The grill next door

We’re all agreed that Rocky’s Crown Pub makes the best burgers in the history of the known and imagined universe. Sure, burgers are about all this Pacific Beach eatery does, but, man, nobody does ’em better, not even your mom, and especially not your second cousin. If there were no Rocky’s, there may as well be, like, no sex or fooling around or anything. Then guess what would happen. The world’s bloodlines would evaporate in a generation, all because one popular little eatery in a beachside San Diego neighborhood went belly-up.

And since Rocky’s would be off-limits to humanity’s last vestiges, a little place called The Menu might stand to absorb the clientèle, especially since it’s right the heck next door. Everybody’ll have to line up early, as breakfast is this place’s stock in trade—but the wee hours will do you good for a change, and this place is eminently worth it. The breakfast torta ($7.50) is a Rocky’s-size affair, comprising melt-in-your-mouth ham, eggs, salsa and cheese on a bread shell (the latter, compared with that at other joints, is refreshingly thick). My friend helped herself to the eggs Benedict, raving nonstop about the hollandaise, a traditional part of this entry (maybe it’s the paprika, whose semi-fruity taste enlivens this hearty sauce). And check it out: The tables come equipped with their own little cups of Mexican hot sauce—kind of a homey touch in an equally lived-in setting.

Stockbroker Lemuel Benedict, after whom my buddy’s breakfast is named, died in 1943—so he can’t possibly get to the flaming-red building at 3784 Ingraham St., much less between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. You’re warmly invited to breakfast in Lem’s stead; failing that, you can take stuff out after calling 858-270-9999. For all the world, this place matches Rocky’s pound for pound in its choice of fare—hurry on in while you can still procreate.