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$10 Lunch: Aunt Emma's Pancakes

I have a fondness for diners. They remind me of the cigarettes, coffee, and grilled-cheese sandwiches (if I could afford it) of my poetry days, when all I ever wanted was to be alone with my notebook and my deep thoughts. These days I hardly ever frequent diners, but when I do, it has to be old school. None of that newfangled business where the bacon is turkey or the coffee espresso.

My Friday afternoon visit to Aunt Emma’s Pancakes in Chula Vista gave me a dose of everything I love about diners (minus the poetry). The booth was roomy, the coffee was plenty, and the bacon was bacon.

Another thing I love about diners: waitresses. Meet Cecilia and Betty. Betty has worked at Aunt Emma's for 24 years.

I ordered my BLT before I saw the boysenberry syrup on the table. Had I seen the purple stuff first, I’d have ordered a waffle and sausages, for sure. But the BLT, though heavy on the mayo, was damn good.

This $10 lunch includes the above-mentioned BLT, fries (blah), a (freakin’ delicious) pickle, and, of course, coffee.

Total bill: $9.36

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I have a fondness for diners. They remind me of the cigarettes, coffee, and grilled-cheese sandwiches (if I could afford it) of my poetry days, when all I ever wanted was to be alone with my notebook and my deep thoughts. These days I hardly ever frequent diners, but when I do, it has to be old school. None of that newfangled business where the bacon is turkey or the coffee espresso.

My Friday afternoon visit to Aunt Emma’s Pancakes in Chula Vista gave me a dose of everything I love about diners (minus the poetry). The booth was roomy, the coffee was plenty, and the bacon was bacon.

Another thing I love about diners: waitresses. Meet Cecilia and Betty. Betty has worked at Aunt Emma's for 24 years.

I ordered my BLT before I saw the boysenberry syrup on the table. Had I seen the purple stuff first, I’d have ordered a waffle and sausages, for sure. But the BLT, though heavy on the mayo, was damn good.

This $10 lunch includes the above-mentioned BLT, fries (blah), a (freakin’ delicious) pickle, and, of course, coffee.

Total bill: $9.36

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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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