10 Great Breakfast Spots In Orange County

Edwin Goei

​In this list of morning meals, you'll find not just the egg, bacon and pancake joints (although there are certainly a lot of those in there), but also a certain Swedish furniture super store that practically gives away its food, a Cambodian/Vietnamese noodle shop and a place to dip Chinese fried crullers in hot soy milk. Let's face it, not everyone considers loading up on fried eggs and processed pork products breakfast...not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
And if this were a list of 20, you would've also seen McDonald's for their Egg Muffin and the breakfast burritos at Athenian Burgers #3, which Gustavo actually has already praised in his list of great burritos.

Share your favorite places for starting your day in the comments.
 

10. IKEA

Edwin Goei

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The 99-cent breakfast from IKEA, in business parlance, is called a "loss leader". It's an item priced at or below cost to attract customers. In laymen's terms, it's bait--the proverbial carrot for cheapskates to come and eat and then get subsequently lost in their inescapable showroom/maze. But for us? We know the route to bypass the IKEA furniture labyrinth. It's quite easily bested, actually. And once we gobble up our eggs, bacon and taters, we can usually escape without seeing a single Klavsta lampshade. Served on actual IKEA plates, with IKEA silverware and eaten in their IKEA furnished dining room, the breakfast is still scooped from an industrial trough. The eggs are curdled and overcooked. The two slices of bacon are so thin, it might as well be transparent. But the home fries--crispy outside, soft as fluffy cotton inside--are worth the hundred and seven cents (when you include tax) already. The best day to come is on Mondays where the 99-cent breakfast is actually free! Yes! Free and thus further immune to any sort of snide criticism. So do your cheap ass a favor and order the Swedish pancakes, too. 1475 South Coast Dr. Costa Mesa, CA 92626, (714) 444-4532; http://www.ikea.com

9. Rick's Atomic Cafe

Edwin Goei

​You've had egg breakfasts at home, at Denny's, at your local greasy spoon. What Rick Le Blanc of Rick's Atomic Cafe serves starts with the same basic kind of ingredients as everyone else: bacon, eggs, toast and potatoes; but the end product is somehow better, more special, thanks to the fastidious care he takes. The toast is from artisan bread, buttered by Rick, ready to be spread by a thimble of preserves he selected out of a bigger jar. A food nerd with horned-rimmed glasses and a buzz cut that makes him look more like a NASA engineer than a cook, Rick will salt things with care and put in some elbow grease to hand-squeeze a dozen oranges just so he can give you one glass brimming with pulp. And oh, Rick's potatoes! The cubed spuds burst with flavor, steam and other intangible toe-curling properties. 3100 Airway Ave., Ste. 113, Costa Mesa, (714) 825-0570; www.ricksatomiccafe.com.

8. Plum's Cafe

Anne Marie Panoringan

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Plums Café serves food that's distinctly Pacific Northwestern, a grub devised to fortify lumberjacks and other hardy souls against damp weather and rugged terrain. Dutch babies, its signature brunch item, is described as a deep-dish pancake, but with its girth and puffiness, it can double as Paul Bunyan's shower cap. And, of course, there is smoked salmon, scented of sweet alderwood and tossed into a chunky hash with red potatoes, onions and peppers. To this, a poached egg with Hollandaise makes the plate perfect for an Oregonian day, whether it's jamming with a grunge band or hauling lumber. 369 E. 17th St., Ste. 7, Costa Mesa, (949) 722-7586; www.plumscafe.com.