It’s finally here! My first official restaurant review here at Natasha’s Food Adventures and I just had to kick start things with my favorite San Diego brunch spot, The Great Maple. For those of you that have been following my blog for the past year already know, I tend to visit The Great Maple at least once a month for brunch. Yes, I can cook at home and save myself some cash. But as someone who does all of the cooking in our household, it’s really nice to just sit down and have a meal without having to do any of the work.
The Great Maple House Smoked Beef Brisket Pop Over
This also means that I can be a bit overly critical of the places I dine at because in my head I know how I would choose to make something. For example, scrambled eggs, or any eggs for that matter are a deal breaker for me at ANY breakfast/brunch spot. If you can’t cook some simple scrambled eggs and want to charge me $15 for breakfast, something is horribly wrong.
Ok, now that I’ve ranted enough about my overly critical foodie brain let’s talk about The Great Maple. Why do I love it so much? Well, first things first. They always have excellent service. When dining out, it’s almost as important as the food itself. Despite this place always being packed when I visit, I’m always greeted with a smile and my servers are always on top of things like drink refills.
The Great Maple's Pineapple Mimosa
I don’t know about you but I really dislike feeling like I’m a burden the second I sit down at my table. Having been a server myself for several restaurants in my younger years I know how stressful it can be when you get busy, but that didn’t mean I took it out on my tables.
Next up, drinks, because that’s what brunch is all about right….day drinking without judgement? Haha! But in all seriousness, their drinks are wonderful, and often times I go with an iced coffee so I can actually do things the rest of the day.
The Great Maple's Pickle Mary
I think one of the things they are most known for is their Bloody Mary’s, so I had to try one for research purposes of course. I went with the Pickle Mary which has Tito’s vodka, a salted rim, pickle juice, and a giant #ThatsWhatSheSaid sized pickle. Make sure you order this around people you feel comfortable cracking awkward pickle jokes with, otherwise it’s a delicious drink with just the right balance of flavors.
Next up, let’s talk about they’re famous Maple Bacon Doughnuts. My boyfriend, Jarod, doesn’t even like doughnuts and he loved these! They’re made fresh to order so they come out perfectly warm with their signature bacon maple glaze. YUM! Just writing about this is making me crave some!
The Great Maple's Bacon Maple Doughnuts
Now I don’t know about you, but I feel like there are two types of brunch people. The people who like sweets and the people who like savory. I flip flop between the two, but at the end of the day I love sweets! So I’ve ordered their pancakes repeatedly. They are little mini silver dollar pancakes so they’re the perfect size. My favorite flavor has to be the Peanut Butter & Fried Banana Pancakes. Everything about them is perfect, but don’t be afraid to try the other varieties. Jarod’s “go to” tends to be the Salted Caramel Pancakes.
The Great Maple's Silver Dollar Peanut Butter Fried Banana Pancakes
Let me be honest with you, I could ramble on all day about how amazing The Great Maple is, so I’m going to wrap this up. However I want to mention one last thing. Be warned about the parking. It can sometimes be a pain to find a spot in their lot, especially on Sunday’s when the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market is in full swing. So be prepared to do a little walking if necessary. You can make reservations ahead of time to make sure you don’t have to wait long but the parking is the one thing that can get difficult.
Have you visited The Great Maple? If so, what’s your favorite brunch item? Let me know in the comments, I love hearing from my readers!
All photos taken by me! If you're going to share please credit back to my blog or Instagram @natashasfoodadventures.
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