San Diego Reader

• Restaurant

Sunrise Deli

• 9945 Campo Road (at North Barcelona), Spring Valley, CA 91977 | Directions
• 619-460-5800

If you’re a squirrel reading this, I have a great restaurant for you: Brent Fogwell’s six-acre macadamia tree farm in Spring Valley. He just lets the nuts drop from his 300 trees. But better hurry. He’s got around 500 squirrels there already. The man could be selling these macadamia nuts — have you seen how much they cost in the supermarket? But Brent can’t be bothered. He’s happy the squirrels help him out. “It’s free labor!” he says. “They clear the nuts off the ground. Takes them about four months each season. We reckon each squirrel collects 40 nuts every day.” He sighs. “Only in Spring Valley. I love it. I’m from L.A. This is a kind of Sleepy Hollow.”

Mind you, Campo Road ain’t exactly Sleepy Hollow. Not with this traffic. But here inside Sunrise Deli, where we’re yakking, it does feel homey. The place is a little pink-and-green box with a deck, a one-time taco joint at the corner of Campo and Barcelona. Everyone in here seems to know Jorge and Raúl, the brothers who started the deli 11 years ago. Half the items on their menu come from customers’ requests. Like Starvin’ Marvin’s burger, a half-pounder on grilled sourdough with mushrooms, avocado, bacon, and cheese ($6.99); or Jose’s Special, a triple-decker sandwich with pastrami, roast beef, and Swiss on grilled sourdough ($6.99); or Brandy’s Healthy Salad ($6.99), loaded with broccoli, cauliflower, and seeds like pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower.

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