Sunday, September 26, 2010

Pat & Oscar's Breakfast Pizza - Santa Ana

It may not look it, but what you see before you is a breakfast pizza. Yes, a breakfast pizza. I repeat. A breakfast. Pizza.

I did not seek it out, nor would I have been interested in it if my co-worker didn't come back from lunch one afternoon and excitedly proclaim that he just saw it on a poster at Pat & Oscars.

By the time he finished describing it--that it came with country gravy, eggs, bacon, and sausage--another co-worker was already saying "When?".

"When were we going to pool a few bucks to try it?" the dude asked like an eager, bright-eyed kid who's just been told the circus is in town.

When? Apparently, the next morning.

And not only did he order one, he asked for the largest pie, retailing at close to $18, even after our protestations that it would be too big, that we only wanted a taste.

"If you guys can't finish it, I'll just have the rest for lunch!"

That's the kind of guy he is. Practical. And also, obviously quite confident that Pat & Oscars wouldn't make a bad pizza, a point that I had to politely agree to disagree with him on.

But as it turns out, as far as the breakfast pizza is concerned, he was right. It was a good breakfast pizza. Admittedly, there was no previous benchmark I could measure against. Still, the thing was much better than I expected. In fact, I ate two slices though I only really needed one.

The eggs, the thing I was most skeptical about when I heard of its existence, was not overcooked. Nicely scrambled and still somewhat blubbery, it accounted for most of the thickness and was covered with thin, insulating top layer of cheese. The pizza was so loaded with egg, it was just a millimeter shy of being called a deep-dish, or maybe, a quiche.

There was no sausage unfortunately, but there was bacon, crispy, crackly shards sprinkled over the top like pork confetti. And beneath it all, the country gravy was spread out like it was red sauce, but without any of its oomph. It didn't need to be there at all, and might as well have been omitted.

The sliced tomato and basil chiffonade was, in contrast, indispensable. It cut through the richness with a bright splash of fruit, refreshing acid, and cleansing herb. The only thing that was missing to help it out was a bottle of Tabasco.

After other cubicle mates gathered around to see and try the oddity themselves, we were all agreed that this was a much better idea than that time we went out to try the Double Down.

Pat & Oscar's Restaurant
(714) 689-3181
3811 S. Bristol St
Santa Ana, CA 92704

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
Felix Continental Cafe - Orange

13 Comments:

At 10:13 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

That looks like the most amazing breakfast pizza ever! I am going to recreate it.
Maybe a light layer of pesto sauce instead of the gravy?

I too tried the Double Down, but they were out of fried chicken. Trust me, that thing is NOT better grilled!

 
At 5:51 AM, Blogger Bill said...

That was awesome - FTW!

 
At 8:01 AM, Blogger christoofat said...

Where do you get a good Homer Simpson icon when yah need one, eh?
I think I gained a pound just reading the review, but...

I WANT!

 
At 12:19 PM, Blogger Blake said...

During football season, Pizza Port San Clemente opens early and serves breakfast pizzas. They're pretty good, but that Pat & Oscar's pizza looks better (if that's possible).

 
At 7:01 PM, Blogger digkv said...

damn that looks great, wholefoods actually makes a breakfast pizza too and it's pretty good esp since you can just buy a slice, no gravy but eggs, cheese and bacon. I love your review of Felix's though, glad you finally tried the place. It really is hit or miss with its massive menu, my fav dish being the roast chicken or the arroz cubano. So sad you didn't mention their amazing tres leches cake though, it really is the best i've ever had.

 
At 10:02 PM, Blogger Vegasbuff said...

P&O has a new owner, one of the founders of CPK. I haven't been there recently, but heard they are overhauling the menu.

 
At 10:54 AM, Blogger Inez Valentina said...

How do I get this into my mouth right freaking now.

 
At 1:41 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

lepetite,

Trust me, the Double Down ain't much better fried either!

Good luck with the pesto-breakfast-pizza experimentation. I think it might go quite well with a basil-garlic flavor, actually!

Bill,

Thanks!

chris,

Homer would drool and go, "MMMM, inappropriately timed pizza!"

Blake,

I also heard today that Domino's is testing out its own breakfast pizza as we speak! Here we go!

digkv,

I actually had plenty to say about the tres leches, but ran out of space! It's definitely the best dessert there. The bread pudding is not bad, except they put that bitter rum-sauce on it.

vegasbuff,

This sounds like a good thing. I've never been much of a fan of Pat & Oscars.

Inez,

Well that depends, do you have a few friends and $18? HAH! HAH! ;-)

 
At 5:29 PM, Blogger EatTravelEat said...

Wow, that's nice! Sounds and looks better than the breakfast pizza I had at the Bellagio buffet recently...

BTW I visited Thai Nakorn. :) One off the list... but I like Lotus of Siam better. There were very few people when we visited and I made the mistake of not stopping my companion who ordered the Nam Sod WITH crispy rice!

 
At 7:01 PM, Blogger brekkie_fan said...

are you holding out on me?

 
At 10:08 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

EatTravelEat,

I'm glad you got to try Thai Nakorn finally. You're right that it's not as crowded as it used to be. I remember the BP location used to be packed to capacity! And yes, nam sod with crispy rice is not as good as just the plain!

brekkie_fan,

Accidental discovery thanks to my intrepid co-worker!

 
At 6:59 AM, Anonymous Carlos Eats said...

Looks delicious!

 
At 3:47 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Carlos,

It ain't bad...surprisingly.

 

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