The Mission   

More than your typical bacon-and-eggs establishment, The Mission is a very San Diego take on breakfast cuisine. The Victorian house-turned-eatery East Village location attracts a more sophisticated clientele -- due to all the luxury high-rises in the area -- than the sorority crowd that lines up outside the Mission Beach location, but it maintains the same impressive quality that made the small chain one of the county's favorites. Enormous cornmeal or strawberry-granola pancakes and egg scrambles with rosemary potatoes and grilled veggies fly out the kitchen on the arms of every other server during the morning rush. Latino and Asian influences punch up lunch dishes like vegetarian tortilla roll-ups with Thai peanut sauce and the irresistible ginger-glazed tofu. Spicy Mexican hot chocolate or mocha chip shakes accompanying the otherwise healthy dishes is a naughty diet plan that you just have to fall into once in a while.