mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy while Kirk and His Missus are vacationing.
I haven't posted about Mary Etta's since 2016, when The Mister and I enjoyed a breakfast at the counter.
Recently, I took my brother here before his drive home because he said he wanted 'something like lunch', while I was wanting breakfast.
This long time (since 1935) cafe, mostly patronized by locals (it's on Olde Highway 80, parallel to and South of the 8, in the Flinn Springs area-close to Lakeside) is known for making their own breakfast sausage. They serve both sides of the menu all day.
Lately, I've been craving pancakes, and it's always been too busy to make them at home. The two egg, bacon and pancake plate ($12.75) was my order. The perfectly prepared over-easy eggs were runny and dip-able with pancake pieces. The flapjacks were lightly crisp on the exterior and wonderfully fluffy and had just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy me. The bacon was not too thick nor thin; it did have flavor. So many times I have been disappointed with bacon to the point that it is rarely ordered.
My brother decided on a sausage burger ($13.50); it's the breakfast sausage with cheese (add $1) (he chose pepperjack) and got the breakfast country fries on the side-the thinly sliced, fried crisp potatoes are also pretty unique here. The breakfast sausage patty was hefty, coarse ground and filled with fresh herbs and spices. It was served on a toasted sesame seeded bun, which was very nice. Lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions were on the side. My brother approved.
Fresh coffee, refilled in mismatched cups, friendly service and great food.
Mary Etta's Cafe 14809 Olde Highway 80 El Cajon, CA 92021 Open Daily 7:00-1:30
So, here's the score using the 
STUFFS: While eating, I noticed a gluey component under the eggs. Not a fun texture and quite bland. Looking over the menu; I guess they also include sausage gravy with this? Overkill in my opinion. 1.0
Not sure about the Pico de Gallo as a side….funny, at first glance I thought it was Lomi Salmon! Four rather slices of Port Sausage; based on the texture and taste, I'm thinking this seemed like Redondo's? I'm fully "team Purity", but this was fine. Two scoops rice and two easy over eggs completed the set. The scoops of rice seemed on the smallish side; but I can't put it away like I used to, so this was fine. The rice was perfectly cooked and the eggs nice and runny.
The toasts were again really good. The tomato-bell pepper compote was over processed and runny; I prefer something more rustic and thicker. It also lacked the seasoning I like; cumin, smoky tones, harissa, herbaceous flavors, and garlic. This had a decent acidity, though I'm not quite sure about feta cheese in my shakshuka. I really wasn't expecting anything close to what we had in Tunisia or 
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.
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!
Though I really couldn't make out truffle. This was bit too much for me in terms of cheese….yes, I know, it's a grilled cheese, but this really needed more than rich-milkiness. The tomatoes weren't ripe enough to add the sweet acidity to help cut the richness and there wasn't enough onion to add pungency. If you just want gooey cheese-land, this might work for you.
This was a pretty good sandwich; nothing fancy mind you, the turkey was totally Sysco stuff; but the bread was nicely toasted and held out well. The herbaceous-savory-nutty pesto, the sweetness of the roasted red peppers, the bitterness of the greens, the creamy, slightly sweet avocado all worked well together. And this was enough for both the Missus and I for a light brunch. I think we'll go ahead and add the bacon for an upcharge next time.
