Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Down the Rabbit Hole at Cafe Zucchero

Place

Café Zucchero

1731 India Street, San Diego




A rabbit? In Little Italy? Can’t believe my eyes. But there he is, hopping up from the trolley tracks and into the bushes of one of those mega-condos near Date Street. This close to downtown? What other wildlife is living under our noses? Coyotes? Bobcats? Sasquatch?

I’m heading for India Street from the County Center trolley stop. Decided to take a shortcut along a dirt path near the trolley tracks. That’s when the little guy loped casually in front of me. That’s good luck, isn’t it?

I’m here in Little Italy to see this guy who’s promised to fix Carla’s old laptop so it quits crashing. She has Vista. Say no more.

“Leave it with me,” says Pete, my nerd. He actually has a day job, or rather, night job. Security. Fixes computers on the side.

“You don’t want me to hover, breathe down your neck?”

“See you in two hours,” he says.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Which is how I end up on this sunny morning right outside Cafe Zucchero, here on India. Always liked the place because it has those swanky stone balustrades you can lean on as you sip coffee at the outside tables, under a green-and-gold awning. Then there’s the view up India. A string of red umbrellas, green trees, and hanging flowers. It all makes you feel good.

“Breakfast till 11:30,” says this guy sitting at a table right over the balustrade, munching on a waffle with syrup and strawberries. Must have seen me staring at the menu. Wow. It’s almost 11:00 already. “But you should definitely have this,” says his friend, who’s eating an egg BLT croissant. Scott and Kevin. They’re both students at Cal Western School of Law, just up the road. So it can’t be too expensive.

I sit at the next table, facing north. That way I can see the planes coasting in to Lindbergh, and my left arm can straddle the balustrade, my right arm free to lift the coffee cup. Hey, these little things count. Plus, the waiter (when I ask his name, he says, “Giuseppe…okay, Juan — same difference”) brings me a menu and a beautiful strong coffee ($2). The marble tables, the china plates, heavy silverware, heavy water glasses…and it’s on the right side of the street, the eastern side, shady in the morning. In the evening, you get the whole sunset thing. Plus, you can eat cheap. A croissant’s $2. Scott’s Belgian waffle’s $7.95. Kevin’s BLT croissant is $6.95, with hash browns. A ham-and-cheese panini (with hash browns) is $5.95. In the uova (egg) section, the cheapest, two eggs any style (and hash browns), costs $6.95. But the one I want is the Palermitana omelet. It has spicy Italian sausage, olives, and mozzarella cheese and, I guess, it’s the real Sicilian deal, named after Palermo, the capital of Sicily. Actually, Little Italy should be called Little Sicily, because most of the families here came from Sicily and still speak Sicilian. Even Italians from mainland Italy don’t know what da heck these guys are saying when they speak the home lingo.

So, may as well go for the real hometown dish. Except Nino, the chef, who’s come out to soak up some sun in a quiet moment, says you wouldn’t find the Palermitana in Palermo. “You’d get it as a frittata. Omelets are not a Sicilian thing.” But I order one anyway. It’s $9.95. Then, dammit, I can’t resist ordering a waffle (another $5). Suddenly, I’m looking at a 17-buck breakfast, plus tax ’n’ tip.

But, hey, it’s worth it for the cool factor. And the omelet does taste interesting, has that herby feel from the sausage. It’s the fennel, Nino says. The whole syrupy-waffle thing acts like a dessert.

I think I’m done, then Kevin comes outside with a big golden blob on a plate. “You can’t leave without one of these,” he says to Scott and me. “You gotta choose them from the ice-cream counter.”

Really shouldn’t do this, but I go inside and look. See a dish loaded with Kevin’s golden flying saucers. “Sicilian,” says Nick, the guy behind the counter. “They’re called Fried Iris. It’s like a donut roll with ricotta cheese and chocolate chips in the middle.”

They’re $3.50 each. ’Course, I have to get one. I take it back out to my table and bite in. Oh, man. Call it what it is. Pure, unadulterated, unapologetic sin. That sweet, cheesy, caramelly lavabog inside... With the cawfee, a perfect end. And it suddenly hits me — Cafe Zucchero: like, azúcar in Spanish. Sugar. Sugar Shack! That’s really what this place is about.

I know: I’ve lost a bundle. Kevin hears me grinch about spending so much. He lives around here. “You should have gone to the Waterfront on Kettner,” he says. “They have breakfasts for about $5, $6.”

Oh, well. No regrets. I notice a sign on the way out, something about live music, a guitarist, Fridays and Saturdays after 9:00 p.m.

Must bring Carla for that. I spend the absolute last of my spare change — got the laptop repair money in the other pocket — on a Fried Iris for her, then haul out the cell phone. “Carla? Getting the laptop, then I’m coming home. Don’t eat anything.” ■

The Place: Cafe Zucchero, 1731 India Street, Little Italy, 619-531-1731
Type of Food: Italian/Sicilian
Prices: Breakfast croissant, $2; BLT croissant, hash browns, $6.95; ham and cheese panini (with hash browns), $5.95; two eggs any style, hash browns, $6.95; Palermitana omelet (with spicy Italian sausage, olives, mozzarella), $9.95; poor boy (waffle or pancake topped with eggs), $8.95; Fried Iris, $3.50; lunch and dinner dishes also
Hours: 7:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m., Sunday–Thursday; till 10.30 p.m., Friday–Saturday; breakfast served 7:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m., Monday–Friday; till midday, Saturday–Sunday
Bus: 83
Nearest Bus Stop: India and Beech
Trolley: Blue Line
Nearest Trolley Stop: County Center/Little Italy

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Celebrate Holi, Borrego Springs Music Festival

Events March 23-March 27, 2024
Place

Café Zucchero

1731 India Street, San Diego




A rabbit? In Little Italy? Can’t believe my eyes. But there he is, hopping up from the trolley tracks and into the bushes of one of those mega-condos near Date Street. This close to downtown? What other wildlife is living under our noses? Coyotes? Bobcats? Sasquatch?

I’m heading for India Street from the County Center trolley stop. Decided to take a shortcut along a dirt path near the trolley tracks. That’s when the little guy loped casually in front of me. That’s good luck, isn’t it?

I’m here in Little Italy to see this guy who’s promised to fix Carla’s old laptop so it quits crashing. She has Vista. Say no more.

“Leave it with me,” says Pete, my nerd. He actually has a day job, or rather, night job. Security. Fixes computers on the side.

“You don’t want me to hover, breathe down your neck?”

“See you in two hours,” he says.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Which is how I end up on this sunny morning right outside Cafe Zucchero, here on India. Always liked the place because it has those swanky stone balustrades you can lean on as you sip coffee at the outside tables, under a green-and-gold awning. Then there’s the view up India. A string of red umbrellas, green trees, and hanging flowers. It all makes you feel good.

“Breakfast till 11:30,” says this guy sitting at a table right over the balustrade, munching on a waffle with syrup and strawberries. Must have seen me staring at the menu. Wow. It’s almost 11:00 already. “But you should definitely have this,” says his friend, who’s eating an egg BLT croissant. Scott and Kevin. They’re both students at Cal Western School of Law, just up the road. So it can’t be too expensive.

I sit at the next table, facing north. That way I can see the planes coasting in to Lindbergh, and my left arm can straddle the balustrade, my right arm free to lift the coffee cup. Hey, these little things count. Plus, the waiter (when I ask his name, he says, “Giuseppe…okay, Juan — same difference”) brings me a menu and a beautiful strong coffee ($2). The marble tables, the china plates, heavy silverware, heavy water glasses…and it’s on the right side of the street, the eastern side, shady in the morning. In the evening, you get the whole sunset thing. Plus, you can eat cheap. A croissant’s $2. Scott’s Belgian waffle’s $7.95. Kevin’s BLT croissant is $6.95, with hash browns. A ham-and-cheese panini (with hash browns) is $5.95. In the uova (egg) section, the cheapest, two eggs any style (and hash browns), costs $6.95. But the one I want is the Palermitana omelet. It has spicy Italian sausage, olives, and mozzarella cheese and, I guess, it’s the real Sicilian deal, named after Palermo, the capital of Sicily. Actually, Little Italy should be called Little Sicily, because most of the families here came from Sicily and still speak Sicilian. Even Italians from mainland Italy don’t know what da heck these guys are saying when they speak the home lingo.

So, may as well go for the real hometown dish. Except Nino, the chef, who’s come out to soak up some sun in a quiet moment, says you wouldn’t find the Palermitana in Palermo. “You’d get it as a frittata. Omelets are not a Sicilian thing.” But I order one anyway. It’s $9.95. Then, dammit, I can’t resist ordering a waffle (another $5). Suddenly, I’m looking at a 17-buck breakfast, plus tax ’n’ tip.

But, hey, it’s worth it for the cool factor. And the omelet does taste interesting, has that herby feel from the sausage. It’s the fennel, Nino says. The whole syrupy-waffle thing acts like a dessert.

I think I’m done, then Kevin comes outside with a big golden blob on a plate. “You can’t leave without one of these,” he says to Scott and me. “You gotta choose them from the ice-cream counter.”

Really shouldn’t do this, but I go inside and look. See a dish loaded with Kevin’s golden flying saucers. “Sicilian,” says Nick, the guy behind the counter. “They’re called Fried Iris. It’s like a donut roll with ricotta cheese and chocolate chips in the middle.”

They’re $3.50 each. ’Course, I have to get one. I take it back out to my table and bite in. Oh, man. Call it what it is. Pure, unadulterated, unapologetic sin. That sweet, cheesy, caramelly lavabog inside... With the cawfee, a perfect end. And it suddenly hits me — Cafe Zucchero: like, azúcar in Spanish. Sugar. Sugar Shack! That’s really what this place is about.

I know: I’ve lost a bundle. Kevin hears me grinch about spending so much. He lives around here. “You should have gone to the Waterfront on Kettner,” he says. “They have breakfasts for about $5, $6.”

Oh, well. No regrets. I notice a sign on the way out, something about live music, a guitarist, Fridays and Saturdays after 9:00 p.m.

Must bring Carla for that. I spend the absolute last of my spare change — got the laptop repair money in the other pocket — on a Fried Iris for her, then haul out the cell phone. “Carla? Getting the laptop, then I’m coming home. Don’t eat anything.” ■

The Place: Cafe Zucchero, 1731 India Street, Little Italy, 619-531-1731
Type of Food: Italian/Sicilian
Prices: Breakfast croissant, $2; BLT croissant, hash browns, $6.95; ham and cheese panini (with hash browns), $5.95; two eggs any style, hash browns, $6.95; Palermitana omelet (with spicy Italian sausage, olives, mozzarella), $9.95; poor boy (waffle or pancake topped with eggs), $8.95; Fried Iris, $3.50; lunch and dinner dishes also
Hours: 7:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m., Sunday–Thursday; till 10.30 p.m., Friday–Saturday; breakfast served 7:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m., Monday–Friday; till midday, Saturday–Sunday
Bus: 83
Nearest Bus Stop: India and Beech
Trolley: Blue Line
Nearest Trolley Stop: County Center/Little Italy

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.