We like taking JJ out to "explore". The new smells, sounds, and sights! And then we'd grab a bite to eat at a dog friendly place. I'm not sure if it's just me; but there seem to be many more dog friendly places post-pandemic. JJ seems to really enjoy Trolley Barn Park, which I've posted on before, and strolling along Adams Avenue. So, one morning, the Missus and I thought we'd take him for a walk, then have breakfast at Parkhouse Eatery. It had been over 20 years since we'd eaten there!
Once arriving we were pointed to a table and we had a seat.
The place looked so familiar, but one thing that had truly changed since we last visited were the prices!
Up until JJ came along we really weren't big breakfast-brunch folks, so the prices really caught us a bit off guard!
The gentleman waiting upon us was professional; the Missus got a latte and I got an Americano to start.
The Missus got the Avocado Toast with 2 eggs and bacon. ($10.75 + $4.40)
The Missus didn't care for the bread as it wasn't quite toasted to Her preference. She did enjoy the basil; which was a nice addition to the fresh avocado. The eggs were nice and runny, though the bacon was on the chewy side.
I got the Carnitas Stuffed Roasted Polenta Cake ($19.50).
The eggs were again nice and runny; no oof flavors. The polenta cake nice and crisp, good mild corn flavor. The carnitas a bit on the mild side in terms of flavor and also slightly stringy and dry, but not bad. The Mozzarella was fine, though the tomato added some good acidity to the dish. The "salsa" was also on the milder side in terms of spice and acidity. Still, this was not bad.
This was a decent breakfast and the Missus now wants basil on Her Avocado Toast! And JJ entertained himself by noodling with the pebbles.
And we learned something from our meals with JJ. There's a definite difference in "Dog Friendly" versus "Dogs Allowed". This was simply dogs allowed. They are just ignored by the staff. Perfectly fine with us. It's been interesting finding places to dine with JJ!
Parkhouse Eatery
4574 Park Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours:
Sun – Wed 830am – 2pm
Thurs – Sat 830am – 2pm, 5pm – 9pm
Man, those were quite a bit of fries! Unfortunately it was over fried and super salty…way too salty to enjoy. I love the richness of schmaltz, which also has a savory component to it; but this was just too salty. I couldn't finish the fries…..
Now I understand that Jidori chicken is a bit chewier, but this was very tough and rather leathery. Also, having had my share of Jidori, which flavors differ from region to region, I expected some interesting poultry flavors. None were to be found.
Four piece Fried Zucchini sticks ($6.49) was our choice as a side. Very large pieces, hand sliced and hand battered are served with some house made Ranch dressing and perfectly fried; the zucchini is cooked through and the cornmeal based batter is light, crispy and not greasy. 
With not too much of anything, I could try the biscuits and gravy. The gravy wasn't too salty or greasy, the texture was on the lighter side of things, but it wasn't bad. The egg was perfectly easy over, the yolk having no off flavors. The breakfast potatoes nice and crisp on the exterior, the breakfast sausage routine. This was good enough to bring back memories of old school – diner breakfasts I'd had in my younger days.
When the Tom Cat first opened, Miramar Naval Air Station was the military base nearby. Close to the Pacific Ocean, the base housed aircraft and squadrons which were assigned to aircraft carriers stationed in San Diego. Among those aircraft was the F-14 Tomcat, hence the bar was initially a hangout for Active Duty and Retired military. The base also was home to TOPGUN, the nickname for what was the Navy Fighter Weapons School. (There was a base realignment in 1993 and in 1996, TOPGUN moved to Fallon, Nevada, while the various Naval aircraft, squadrons and training were relocated to several bases and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar was made official.).
So now, the Tom Cat is a Sports Bar.
A simple, two sided menu is available. We did notice a chalkboard with some specials, at the bar.
We decided to order the fried mushrooms ($9.25) from the appetizer menu. The serving is quite large and very well made- light cornmeal based batter, surrounding large, meaty mushrooms, properly fried. It's served with an excellent Ranch dip.
Then we ordered the Tom Cat Signature Wings ($13.25). There are eight flavors to choose from and "Tom Cat Style' (grilled green onions and fresh jalapeño slices) has the highest spice level, three chilis, but the nicely crisp wing breading was not spicy if you didn't eat the fresh jalapeños. Four large flats and four large drums and a lot of carrots and cucumber, this was certainly a meal in itself. 
The Cobb salad ($14.95) was nice to share. Bacon, turkey and Blue Cheese crumbles, a hard boiled egg along with other vegetables and lettuce (as well as a squaw roll) in this deceptively large (deep) bowl made this also a quite large meal. 
The fried oysters were an interesting touch, I guess it was there to replace the usual egg yolk, and of course BLC is a seafood based restaurant. but we didn't care for the fishiness it added to the beef which was almost mushy. The horseradish cream was excellent; adding the palate and nasal cleansing pungency to things. It seems like everything was minced too finely. The fries were crisp and lightly dusted with what seemed to be the "BLC Spice". In this instance it seemed to work fairly well.