! I love that it is right next to the airport and a diner for pilots! I don’t live anywhere near El Cajon, but this place looks great! Thanks for the post!
Wow, I grew up in East County and never even knew about this place! The omelet looks like a really good deal.
Food looks great.
Love to have breakfast for dinner.
Wow…that “Build Your Own” Omelet has 4-5 eggs!
I figured not many of the people who read the blog eat here, Caroline. I wanted to share that there is so much off the beaten path, right in front of you.
Yes, Alyssa! All areas of this large county have to have some place where the ‘locals’ -whether they live or just work there- eat. The little airports…heck, even the county dump…has a place to get a meal.
There are no rules, bill. I do that a lot.
Yes, Nate. Whole eggs, not the liquid carton of eggs (I asked). It just depends on how many ingredients are on the grilland how many eggs it takes to cover them with egg…
I’m one of the people who don’t like creamy eggs but I sure love the “build your own omelet” in the menu. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recommendation. Our son is becoming very interested in pancakes, planes and dogs so to be able to feed him while other customers had dogs on the patio and he could watch the planes take off was his ideal situation. Best country potatoes I have had in a while, made extra crisp without burning.
Your comment made me so happy when I read it this cold Monday morning, James. This blog is an unusual way of sharing food and places and it is so nice to know that you did drop by-and did like the food as well the other ameneties- here. Our large county is a great place to live.