There’s very little that will get me out of bed early on a Saturday morning. If something is happening in the morning and requires me to be coherent, it’s most likely not for me. Say there’s a church meeting at 8am, even God already knows I won’t be there. Last Friday night, TJ asked if I would help him pick out a present for one of his friends at 10am on Saturday. Since I don’t know his friend and I didn’t like the time, my answer was no. He then said, “I’ll buy you breakfast, you can chose where we eat, and I’ll drive.” And just like that, I was dressed and ready to go at 9am on Saturday morning.

Who am I kidding? It was 9:30am.

Since it was my choice to decide where we would have breakfast, we went to Julienne in San Marino. I found out about this restaurant from a fellow food Instagrammer and wanted to check them out for myself. As we were seated by the hostess at one of the outdoor tables, I took in the charming appeal of the French-style café. It felt quaint, comfortable, and it made me want to spend most of the day sipping a latte while wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses. Too bad I didn’t have that luxury as we had to go shopping shortly after.

Once I let go of the fantasy of dining like a chic Parisian, the waiter arrived with bread and took our drink order. TJ ordered orange juice and I went with a Vanilla Cappuccino ($4.50). Within a few minutes, a nice sized cup was placed in front of me. The espresso, steamed milk, and vanilla syrup were ready for me to take a sip. With the first two, the taste was too bitter but it was nothing some C&H sugar couldn’t fix. After dropping in a few bags, it was bit smoother and a bit creamer, and all around nicer. Thanks to that, I now had a perfect cup to start off the brunch.

When it came to the food, TJ and I ordered completely different dishes. He went with the Beef Hash ($16.75). His breakfast was presented in a small cast iron skillet and was filled with slices of grilled fillet of beef, tomatoes, rosemary roasted potatoes, a jalapeño salsa, and topped with a scrambled egg. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to get a single bite of his hash skillet so instead I had to ask what he thought about it. Considering that he was devouring forkfuls at the speed of light, I thought it meant it was the best hash on the planet. Contrary to my assumption, he let me know it was “alright”. He said that it wasn’t seasoned as well as it looked like it would be and that it was somewhat bland in spite of the salsa. That was unfortunate to hear, but the minute my dish arrived I moved on.

That sounds horrible, but when you realize that in front of me was a plate of Candied Bacon ($6), you would understand. Mesquite, hickory, and smoked bacon are non-existent when there’s a plate of candied bacon in front of me. I love the intense sweetness and the stickiness of the bacon when it’s coated with brown sugar and maple syrup. There’s no lady-like way to eat it either. You simply pick it up and tear it apart—and that’s what I did with these, and they were everything I could have asked for! I can’t lie, I almost ordered some to-go.

In between bites of the bacon I had the Baked Caramel Brûlée French Toast ($15). Allow me to repeat that just in case you missed it, but this time in slow motion. Baaaaaked Caaaaaramel Brûléeeeee Freeeeench Toaaaaast. The French toast was lightly drizzled with a crème anglaise. The custard made of sugar, egg yolks, milk, and vanilla was such a sweet and smooth texture that it was similar to a creamy syrup but without the drastic stickiness. Underneath the wedge of the toast was a pour of a fresh strawberry sauce. The sauce was not only a beautiful accent, but it was also a slightly tart ingredient to the dish. As it all came together on my fork, it was incredible. The outer portion of the toast was baked and close to tough, while the inner portion was soft and moist. I hate the word “moist” with a passion and would prefer not to say it, but considering it’s the best way to describe it I used it—twice. The aligning of the crunchy and moist (third time) with the creamy and tart created such a delightful dish that I felt bad that TJ didn’t have something as great as I did. And I really say that because I didn’t share any of my breakfast with him. But in my defense I did give him a piece of bacon. One piece of bacon.

That should count for something.

After I put my utensils down on the last bite, I felt really pleased with the breakfast. The restaurant was perfect on such sunny morning and the dishes we had were a nice way to start the day. Was it worth getting up so early to have? Sure! I then had the genius idea of going home and spending the rest of the day in bed. For some off reason, TJ didn’t like that. He kept saying something about shopping for a friend, us having a deal, and blah blah. It was hard to hear him shouting as I was driving away.

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Address: 2649 Mission St, San Marino, CA 91108
Phone: (626) 441-2290
Hours: Monday to Friday – 8:00am to 6:30pm, Saturday – 8:00am to 5:30pm, Sunday: Closed
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