Billing itself as “Conscientious Cuisine”, The Mission in downtown San Diego focuses on healthy dining. I assume that means the ingredients, as I’m not sure roast-beef hash and eggs could be considered healthy! Perhaps the profusion of yoga studios surrounding it (including one upstairs) is the explanation. With tons of positive reviews, a line a mile long, and 40 minute wait, this seemed like a great find.
I selected Chicken Apple Sausage with eggs. Served with classic rosemary roasted potatoes, which included a generous helping of crispy, savory pan scrapings, a few tomatoes mixed in, an the surprise Hatch green chile for good measure. The sausage is Aidells, commonly found in any grocery store, and while better than Hilshire Farms, I found it a bit uninspiring and salty. The eggs are watered down to keep them fluffy when scrambled (instead of using milk or cream), while the thick toast is barely crisper than bread, and served without butter or jams.
Pearl, a sucker for corn, went with the blueberry cornmeal pancakes. While beautiful in presentation, the cornmeal was completely uncooked and added an unpleasant gritty crunch, and there were far too few blueberries. We expected more cornbread-like fluff and texture, but clearly they add the cornmeal to regular pancake batter at the last moment, and it doesn’t get time to soak and soften, leaving unpleasant grit.
Really, the only thing here we would order again is the potatoes, but they certainly weren’t worth the wait.
