May 31, 2015 – mmm-yoso

Cafe Cantata has closed.

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Today, Kirk is not writing, Ed(from Yuma) is not writing and it's Cathy's musings you will be reading.

The Mister and I were in the Torrey Pines area before Memorial Day and decided to drive along the coast, turning onto Via de la Valle to check out if the County Fair was being set up (so, you know, I could take photos and stuff…). Unfortunately nothing was going on in that sense, so we continued under the 5 and turned into the shopping mall on the North East corner (where there's Whole Foods, which has the inside the store restaurant, Trifecta Tavern) and I had our default lunch in mind.

Walking through the rest of the mall, we noticed Cafe Cantata, and I recalled reading about it on cc's post from almost a year ago, when she met Kirbie for lunch. Turns out it was during the County Fair and they both were still able to find parking, so that's something good to keep in mind. Here's a link to a more recent visit from cc.Cafe Cantata is on the second floor and used to be a location of Pannikin Coffee & Tea, a San Diego institution since 1968. Pannikin holds fond memories; it was our first 'real' coffee shop experience.Walking in, the wall to your left emphasizes the food. Seeing one person per table emphasizes free wifi. The coffee bar area is well utilized. Pastries are located in a couple of places, there is a chalk menu board as well as paper menus on the counter. It is the standard, order, pay and your food is brought to you. Breakfast and Lunch are served from 6 until 3 each day. I really like that.Ordering a large cup of (plain, regular, fresh)(certified organic, free trade, custom blend) coffee ($2.15) it was served in this asymmetric cup. Think about trying to drink it from the 'wrong' side…Since it was a Friday (when we don't eat meat), the Greek Scramble ($8.95) from the 'Breakfast' side of the menu was my choice. Eggs, Feta, tomato, onion and finely minced olives were expertly (and by that, I mean evenly; a skill which seems to be lacking at some breakfast establishments) scrambled. Served with whole grain toast and fresh fruit (or roasted potatoes), this was a wonderful meal.The Mister ordered a Caprese Panini ($7.95)- roasted and sun dried tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella and (giant) basil leaves on grilled sourdough, along with a bowl of tomato soup (add $1).