Veggiejuana: Baja brunch on a budget

Brunch in Tijuana may not be the middle class ritual de lo habitual (to borrow a phrase from Jane’s Addiction) that it is in urban America, but the Sunday fare is certainly worth waking up for and goes for a fraction of what it’d cost up north.

Located on the uptown Brasil drag of La Cacho (Tijuana’s North Park?), Alma Verde gives breakfast a Baja edge with a heavy emphasis on fresh ingredients and healthy fare. The modern-natural deli offers both indoor and covered patio seating with table service or orders to-go from the counter.

The juice bar, which accounts for about a quarter of the menu, touts a host of cold-pressed juices, smoothies, shots, superfood additions, and natural infusions named with indications such as Happy Tummy, Anti-Inflammatory, and Immunity.

While they do offer plenty of meat dishes, the focus here is definitely on veggies, and they are presented in a number of intriguing ways. For starters, the Portobello Mañanero sees a large mushroom cap stuffed with spinach, parmesan, and quinoa, topped with a sunny-side-up egg, and accompanied by sweet potato hash browns. The yolk oozes into the mushroom with the first bite and, a dash of salt and a splash of house salsa later, makes for a refreshing first meal of the day that won’t send you crawling back into bed.

It’s hard to go wrong with breakfast nachos, but Alma Verde’s chilaquiles are some of the best I’ve had. Crisp, flavorful, topped with avocado, and served with an egg, these babies alone are worth a morning or afternoon drive south any day of the week. Wanna make it special? The off-menu Chilaquiles de Cacao are covered in a house mole and served with Golden Milk — a foamy almond milk with turmeric and cinnamon.

The tastiest part? Every dish goes for around $5 and breakfast is served until 9 p.m.