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

Stately Breakfast at State

San Diego State?

State of Disrepair, more like. Big hole in the ground where you come out from the Green Line trolley.

It’s a mess.

All in a good cause, of course, the new Aztec Student Union. Greener building, they say. In a year or so it'll be done and look beautiful.

But you’d never know it now.

I cough my way through the dust to the bridge over College Avenue. Maybe they have places still open there.

Because one way or ’t’other, gotta have breakfast or I’ll implode. Been up since seven. Four hours ago. Hollow inside. I’m like a walking Carlsbad cavern.

So I’m heading up College when I see a bunch of white umbrellas in the sky.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/26/28633/

Three of them. That rings a bell.

Oh yeah. I was here once, eating pizza. Late night student joint.

Except here I see it says “Breakfast, lunch, dinner.”

This is State Street Grill (5131 College Avenue, Suite F, 619-286-4700).

Inside, it’s just the waiter, Jeff, and one other guy with a band on his head getting sushi ready, and me in here.

Feels like everybody’s just waking up, getting their kit together. Like I usually am this time of day.

I sit at a nice solid mahogany-looking table, surrounded by chalk blackboards and windows. The Eagles are singing “You can check out any time, but you can never leave.”

And yes! They are still doing breakfast.

Long story short, I go for one of their omelets. Jeff recommends the State Street Omelette Platter, with bacon, sausage, ham, mushroom, bell pepper, onion, and cheddar cheese. It costs $8.95.

They also have a Western one with ham, onion, bell pepper and American cheese, for $7.95, a Spanish ($7.95), and a veggie ($7.95). Even a steak and eggs platter for $11.95.

“So how do starving students afford these?” I have to ask Jeff, who’s gonna be studying kinesiology (athletic training) here at State next year himself.

“I guess their parents make it possible,” he says. “And we have a lot of specials, like $2 wings on Wednesdays, and happy hour every day 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. till close. And that means half price on six of our ten appetizers.”

He points out how happy hour sweet potato fries are $3 instead of $6, shrimp tempura $4 instead of $8, and vegetable egg rolls cost $3.50 instead of $7. Drink deals too.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/26/28632/

Whatever, I go for the State Street Omelette platter.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/26/28638/

It's turns out to be a major slab of eggs and all those good things, specially the ’shrooms, onions, and the bacon-sausage-ham extravaganza inside. Plus a major lava flow of cheddar over the top.

A hash brown patty and thick sourdough toast make this a pretty good deal. I’d asked for a glass of milk ($2.99) but they didn’t have it. So they gave me OJ for the same price (and it’s usually $3.49). And that turns out great as a kinda flavorful grease-cutter.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/26/28634/

I come out into the sunshine totally revived. Yes, it’s probably a little more than I’d have paid at one of their on-campus feeding stations, but this is going to see me through the whole day.

What I still have a hankering for: to come back with Carla and a few buddies around midnight when for sure, this place is rockin’.

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

Previous article

San Diego Gen Z-ers spend 17% more than millennials did on rent

Half of local renters pay more than 30% of income on housing
Next Article

Goldfish events are about musical escapism

Live/electronic duo journeyed from South Africa to Ibiza to San Diego

San Diego State?

State of Disrepair, more like. Big hole in the ground where you come out from the Green Line trolley.

It’s a mess.

All in a good cause, of course, the new Aztec Student Union. Greener building, they say. In a year or so it'll be done and look beautiful.

But you’d never know it now.

I cough my way through the dust to the bridge over College Avenue. Maybe they have places still open there.

Because one way or ’t’other, gotta have breakfast or I’ll implode. Been up since seven. Four hours ago. Hollow inside. I’m like a walking Carlsbad cavern.

So I’m heading up College when I see a bunch of white umbrellas in the sky.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/26/28633/

Three of them. That rings a bell.

Oh yeah. I was here once, eating pizza. Late night student joint.

Except here I see it says “Breakfast, lunch, dinner.”

This is State Street Grill (5131 College Avenue, Suite F, 619-286-4700).

Inside, it’s just the waiter, Jeff, and one other guy with a band on his head getting sushi ready, and me in here.

Feels like everybody’s just waking up, getting their kit together. Like I usually am this time of day.

I sit at a nice solid mahogany-looking table, surrounded by chalk blackboards and windows. The Eagles are singing “You can check out any time, but you can never leave.”

And yes! They are still doing breakfast.

Long story short, I go for one of their omelets. Jeff recommends the State Street Omelette Platter, with bacon, sausage, ham, mushroom, bell pepper, onion, and cheddar cheese. It costs $8.95.

They also have a Western one with ham, onion, bell pepper and American cheese, for $7.95, a Spanish ($7.95), and a veggie ($7.95). Even a steak and eggs platter for $11.95.

“So how do starving students afford these?” I have to ask Jeff, who’s gonna be studying kinesiology (athletic training) here at State next year himself.

“I guess their parents make it possible,” he says. “And we have a lot of specials, like $2 wings on Wednesdays, and happy hour every day 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. till close. And that means half price on six of our ten appetizers.”

He points out how happy hour sweet potato fries are $3 instead of $6, shrimp tempura $4 instead of $8, and vegetable egg rolls cost $3.50 instead of $7. Drink deals too.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/26/28632/

Whatever, I go for the State Street Omelette platter.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/26/28638/

It's turns out to be a major slab of eggs and all those good things, specially the ’shrooms, onions, and the bacon-sausage-ham extravaganza inside. Plus a major lava flow of cheddar over the top.

A hash brown patty and thick sourdough toast make this a pretty good deal. I’d asked for a glass of milk ($2.99) but they didn’t have it. So they gave me OJ for the same price (and it’s usually $3.49). And that turns out great as a kinda flavorful grease-cutter.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/26/28634/

I come out into the sunshine totally revived. Yes, it’s probably a little more than I’d have paid at one of their on-campus feeding stations, but this is going to see me through the whole day.

What I still have a hankering for: to come back with Carla and a few buddies around midnight when for sure, this place is rockin’.

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