Eat with gusto at Curbside Cafe!

Have you heard about Curbside Café in Vista? They have some of the best cinnamon rolls on the planet. Their food is fresh. Soups are made from scratch every day. They grind beans for specialty coffees. They have an espresso machine. They even grate potatoes for their own hash browns. If that’s not enough to lure you to the café, then read on.

There is always a flurry of activity on Vista's Main Street during the opening hours of John Randall’s establishment. He has owned the restaurant for fourteen years and is still excited about it. As a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America he enhanced his expertise by working at five-star resorts. But he left all the glamour to open his own café and has never looked back.

Using top quality ingredients is important to Randall, and he shops locally. The four-page menu is bursting with a variety of items that are reasonably priced. John says it would be easier on the kitchen staff if they could eliminate some items, but they are all popular, so the menu stays the same.

Curbside Café’s "Cinnamon Roll" will make you forget any cinnamon roll that you have ever eaten. After you have enjoyed one you will wish you could have another. The memory of this delightful treat may drive you to tramp out in the rain or a sweltering summer day just so you can experience them again. They are that good.

The dough is made from scratch every day. A decadent topping is created with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, chopped walnuts and pecans. This marvelous mix is baked with the bun and is the magic that keeps the bun gooey and moist. The topping seeps into every crack and crevice. Stick your fork into one of these rolls and you won’t come up for air until every last morsel has disappeared.

Curbside Café’s fruit bowl is a culinary work of art. Seasonal fruit is used, so the ingredients vary throughout the year. Melon and other fruits are sliced fresh daily. The fruit and berries are not placed in the bowl until the order comes in. What will diners find in their fruit bowls this time of year? Probably strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, kiwi, mango and various melons.

A distinct Mexican influence is evident in the "Huevos Rancheros." The dish starts with a bed of black beans, which are layered with fried corn tortillas, eggs (any style), melted cheese, salsa, and sliced avocado. The tortillas are cooked to perfection and the other ingredients are fresh and flavorful. It is a good marriage of all elements – nothing overpowers. The house-made salsa gives the dish a bit of a kick.

Curbside Café brews their iced tea daily and you can taste the difference. If sugar is your preferred sweetener, you are in for a treat. Randall picked up a recipe for liquid sugar while working at a five-star resort. A mix of one-half sugar and one-half water is boiled, then strained. The result is a clear liquid sugar that doesn’t sink to the bottom of your glass and mixes perfectly with the tea.

At Curbside Café, eat with gusto. Eat like no one is watching. Because they aren’t. They are all too busy enjoying their own fantastic meals!

Curbside Café is located at 307 Main Street in Vista. Contact them at (760) 630-2747 or visit  curbsidecafevistaca.com. The establishment is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every day, except for Christmas. (Both breakfast and lunch are served until closing.)