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Breakfast at Tobey's 19th Hole Cafe

Restaurant at the Balboa Park Golf Course is a total hidden gem with a killer view and cheap eats.

Golfers know that the municipal golf course in Balboa Park is excellent. As city courses go, it’s one of the better ones.

Hipsters know that Tobey’s 19th Hole Cafe, located by the pro shop at 2600 Golf Course Drive, is one of the raddest spots in town to soak up some sun, drink cheap mimosas, and breakfast above the 1st tee box and 18th green--on which hole a certain food writer recently missed the easiest birdie putt he’ll ever see....

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jul/23/49973/

But seriously! There’s no beating the south and southwestern exposure on Tobey’s patio, which has to be one of the finest open secrets around, at least in terms of breakfast hideaways.

In so many ways, it’s a ridiculous place. A cadre of sassy, middle-aged ladies man the tables with a kind of irreverent savoir faire that’s unlike anywhere else. The cafe seriously has a non-functional website...in 2013...and the official TwitFace presence hasn’t seen any action since the place opened in ‘34.

Yet it works. And marvelously.

Maybe it’s because the Mimosas, beers, and Bloody Marys are cheap. Maybe it’s because the substantial plates of food share the same pricing model. The “big money” items--like corned beef hash, steak and eggs, or the infamous chicken fried steaks--are still under ten bucks. It’s a thirsty, thrifty, sun-loving paradise of scrumptious, albeit humble, breakfast nosh.

Tobey’s does lunch, too. But go there for breakfast. As the late-morning sun breaks over the patio and the early bird golfers make their way across the back nine, there’s no denying that Tobey’s is one of the coolest weird hangouts around. Playing golf, or even hitting a few range balls, isn’t required before a trip to Tobey’s, but it doesn’t hurt to build a breakfast yearning with a bucket of wild banana balls and duck hooks beforehand. Remember: you don’t have to yell ‘fore’ at the range.

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Golfers know that the municipal golf course in Balboa Park is excellent. As city courses go, it’s one of the better ones.

Hipsters know that Tobey’s 19th Hole Cafe, located by the pro shop at 2600 Golf Course Drive, is one of the raddest spots in town to soak up some sun, drink cheap mimosas, and breakfast above the 1st tee box and 18th green--on which hole a certain food writer recently missed the easiest birdie putt he’ll ever see....

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jul/23/49973/

But seriously! There’s no beating the south and southwestern exposure on Tobey’s patio, which has to be one of the finest open secrets around, at least in terms of breakfast hideaways.

In so many ways, it’s a ridiculous place. A cadre of sassy, middle-aged ladies man the tables with a kind of irreverent savoir faire that’s unlike anywhere else. The cafe seriously has a non-functional website...in 2013...and the official TwitFace presence hasn’t seen any action since the place opened in ‘34.

Yet it works. And marvelously.

Maybe it’s because the Mimosas, beers, and Bloody Marys are cheap. Maybe it’s because the substantial plates of food share the same pricing model. The “big money” items--like corned beef hash, steak and eggs, or the infamous chicken fried steaks--are still under ten bucks. It’s a thirsty, thrifty, sun-loving paradise of scrumptious, albeit humble, breakfast nosh.

Tobey’s does lunch, too. But go there for breakfast. As the late-morning sun breaks over the patio and the early bird golfers make their way across the back nine, there’s no denying that Tobey’s is one of the coolest weird hangouts around. Playing golf, or even hitting a few range balls, isn’t required before a trip to Tobey’s, but it doesn’t hurt to build a breakfast yearning with a bucket of wild banana balls and duck hooks beforehand. Remember: you don’t have to yell ‘fore’ at the range.

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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
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