Sunnyside Up Cafe
Sunnyside Up Cafe
2702 Lyndale Ave S
Sunday, October 14.
This last Sunday, I finally got to try the Sunnyside Up Cafe in Uptown. I had heard good things about it and was excited to actually get a chance to go there (the last time we had tried, the line was way out the door and we didn't even bother, so headed down to the French Meadow instead).
We got there around 10:45 or so on a Sunday morning, and while there was a short line of people waiting to get in, it wasn't too terribly busy and we only waited about 10 minutes total. See, the cafe doesn't have a list or reservations: you get there, stand in line, and wait to be seated. It was a little bit confusing because people seemed to be entering from the back of the restaurant as well as lining up on Lyndale, and I was a little annoyed at some of the people who seemed to not want to follow the one simple rule of "stand in line", but, it all worked out and the staff seemed to keep everyone in order, even if the patrons were, at times, confused.
The menu is pretty simple. There are some standard options, specials posted on a marker board, and Mexican type breakfasts. As I have been obsessed with Huevos Rancheros, I went with those. Lars went for one of the specials - steak, eggs benedict and lots of vegetables. I cannot recall what it was actually called, but regardless of name, my description is essentially what it was.
The interior, of which I have no photos, is much larger than it would appear from outside. It kind of looks like it would be a hole in the wall, but actually is kind of spacious once you get inside. Not gigantic, but spacious all the same.
Coffee? The coffee was very excellent and the staff probably came and refilled my mug at least five or six times! This was a big improvement from the previous breakfast at The Egg & I (whose huevos rancheros were superior, but whose coffee refills were not) a few weeks back, where we were sitting at a counter right in front of where the staff hung out in between waiting tables and right in front of the coffee pots AND I had a clear glass mug, yet got maybe one refill of coffee the entire time. I drink a lot of coffee and I drink it fast, so coffee refills are kind of important. Sunnyside did not disappoint there.
Where they did disappoint was in the food. Don't get me wrong, it was alright. Maybe it was the high expectations; maybe it was the fact that just a few weeks before I had amazing huevos; maybe it was just that my taste was off. Whatever it was, I thought that the breakfast was just okay. It looked amazing, there was a ton of food, and the cost of the meal was very reasonable. It just didn't quite deliver for me, though. My eggs were a teeny bit cold, there was way too much ranchero salsa on my plate, and, I don't know.... I can't put my finger on it, but I wasn't overly impressed. Lars seemed to like his alright, though did comment that the "steak was tough". So, there you go.
Huevos!
Steak special thing!
I would definitely go there again, though, for the atmosphere and to try something else. I have heard good things about the french toast there and I did like the hash brown portion of my meal. I don't give up on places quite that easily.
