Off the Map: With a Side of French Toast, Please

Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast - Cafe 222, San Diego, CA

Cafe 222

After a bumpy start involving an odd restaurant, a rogue oyster, and entirely too much sun, Vodka and her friend, Vesper, start day 2 of their San Diego jaunt at Bobby Flay's favorite place for a WAKE UP CALL, Cafe 222, home of the peanut butter and banana stuffed French toast.

Elvis Could Never!

We arrive approximately 90 seconds after the restaurant opens, because you can ship New Yorkers to California, but you can't make them believe that they'll have to wait in line if they are not the first on the scene when the doors open.

The Early Bird Gets the French Toast

Thankfully, only two parties have beaten us to our "late arrival," and we are seated inside the miniscule dining room. While the number of outdoor tables and chairs are deceptively robust, the same cannot be said for the innards of Cafe 222, which feature approximately six tables total.

And Also This Dainty Chandelier

Undeterred by the small surface area on which we have to work (read: eat), and after sheepishly inquiring if it's possible to get a "half order" of the chosen French toast, we choose the breakfast burrito (Vodka), the two by two by two (Vesper, holding her own with two eggs, two pancakes, and two slices of turkey bacon), and a "side of French toast to share."

Needless to Say, We're Not Here to Work on Our Beach Bodies

After a smirk from our very genial waiter, which should have given us a clue as to what we were in for, our meal, if we can even call it that, soon arrives.

Vodka, Saving Calories by Drinking Her Coffee Black

Only it's not so much a "meal" as a "buffet," more in line with what is offered at the finest Vegas breakfast establishments than at a small corner cafe.

Not the Type of Bar We're Used To

First things first, the French toast - which neither of us would commit to as a full meal because a) a girl needs ample protein in the morning, and the peanut butter wasn't going to cut it, and b) we don't particularly care for French toast - is, in a word, divine. It may very well be the best French toast Vodka has ever tasted, and again, not just because she doesn't generally order such things.

Bobby Flay, You Did Good With This One

Crisp on the crusts but soft in the middle, lathered with peanut butter and a thinly-sliced layer of bananas, the French toast is addictive. 

Stuffed to the Gills

We coat it with the provided perfectly-spreadable butter and dip it into an ample amount of maple syrup, and it serves as a sort of palate cleanser in between bites of our "real" breakfasts.

A Proper Serving of Butter

Both of our actual choices are similarly delectable, albeit absolutely enormous. 

A Burrito Suitable for Three Meals

After confirming that our hotel room is in possession of a working refrigerator, Vodka suggests carting our leftover wares back to our room, for which our waiter cheerily stocks us with approximately seven to-go boxes for packing purposes. 

The Bacon Is of the Turkey Variety So It's Practically Fat Free

This decision proves to be a fruitful one later this evening, when Vodka could be found mainlining cold burrito into her mouth after an evening where the cocktails overpopulated the dinner consumption by a margin of three to one. Even soggy, chilled, and decidedly worse for wear, the burrito remained delicious.

Leftovers Which Are More Appetizing Than They Look

Though it tasted even better with an accompanying slab of French toast.

Cafe 222's Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast: 5 stars*

*Certifiable Best Thing We Ever Ate