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

The Cays: Million dollar view, $6 breakfast

Hanan's Calypso Cafe has wines, sophisticated eating. Or every Joe Blow's breakfasts, at Joe Blow prices. You choose

Shiver me timbers! It’s only 142 days till this year’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day. September 19th, it be.

Au quai, that be yet a long stretch, but I be thinkin’ about it today wandering through the cays of this cove where you know everybody has their booty stored and buried, and their pirate vessels moored a-front of their marble palaces. They call it The Cays, but I be thinking Port Royal, afore the earthquake sank it.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44589/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44590/

Place I was looking for heaves up on the horizon, finally, after I've been walking through places like Plunder Bay, Bahamas Anchorage, Caribe Way and Peg-Leg Lane. We finally spot Open Waters to the east, as the albatross flies. And nestled in the last cay, this little tavern where ye may tie up yer skiff or yer galleon, and stay alongside for as long as ye be eatin’ and drinkin’ and wenchin’ and generally obtaining relief from the weavil-ridden salt biscuit tack ye've no doubt been eating on the Spanish Main.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44591/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44592/

Mine host, Hanan, be standing behind a counter that's loaded with bottles of wine and a cooler cabinet fair bursting with meats and sweetmeats. This be her place, Calypso Café (505 Grand Caribe Causeway, Coronado Cays, off highway 75, 619-423-5144).

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44598/

“Can I help?” says she.

Fact is – uh, can we drop the pirate thing for a mo? – I’m looking for breakfast, and one where I'm not charged at Cays’ rates. I mean every car here is a Beamer. And that’s just what the gardeners drive. House owners start with a smaller Bentley for the kids and move up from there. And even in here it has a feeling of culture, luxury. 'Course Hanan comes from Jordan. She knows art, decor.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44595/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44596/

So the whew! moment comes when I see they have breakfasts and lunches for six, seven, eight buckeroos.

Like, take the “L.P.” It has a fried egg, bacon, and white cheddar cheese on a toasted English muffin, for $4. A six-high tall stack of pancakes is $7. Lunch sandwiches are mostly $8. Also, it says “Ask about our daily special.”

I do. And it’s a double cheeseburger with French fries and a soda for $7.95. Go try get that at Burger Lounge.

But I stick with biscuits, gravy and two organic eggs ($5.75). Plus a coffee. You got to hand it to Hanan. She could go for top dollar hereabouts. But her prices haven't changed since the day I first found her here, a couple of years back.

Hanan takes me out to one of the tables right above the yacht basin.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44593/

Sun’s shining. Gulls are cawing. Blue waters sparkling. Don’t get much better’n this. Except when Hanan brings out da brekky...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44599/

...all on beautiful white china plate. Over-easy eggs and gravy – and free strawberry - are great, but the killer is the square of hashbrowns. They look good and taste better. Have egg and parmesan and cheddar cheese cooked into them. Dee-lish.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44597/

I guess her customers are mainly Cays residents. “A lot of people don’t realize this is open to the public,” Hanan says. “It's a gated community but you don’t have to ask for permission to drive in. Just sail right past the guards at the gate.”

Ooh arr. 'Course me, it was a case of walking in. Whatever, I'll be back, with summer coming and all. And specially, September 19th. Did I mention that’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Till then, practice, practice, practice. Hire parrot. Check if Hanan carries rum.

Anchors aweigh!

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

Previous article

San Diego Reader Best of 2024

A world-class museum, best drinking, best eating, best shops, ups and downs of Del Cerro, parent-friendly playgrounds, peaceful, eaze-y feeling

Shiver me timbers! It’s only 142 days till this year’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day. September 19th, it be.

Au quai, that be yet a long stretch, but I be thinkin’ about it today wandering through the cays of this cove where you know everybody has their booty stored and buried, and their pirate vessels moored a-front of their marble palaces. They call it The Cays, but I be thinking Port Royal, afore the earthquake sank it.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44589/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44590/

Place I was looking for heaves up on the horizon, finally, after I've been walking through places like Plunder Bay, Bahamas Anchorage, Caribe Way and Peg-Leg Lane. We finally spot Open Waters to the east, as the albatross flies. And nestled in the last cay, this little tavern where ye may tie up yer skiff or yer galleon, and stay alongside for as long as ye be eatin’ and drinkin’ and wenchin’ and generally obtaining relief from the weavil-ridden salt biscuit tack ye've no doubt been eating on the Spanish Main.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44591/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44592/

Mine host, Hanan, be standing behind a counter that's loaded with bottles of wine and a cooler cabinet fair bursting with meats and sweetmeats. This be her place, Calypso Café (505 Grand Caribe Causeway, Coronado Cays, off highway 75, 619-423-5144).

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44598/

“Can I help?” says she.

Fact is – uh, can we drop the pirate thing for a mo? – I’m looking for breakfast, and one where I'm not charged at Cays’ rates. I mean every car here is a Beamer. And that’s just what the gardeners drive. House owners start with a smaller Bentley for the kids and move up from there. And even in here it has a feeling of culture, luxury. 'Course Hanan comes from Jordan. She knows art, decor.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44595/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44596/

So the whew! moment comes when I see they have breakfasts and lunches for six, seven, eight buckeroos.

Like, take the “L.P.” It has a fried egg, bacon, and white cheddar cheese on a toasted English muffin, for $4. A six-high tall stack of pancakes is $7. Lunch sandwiches are mostly $8. Also, it says “Ask about our daily special.”

I do. And it’s a double cheeseburger with French fries and a soda for $7.95. Go try get that at Burger Lounge.

But I stick with biscuits, gravy and two organic eggs ($5.75). Plus a coffee. You got to hand it to Hanan. She could go for top dollar hereabouts. But her prices haven't changed since the day I first found her here, a couple of years back.

Hanan takes me out to one of the tables right above the yacht basin.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44593/

Sun’s shining. Gulls are cawing. Blue waters sparkling. Don’t get much better’n this. Except when Hanan brings out da brekky...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44599/

...all on beautiful white china plate. Over-easy eggs and gravy – and free strawberry - are great, but the killer is the square of hashbrowns. They look good and taste better. Have egg and parmesan and cheddar cheese cooked into them. Dee-lish.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44597/

I guess her customers are mainly Cays residents. “A lot of people don’t realize this is open to the public,” Hanan says. “It's a gated community but you don’t have to ask for permission to drive in. Just sail right past the guards at the gate.”

Ooh arr. 'Course me, it was a case of walking in. Whatever, I'll be back, with summer coming and all. And specially, September 19th. Did I mention that’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Till then, practice, practice, practice. Hire parrot. Check if Hanan carries rum.

Anchors aweigh!

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

The Shining is The Evil Dead

Next Article

The long, long titles: Part 1

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.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader