Dining Out -- breakfast

Mary Furr

If you’re hungry for breakfast at 7 a.m., Apple-a-Peel on Springdale

Street, just down from Edinger Avenue, is ready for you. The 7 to 11

a.m., Monday through Friday specials are hard to beat. They aren’t those

puny breakfasts with one egg, skinny bacon and a sprig of parsley. These

are big hot plates with two eggs, two pancakes and two bacon strips or

sausage ($2.99). Add ham, hash browns and toast and you’ll top the menu

at $4.29.

On weekends the breakfast specials get fancy for $5.99. The stuffed

French toast is done up gourmet style with thick slices of egg-battered

toast filled like a sandwich with very creamy, slightly sweet cheese and

the plate includes two eggs (I chose over-easy -- firm but still soft),

two crisp bacon strips or two sausages.

Everyday a different special is featured -- on Thursday it was the

breakfast burrito (3.99, regular $6.99), a thin tortilla wrap stuffed

with scrambled egg, cheese and beans and a huge serving of country fries,

thick-cut potatoes tossed with onion and tomato.

If you’re not an early riser, breakfast is served all day with some

very substantial choices like the Farmer’s Breakfast ($6.99). You don’t

have to choose, you get it all -- three crisp bacon strips, three

finger-sized lean pork sausages, three scrambled or fried eggs, toast and

a bowl of fresh melon pieces. If you’d prefer an 8-ounce tender steak

with your eggs ($8.49) -- it’s the top-priced item and is served with

toast and fruit. It is well marinated with a hint of garlic rub.

Owner David Ocampo had worked as a cook for 15 years when Apple-a-Peel

was called Alphy’s but left for a five-year stint at the Claim Jumper.

Returning one day to visit a friend at the restaurant, he says he was

talked into buying it. It’s a wonderfully friendly, neighborly place

where Ocampo’s son Roberto is the cook and his daughter helps manage on

weekends.

Apple-a-Peel, an L-shaped free standing restaurant with a patio, has a

counter to the right of the entrance for quick service, and booths and

tables in a dining room to the left with a ceiling display shelf of

attic-style memorabilia.

In addition to a Sunday champagne brunch, the restaurant offers

extensive lunch and dinner items with a special senior menu. Ocampo says,

40 percent of the customers are seniors.

FYI

Apple-a-Peel

Where: 16161 Springdale Ave.

Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Phone: (714) 846-8744

Misc.: Beer and wine are served