You might be aware of The Broken Yolk Cafe from the recent Man v Food show where Adam Richman took on the massive Broken Yolk Iron Man (or Woman) challenge involving a 12 egg omelet, slathered in chili and cheese with a massive side of home fries and biscuits. I hadn’t been by the local Broken Yolk for awhile until I saw the show last week and it got me salivating. Oh, not necessarily for the $26.99 behemoth that defeated Murrieta Chamber CEO Patrick Ellis last year, but for some of their other great breakfast and lunch offerings.
So a recent morning found me in Temecula looking for lunch and in the neighborhood of the Broken Yolk Cafe on Ynez. Even though the Broken Yolk has a great lunchtime menu of burgers, soups and salads, I opted for a Border Benedict, one of six distinct Benedict styles they offer. The Border Benedict features two poached eggs and seasoned carne asada atop sweet corn cakes smothered in a green poblano sauce. You can get it with some fresh jalapenos chopped on top and comes with home fries or fruit or beans and rice and it is one tasty breakfast, or lunch, as the case might be.
It was so darn good that I ventured back with companion next day for a nosh.
Being a healthy eater, companion went for the SBA omelet made with egg whites and a side of dry rye toast. Didn’t sound very tasty to me, but the SBA part stands for Spinach, Bacon and Asparagus and there’s enough yummy ingredients to offset the healthful effects of the egg whites and dry rye toast, especially bacon.
They’ve also got a great South of the Border section with Huevos Con Chorizo, Chilaquiles, Baja Breakfast Tacos and a Fiesta Burrito, which is what I ordered. This plate load of goodness includes scrambled eggs, onion, bell pepper, tomato, cheddar cheese and shredded beef wrapped lovingly in a flour tortilla the size of Wildomar, smothered in salsa verde, sour cream, fresh salsa and avocado. Delicious!
There’s no shortage of other goodies to select from including a variety of pancakes, Belgian waffles (or chicken & waffles for you Southern folks), steak & eggs, biscuits & gravy, sweet potato pancakes (worth another trip to try these), Nutella crepes or just fruit and oatmeal.
In addition to the burgers, soups and salads, their lunch menu includes a variety of wraps and sandwiches like Ruebens and Tuna Melts and if I could ever get past the breakfast menu I’d probably try one of everything.
The wait staff is prompt, friendly and solicitous, ready to keep the coffee mug filled, make sure you are happy and bend over backwards to keep you that way. For the number of people it holds, it’s surprisingly quiet and the ambience is warm and comfortable so you feel right at home. The kitchen is partially open so you can watch the cooks hustle around and smell the delicious aromas wafting through the place.
Overall, it’s a great food experience. And while The Broken Yolk will happily cook you up their signature Iron Man Challenge, you need to get there before 3 pm, because that’s when they close their doors until 6 am the next morning – no dinner menu here. So get there early and enjoy – you’ll be glad you did.
The Original Broken Yolk Cafe – “We’ve got huevos!”
Open 6 am – 3 pm daily right across from the Promenade Mall at 26495 Ynez Road in Temecula. thebrokenyolkcafe.com