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Cardinal Coffee Shop (Breakfast cuisine) $$

7.5
JaT Rating

3197 Meridian Ave, San Jose, 95124 (Directions)

408.269.7891

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Breakfast served 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in an eccentric setting
Reviewer: Jason Total Reviews: 1040 Reviewed: 1/1/2007 Rating: 7.5 My photo gallery	The 1st meal of the new year was spent at the Cardinal Coffee Shop and Lounge in San Jose. It's one of the few restaurants in San Jose to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The restaurant is decked out with odd decorations and keep an eye for the artistic painting of the fur trapper posing next to his pet wolf...classy stuff. Although I ate here during the day, I'd recommend visiting at night to view the the eccentricities that make the Cardinal a special place to visit. Where else can you do Karaoke or watch a live band and order a pancake sandwich at 2AM in the morning? Breakfast is the thing to get and you'll be tempted to order other items with the 7+ page menu. They have pretty much any combination of any breakfast item on the menu so if you like breakfast, you'll love the selection. I kept it easy with the pancake sandwich. It's 3 pancakes, eggs, and your choice of sausage or bacon. pancakes (image 9, 10) - triple stack of fluffy sweet cakes. I spread a thin layer of butter between the pancakes and criscrossed maple syrup on top. I'm not too picky with pancakes and enjoy them 90% of the time. Today's pancakes were fine and worth ordering again. eggs and bacon (image 8) - about 2 eggs and 3 pieces of bacon. It's fried bacon so don't whine to me when you see a little grease on your plate. Today's breakfast isn't anything I couldn't cook up at home. The big difference is, I don't have to buy all the ingredients at the market, cook up a meal, and wash dishes afterwards. For $7.50, you get friendly service and a full belly. The food is pretty good but when you add getting sloshed next door in the lounge at wee hours of the morning, Cardinal Coffee Shop and Lounge easily becomes a local favorite. Bonus points for staying open 24/7/365.

9
Agent Rating

Reviewer: jsatre Total Reviews: 75 Reviewed: 6/28/2008 Rating: 9 My photo gallery	Man... I grew up a few blocks away from the Cardinale.. It use to be under a different name and ownership in the 80's, (a stage coach comes to mind?) but the Cardinale name has stood for a long time... Breakfast... I swear, I have never finished a plate of food here. I went with mom for a 1:1 breakfast this Saturday and while the place was fairly packed, we got seated at a booth right away. I think it was 10:30 AM or so. I was up for the traditional pancakes, eggs, and bacon deal. What always hangs me up if how much I like their French Toast too. Well kids, they have a breakfast with BOTH. Pancakes, French Toast, Sausage, Bacon and Eggs. Wholly Cr@p! My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach! I think my mom and I could have shared this beauty and still not finished it! The bacon was perfect and meaty, sausage tender and not greasy, fluffy pancakes, perfectly grilled French toast, scrambled eggs - I must have like 4 of them... WOW! My mom ordered a Santa Fe style omelet. The list for breakfast is a mile long... Took her a while to decide. She was stuffed at the 2/3 mark... she said it was excellent, everything was fresh and the salsa was "super good" (quoting mom). Coffee and water were refreshed frequently, and our adorable waitress was quite attentive and checked on us often. Excellent food, cheerful service, total Elvis red vinyl decor, huge plates, definitely consider sharing. All walks of life from families to freaks to well, people like me hang out here. It's a fun place to be and a delicious place to eat at! Breakfast for the two of us ran $28. Seems stiff, but keep in mind, we had food for an army and the quality was top notch. I would definitely bring friends here, and they're open 24! I've been coming to Cardinal forever... and I'll be back!


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Forcella ate...

Scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, English muffin

“The Cardinal has the BEST breakfasts in Silicon Valley. Look at the photo of the bacon & eggs in the review and realize that as magnificent as that photo IS, it doesn't come CLOSE to doing it justice. The place is also an oddball magnet. I love it!”

2/25/2007 4:48:29 PM