Yesterday was Labor Day so I decided I was going out for breakfast. Tim and I headed over to Costa Mesa for some breakfast and we found our way to a favorite restaurant of mine, the Old Vine Cafe. Oddly, I have never been to the Old Vine Cafe during the day so it was quite interesting winding my way around The Camp. Upon walking up, I saw that the new restaurant ECCO was located right next door. I have heard about them, but a funny story about them later.

Tim and I got there at 9am and sat ourselves down outside and just sat there and listened to the quietness of the morning. Earlier we had walked around The Camp and discovered that here is a vegetable garden in the back. Mostly herbs, but also squash and peppers. I forgot to ask if those were for everyone at The Camp (Old Vine, Native Foods, ECCO…) or did it belong to them. We both started with a fresh cup of coffee and in addition I had a tall orange juice. I believe they use Lavazza Coffee their at the restaurant and I need to find out if they have a retail outlet cuz I want to drink that at the office!

After looking at the menu, I decided to have:

Southern Brunch

2 Eggs (I ordere mine scrambled, slightly runny), Fresh Baked Biscuit & Honey Butter, House Made Scrapple & a Panko Crusted Fried Green Tomato

While Tim ordered:

Omelet España
Sautéed Prosciutto, Artichoke Hearts, Red Bell Peppers, Shitake Mushrooms & Fresh Manchego Cheese (no modifications) served with Spanish style potatoes, toast and pistachio nut butter.

I almost got an omelet myself, but I was intrigued by the house-made scrapple and I could never turn away a fresh baked biscuit!

As we were waiting for our order, more and more people started to arrive for breakfast. We had our second refill of coffee when our food arrived.

Look at the size of the biscuit!! I love biscuits. I could have had three of those and I would have been happy. But it was the Fried Green Tomato and Scrapple that put a smile on my face that morning. For those that have never had scrapple, Old Vine Takes it a notch up from its Southern roots (although there is a version that may have Amish history…) and mixed pork with polenta which is then formed and sliced. You can pan sear them in a skillet and I’ve had them served with grits before. Full of flavor, I could have had a meal of Fried Green Tomatoes and walked away patting my tummy in complete happiness!

Meanwhile, Tim’s omelet was awesome! The Manchego cheese was all melted and sauteed strips of mushrooms were strewn throughout. The potatoes were a rich dark amber color, crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.

There was nothing about anything that was served to us that we didn’t like. Although, I have to say that I should have tasted the pistachio nut butter at the beginning of my meal. By the time I got to tasting it, I could hardly recognize the pistachio flavor.

Overall, Mark McDonald and brother Brandon have delivered another meal and hit it out of the park. I completely appreciate that there were open on Labor Day and allowed us to enjoy their food once again.

Old Vine Cafe
2937 Bristol Street
Suite A102
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-545-1411

P.S. Oh, I owe you that story about ECCO. They are a new Italian Eatery that opened in The Camp last month. While Tim and I were checking out the garden, we noticed that a door into their space was open. They weren’t open on this Labor Day. We tried to close the door, but it was locked in the open position and couldn’t close the door (it was slightly ajar). We opened the door hoping to jar the bar to let it close and the alarm went off!! We ran back to the Old Vine Cafe (not much of a run since it’s right there) and they quickly called the alarm company and hopefully the owners. Mark didn’t look to happy, but we were just trying to do the right thing. Sorry guys…