Kensington Cafe

The ideal typical Sunday: wake up leisurely, the sun is shining, friends are in town, all are in high spirits, and all tummies are a-growlin'. Somehow, a group of 8 manages to meet at the perfect time to avoid the early risers and pre-lunch rush and head to a favorite corner spot with promises of a delightful brunch all around. It was my first time finally sitting and ordering at the Kensington Cafe, but certainly not the first time I'd caught wind of its edible delights. Even with a large brunch party (every restaurant's necessary but worst and most irritating fear), the servers scrambled to arrange a patio spot for us hup-quick, and within minutes and a few shuffled people later, we were nestled cozily in a corner spot, perfect for dog watching, which was plentiful this crisp Sunday morning.

Generally, I opt to start my morning with a savory bite. I find that too much sugar in the AM upsets the stomach and confuses the mind. This doesn't really make much sense to anyone but myself, but as someone whose sweet tooth is mightily overpowered by the savory desires this seems to make sense. However, something clicked in my mind when I heard the word "waffle" and it became instantly cemented in my mind that a waffle was the most logical and obvious choice for this particular brunch. Their menu strangely offers no pancakes, but for a bruncher in the mood for a flapjack I highly recommend switching it up and giving their waffles a try. Today, the seasonal waffle was a cinnamon apple waffle with candied walnuts and a cinnamon butter, which was my immediate and non-regretted selection of the day.




I ate half before admitting defeat from the rapidly oncoming sugar coma, which was somewhat thwarted by the sodium and protein overload aid from the $2 add-on bacon and eggs. The eggs were standard scrambled eggs (strangely enough, no salt or pepper was to be found outside?) but the bacon was great. Thick, hot, nice and salty, everything bacon should be. The tomatoes were generously donated by one of my party who, inexplicably, doesn't enjoy the chilled flavor of yummy offered from the red fruit! Inconceivable. Good thing I was there to ensure the sacrificed fruit didn't go to waste.



My comrade to the left decided upon the Spanish Revival burrito, which was a bundle of vegetarian goodness in a spinach wrap and a side of tasty-looking salsa. Looked promising, and he assured me it was a happy selection.


Bolstered with high recommendations, and having experienced the excellent service, good food, and the right price, along with happy extra treats like OJ in mason jars and apparently Cute Dog Headquarters of Kensington, I have an inkling I'll be frequenting this spot on the regular.

HOT HOT HOT

Ashton had been telling me what seemed to be a tall tale of a hot sauce store in the Kensington/Normal Heights area, but couldn't QUITE seem to remember where it was! Due to his lack of a specific location and inability to find it again, I doubted this fabled land until one day last week we were driving down Adams when lo and behold! My eye was caught by a large red sign proclaiming "HOT HOT HOT!" hot sauces! Slamming on the brakes and careening to a stop I wildly parked in a frenzy of excitement and then casually strolled in to cut down on the craziness factor. California-Antilles Trading is a small place on the cusp of Kensington, easily overlooked from the street, but cozy and pleasant inside. It's not a large store with a ton of items, but the man behind the counter was extraordinarily pleasant and knowledgeable about his spiced wares. A former professor of sociology (or anthropology or some ology) from SUNY, his studies brought him to the Caribbean on a regular basis, and with repeated requests from his colleagues to bring back tasty salsas and marinades, he thought, why not go into business for this? Now retired from teaching, he came to San Diego for the hell of it and opened up the place. Some life, huh?

With Father's Day only a few days away, I figured, what do all dads (especially mine) love? Hot sauce! My dad is the king of BBQ and hot sauces, so this was a great find for picking him up a little something. With the guidance of the owner, I picked out a great local roasted chipotle/garlic sauce, a medium flavored habanero sauce, and as a gag the "Ass Reaper" (with a hooded bottle complete with skull face). However, based on the selection I wanted a little treat for myself! He had a few samples of salsa out, but this one stood out head and shoulders over the rest:



This was a fantastic, smoky flavored mild salsa that had the perfect texture and exploded with flavor. He recommended it as a great chip dip, or even to spread over poultry, fish, or fruit to add a fantastic flavor without burning tastebuds. I love hot stuff, but this flavor just knocked my socks off. Normally I avoid the mild section, turning my nose up and not even considering anything less than medium and 90% of the time hot, but this lingering smokiness with a full-bodied pepper flavor was absolutely spectacular. A perfect choice for a community munch-fest with wimps attending who still love flavor.