The Great Maple: Greatest Brunch Ever

By Kathleen McLean

FB: @kathleenmclean

I have wanted to try the Great Maple for a while now. If you put the best brunch San Diego in the Yelp search bar, this restaurant ALWAYS shows up. Why hadn’t I gone sooner one might ask, and my answer would be the reviews all complain about a long line. I love a good brunch, but I don’t like waiting in lines for more than 15 minutes. Fortunately this particular Sunday I had on comfy sandals and decided to head to the restaurant and take my chances. My husband and I are always the absolute last people to get seated before brunch restaurants close. The waitstaff can not stand it, but, it works. If the eatery closes at 3 pm, we walk in at 2:45 pm. It just so happens the Great Maple closes at 2:30 pm on Sundays. We beat the lines by walking in at 2:15 pm. But, we aren’t complete selfish jerks we always try to order quickly.

We started with a Johnny’s Hangover Bloody Mary for each of us. They were spicy and came with a piece of cheesy bread that resembled a little pizza. The drink is fantastic!  We also ordered their homemade, amazing, super-duper yummy bacon, maple donuts. They are to die for. The last item we ordered was the French Toast Logs. I am not a fan of French Toast but, I was full from my drink and donuts, so I let the man order whatever he wanted. When they showed up, I knew I had to have some. This French Toast was unlike any other French Toast I had eaten in my life. It was possibly the best breakfast food I have ever consumed. The dish is huge. And it came covered in maple syrup, bacon, and blueberries. At first, my fork carefully veered away from the fruit; they just didn’t look appetizing with the bacon. But as I finished my drank, I was feeling sassy. I put a generous piece of french toast and bacon with a blueberry on top on my fork and ate it in one bite, and boy was I happy I did. The blueberry was super sweet and complimented the dish perfectly. If you haven’t gone to the Great Maple, get there. This is one of the best, if not the best brunch selections in San Diego. They do take reservations, so call ahead.