Jack n’ Jill’s on Santa Monica Boulevard used to be Blueberries, where pretty much everything was blueberry-associated in some way, shape, or form. The space is now inhabited by the aforementioned Jack n’ Jill’s, a breakfast and lunch joint with a hearty menu boasting a myriad of dishes with a gentle Southern theme, a theme that threads its way through the document without becoming the only taste on the hill, so to speak.
This past Sunday my partner Dale and I managed to park fairly close to Jack n’ Jill’s (about a block away is fairly close in Santa Monica these days) and paid a mid-morning visit in order to savor their breakfast items, check out the ambience, and enjoy a culinary start to a beautifully sunny Santa Monica day.
With 30 breakfast choices,the menu is varied and complete, and appears to cater to every taste and fancy, with egg and omelet dishes galore, along with pancakes, waffles, and fruit and cereals to cater to people who have a penchant for more natural foods.
We, however, at least on this given Sunday, had a yearning for egg-based fare with which to break our fast, and so we decided to share one dish from the omelet (sorry, no substitutions) section, and one from egg creations list.
From the Omelets Corner, with egg whites only in this particular dish, came the Beverly Frittata (Egg whites, spicy ground turkey, grilled onions, tomato, garlic, and mozzarella cheese served pancake style, $9.95), and representing the Egg Creations section was the Mexican Hangover Scramble (served with flour tortillas and salsa, chorizo, or vegetarian chorizo, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and sharp cheddar, $9.95).
After pre-ordering at the counter, we took a spacious and comfy table right next to the window that gave us a good view of Santa Monica Boulevard coming to life. Service was tidy, with our meals arriving within five minutes or so of ordering, barely giving us time to synthesize our awakening with their delightfully fresh coffee ($1.95) for myself, and café au lait ($2.25) for Dale.
Piping hot, the plates looked very attractive with the omelet large and resplendent, joined by tasty home fries and a couple of slices of wheat toast, whilst the Mexican Hangover was a joyous fiesta of colors dominated by a reddish-brown hue, accompanied with shiny salsa and flour tortillas.
I tried the Beverly Frittata first and must confess to being a little disappointed. The ground turkey, described as spicy, was more Home Shopping Network than Spice, and although this dish was fresh and generous it could well have benefited from a bit more taste bud excitement.
But I was not to be deterred and immediately leapt at Dale’s offer to substitute my dish with the Mexican Hangover.
This was quite the culinary version of a Mexican T.V. game show – bold, bright, and dramatic, with flavors abounding. The vegetarian chorizo was just what was needed, and the salsa fresh and stimulating. This was a fully satisfying experience and one that I would repeat in a Mexican heartbeat. Dale actually enjoyed the Frittata a lot, proving that taste is subjective (or that she was wrong).
So, from this experience, Jack and Jill did go up the hill, but came down with a satiated appetite and a new location to add to the list of good places to break our fast.
510 Santa Monica Boulevard.
310.656.1501.
