Photos by Annie Merkley 

Bored of your usual breakfast spot? Finding the quality’s slipping, or the coffee isn’t quite cutting it? Well, if you haven’t already been acquainted, let me introduce you to the Blackbird Café.

It’s a nifty California Heights locale that serves up a mighty fine breakfast superior to your ol’ greasy spoon. Abscond the downtown, Belmont Shore/Heights scene and take the drive up Orange Avenue, past oilrigs resembling thirsty iron grasshoppers. 

The Blackbird Café’s building is a Technicolor yellow-green, hard to drive past and not take note of. There is a small seating area out front that becomes ever more enticing, now that the dreaded June Gloom is lifting—and that construction on the street seems to have subsided. The inside is inviting with an open kitchen area that appears to have been transformed from an old watering hole. The dark wood bar and open ventilation system has been tastefully renovated.

Their coffee is friggin’ fantastic and I happily went with a regular cup of Joe. My boyfriend ordered a latte that was darn near the size of his head; the little biscuit on the saucer was a nice treat too. 

I usually tend to veer toward the Mexican-style eggs benedict they have where they sub the English muffin out for corn sopes—which I think is a brilliant idea. However, today I was in the mood to try something new, so I got an omelet with spinach, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and feta cheese. It was lovely, light and delicious, not oily at all, and the feta added that dash of Grecian goodness. The hash browns sprawled out next my omelet looked great, but I’d ordered them crispy, and they could have been crispier still. They had an option of fresh baked loaf bread, but I spied another tables’ portion and saw that the hunks o’ bread could almost be a meal of their own, so I just went with some wheat toast.

My boyfriend had the straightforward breakfast with two eggs over medium, bacon, hash browns, and wheat toast. The preparation was simple and gratifying—nothing flash or dashingly debonair—just a straight shooter, and well to his liking.

This place is great, good vibes, good eats and a friendly staff. Also, I highly recommend the peanut butter pancakes they make, topped with sliced bananas and honey. Yummy stuff for sure. I have yet to go there for lunch, but they make their own chips and the sandwiches looked worth the trip on their own.

Blackbird Cafe is located at 3405 Orange Ave., (562) 490-2473

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