You won’t leave even a crumb

John Volo

“Dude, have you checked out the Bread Crumb yet?”

This question had been posed to me almost monthly by Kent -- my

buddy/neighbor/teammate in our street’s kids vs. adults baseball

games.

Kent would rave to me about the Bread Crumb’s generous portions

(perfect after his early-morning surf sessions), ultra-friendly

service (perfect for his family’s after-church Sunday breakfast) and

scrumptious meals. Each time I sheepishly answered Kent’s question in

the negative, he would attempt to sway me by providing an in-depth

description of one of his favorite items.

After several months, Kent’s mouthwatering tales had reached a

crescendo. Resistance was now futile. So last Friday, Kent

accompanied me on my maiden voyage to the Bread Crumb ‘Ghana Cafe.

For those of you who haven’t seen the movie “Lila & Stitch,”

‘hosanna means family. The restaurant opened on Main Street in 1983.

After outgrowing a second location in southeast Huntington, the Bread

Crumb moved to its current location in the Stein Mart plaza at the

corner of Beach and Garfield.

When one of the owners warmly greeted Kent like a long-time

friend, rather than just a returning customer, I quickly began to

understand why Kent liked the vibe of the Bread Crumb. I further

understood his fascination with the food after over-indulging on four

of his favorites -- which were all fantastic.

The French toast was foot-long slices of Hawaiian bread topped

with a blizzard of powdered sugar. Deeeeelicious. You can also top

them with strawberries, blueberries, bananas or nuts.

The breakfast burrito plate, incredibly enough, comes with two

good-sized burritos filled with an ample supply of scrambled eggs and

your choice of meat. My burrito was so well-stuffed that when one end

began to unfold, crumbled sausage tumbled out. The burritos were

accompanied by hash browns, crispy topside and gentle underside, and

refried beans.

From the “healthy choices” section of the menu, we ordered a bowl

of oatmeal and an egg-white scramble served with fresh fruit. Six egg

whites are scrambled with chunks of white meat chicken and your

choice of two veggies (double mushroom for me) to create this massive

scramble, which is an awesome low-fat, high-protein, post-workout

choice. The chicken and veggies do an excellent job of eliminating

the blandness usually associated with egg whites by providing some

much-needed flavor.

We were able to successfully customize our heaping bowl of oatmeal

by getting the raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon and milk on the side.

The next day, I retuned to the Bread Crumb with my family and our

friend Malia. This time I sat outside, shaded by an umbrella, and

enjoyed a few more of their delights.

My zesty chorizo scramble had plenty of the spicy sausage along

with a few green chilies. This tasty scramble comes with hash browns,

tortillas and a smooth salsa. I then switched gears and tried Karen’s

sweet Hawaiian omelet filled with ham, pineapple, and brown sugar,

and covered with melted cheese and a scoop of sour cream. I liked

this unusual omelet much more than I anticipated.

The kids’ hot dogs, ordered from the children’s menu, were so big

an adult would be hard-pressed to finish one. Needless to say, no one

ate more than half of their dog.

While the kids relished drinking their chocolate milk from a glass

jar, I relished drinking an adult-style chocolate milk-Maui coffee.

This equal mixture of coffee and hot chocolate, topped with a

mountain of whipped cream, was like a liquid dessert.

Although we concentrated on breakfast, which is served all day,

they also serve a variety of sandwiches (including a tuna melt made

with provolone cheese, bacon and avocado) and burgers (half-pounders)

for lunch.

The Bread Crumb ‘Ohana Cafe menu states their philosophy is “to

treat everyone like guests in our own home.” That’s exactly how I

felt. Now that I’ve experienced the Bread Crumb, my only regret is

not heeding Kent’s advice sooner.

* JOHN VOLO is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, e-mail hbindependent@latimes.com.