[EDIT] Marmalade Cafe has left The District in Tustin. It’s gone the way of so many other stores and restaurants there.
*****
We started our day at the Marmalade Cafe in Tustin, CA (in The District, across from where the Borders used to be).
It had a “Coccoonish” feel, but sitting among the blue-haired folks didn’t bother me. The decor was classy yet homey. The tables were made of granite or some other fancy material, and there is patio dining and even a private party room, for those cool people who are too good to eat among us commoners.
We were greeted by our server “Michelle,” although the boyfriend and I agreed she looked like Mindy Cohn. So, every time she came by, I wanted to call her “Natalie.”
The breakfast menu is quite extensive and reasonably priced (i.e., damn expensive if you’re broke, doable if you have some sort of income, cheap if you’re loaded). I opted to go with “Stacy’s Breakfast,” though I substituted the regular pancakes for the kind that will make me tootie (7 grain almond granola).
The meal came with 2 massive sized pancakes. They were about the size of a salad plate. I only ate about half of one (shh… Don’t tell my mom! Sorry starving kids in Africa. The 1.5 pancakes have a date with the dumpster tonight.). The eggs were great. Who knew egg whites with basil could be delish? The chicken looked like it was gonna be as delicious as eating a Brillo pad. However, it wasn’t bad at all. It was quite tender and juicy.
Nata — er — Michelle was a great server too. She re-filled my coffee and even asked if I wanted to take a cup to go. Since I was gonna have 2+ hours sitting in the car, I declined. And my bladder thanked me.