Break of Dawn Restaurant
24291 Avenida De La Carlota #P-4
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Yes, we do hit up restaurants more than once. Even with a growing list of restaurants we wanted to go to, we wanted to try Break of Dawn again. When we first hit up Break of Dawn in 2009, it reaffirmed my love of doing this blog. I probably would not have heard about this restaurant if it had not been for the blogs I read back then.
For those who do not know the story of Break of Dawn, here's a condensed version. It was opened by Chef Dee Nguyen in 2006 after a very successful stint as the Executive Sous Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. He left his lucrative career to be closer and care for his special needs son. This restaurant is three miles from his home, and being the boss, he can set the restaurant's hours to allow for maximum time to be with his son, Berlin. Break of Dawn is only open Wednesday through Sunday from 8 to 2pm.
Just this year, they moved three doors down from where they had been for seven years. They are still in the same shopping center, but now they are between Road Runner Sports and a Chinese restaurant, Mandarin Terrace. We immediately spotted the new location, with an assist from what I assume to be Dee's old-time truck parked out in front. I don't know what kind of truck this is, but it had a 1939 license plate. One of you will likely alert me to what kind of truck this is.
Anyway, the new spot is much more open than the old one. We arrived here at 11 on a recent Sunday morning, and a good group of people was waiting to be seated. We put our name down on the list and walked around the nearby stores. After about a half hour, we were seated inside. They also have a nice-sized patio in front of the restaurant. The inside space is dominated by a graffiti mural spelling out the restaurant's name. The restaurant is airy, with many exposed light-colored wood and high ceilings. Even with it being so busy here, the restaurant seemed in control.
The menu at Break of Dawn could best be described as traditional breakfasts with a twist. It may be more like brunch dishes, but it is like nothing you have seen before. There are egg dishes, French toast, and other breakfast favorites, but they are prepared with Chef Nguyen's special vision, which has brought a large number of people to this restaurant. Everything on this menu looked so good that I was debating over ten or so items. Let's see what we finally decided on for this visit.
We'll start with Katie's selection this morning, the Sausage and Rice ($13). See, this is not anything you can get at your local Denny's. This plate comprised Hawaiian sausage, two fried eggs, rice, scallions, hijiki, and a green papaya smear. I had never heard of hijiki before, but after doing a little research, I found that it's a brown sea vegetable growing on the coastlines of Asia, and it's also been named one of the most healthy foods in the world. Katie loved this plate, calling it "the best breakfast in Orange County." She was surprised by the lightness of the sausage; the eggs were fried nicely without being too greasy, and the rice was excellent and flavorful. Needless to say, she was delighted with this.
Man, I had a rough time deciding what to have at Break of Dawn. I had my choices narrowed down to ten items, but I finally decided on the Mac and Cheese ($14). Yes, you read that right. This is the mac and cheese. The menu describes this dish as bacon fried eggs, with Sicilian sausage, short rib, and a Parmesan-tomato cream sauce served alongside this. I would describe this breakfast as a mac and cheese omelet. I thought it would be heavy with all the meat included in it, but it was one of the lightest breakfasts I have had. The sauce gave this dish an Italian feel, and the macaroni only added to that feeling. It was very different, and after eating this, I wondered why no one else had thought of a macaroni and cheese omelet.
Love creme brulee, but do you want to have it for breakfast? Then this French Toast Creme Brulee ($16) is for you. This French toast starts with raisin brioche and Mexican chocolate, coconut, and chocolate-soy caramel thrown in. It's not as sweet as you might think, but oh so good. There is no need for syrup for this breakfast plate. Katie and I really were jockeying for bites of this near the end.
It's good to know that the food and Dee Nguyen's vision have not changed just because Break of Dawn has moved. This is still as good as the first time we visited, and maybe even run a little smoother. I was impressed with everything that hit our table and had a front-row seat watching Dee oversee his kitchen. He called out orders, let waiters know their food was up, and talked to customers. For such a busy day, we made it in and out a lot faster than I would have expected. Sure, the prices are a little on the high side for breakfast, but the quality you are getting makes it worth it once in a while. Good to be back at Break of Dawn. Now I'm just looking forward to our next visit, which will happen more frequently than once every five years.
Out of five bottles of dishwashing liquid (because Dawn is the best-selling dishwashing brand in the US, and I'd imagine they would have to use a lot of it to clean all the plates here), five being best to zero being worst, Break of Dawn gets 4 bottles of dishwashing liquid.
Break of Dawn does not have a website, but you can find out more info about them on their Yelp page here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/break-of-dawn-laguna-hills-2
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