First Awakenings — Restaurant in Monterey

I've had my eye on this place for a while, considering it always has a line out the door and wrapped around the block. We finally managed to catch a light 10 minute wait for a table around noon. The interior is quite nice, a bit more modern than I was expecting (which also goes for the menu) -- from the outside, it looks like a homelier breakfast diner, but it's got a sharper, cleaner look and taste. No complaints. The prices seemed a bit high but you do get an inordinate quantity of food. The pancakes are a particularly good value -- two enormous slabs for twelve bucks, even for the ones covered in fresh fruit. I ordered the Chicado sandwich and two pancakes to sample both the breakfast and lunch options. The pancakes were incredible and are reason enough to come here. They've clearly figured out their own version, as it's much cakier and crumblier than the chewy disks I'm used to. Some of them come with wheatgerm, which adds a nice grounded, savory note to what could otherwise be overpoweringly sweet fruit inclusions. I would say it almost tasted like oatmeal. The blueberry pancake came with a jam that seemed almost certainly homemade and the strawberry pancake was positively buried under cream and at least 4 or 5 strawberries (I had ordered the "Wheatberry" pancake, expecting, well, wheat berries, but this might just have been miscommunication or a misleading menu title. Either way I wasn't too disappointed). The sandwich was definitely good but let me down a bit. The grilled chicken breast was much drier than I would have liked, but the whole sandwich worked together quite well. I appreciated the side salad and fruit. My biggest complaint though was with the potatoes they seem to use as a side for everything. I'm not sure what they do to them but they had a strange astringent taste, and were a bit more charred than is pleasant. I think they're trying too hard and using too much herb. Let potatoes be potatoes, they don't need any help tasting good! I can definitely see why there's such a line though. Almost every table I saw had a couple of pancakes in various states of eatenness. I would recommend coming here at least once just...

Food, Service, Location. A+ 1st off I first heard of this place from Rachel Ray on Food Network so I wanted to try it for that reason. I expected the prices to be sky high. They weren't. The prices are comparable to any "sit-down" chain restaurant. On top of that the food and proportions were fantastic. I'm from Sacramento and hadn't been to Monterey in ten years so I'd been waiting for when I could get back to Monterey to eat here. FOOD. Great! I could tell it was fresh. It was not salty at all. I could actually taste the food for what is should taste without a bunch of salt. I ordered the ham and tomato benedict with spinach. The spinach and tomatoes were fresh and flavorful. The ham. It was smoky and salty so it was all the salt I needed for the dish. In fact it came piled with 4 or 5 slices of ham. So much so that I removed some but I'm not complaining. The eggs perfectly poached and rich. The hollandaise sauce was decadent. SERVICE. We were greeted and seated promptly. No wait. The servers were nice. I always just have water while eating out. They brought me a carafe of water. My husband ordered coffee. We got a carafe. I liked that simply because it cut down on the number of interruptions while we're eating and conversing. However the staff were present and gave nods and smiles as they walked by just in case we needed them. It was a weekday morning so I can't necessarily speak on the weekend experience. I can imagine it could get a bit crazy. LOCATION. Literally right across the street from Monterey Bay Aquarium. Just right off Cannery Row so you're not really bothered by too much foot traffic. Judging by the location you'd think this would be either an expensive hoitytoity place or a kitschy, mediocre overpriced gimmick restaurant. It's neither. Has a hometown feel with great food and good prices for the area. First Awakenings was our last "touristy" destination before we hit the road. Perfect fuel for us to sustain the 3.5hr drive back home.

If anyone from First Awakenings ever reads this, THANK YOU ❤

Visited: Tues 28...

Jesus take the wheel. I mean at least you and Jesus will be needed to get through one serving of anything. Wow. Eggs Benedict crab cakes. Wow.

Can't believe i forgot to post good pics. One thing that is a must for me when visiting is to find great American style breakfasts. Just not a thing in CDMX despite the attempts either being misguided or so high brow they miss the point.

There have to be sweet, savory, and healthy options. It's a balance that is pure theater. Most lean into one or the other. My mom I knew would be ravinous for the french toast. She barely eats anymore, but via careful observations, I was able to sneak healthy into a sugar snack diet. Last night was healthy so today was sugar.

I tasted her french toast. Actual cinnamon bread with well distributed cinnamon. Perfectly egged in that it was seamless. It didn't require maple syrup although I wish i had tried it assuming it would match the quality. Sad what passes as maple in Mexico but made up for by the actual Mexican cuisine.

I had the special eggs Benedict crab cakes. I don't remember the last time I had crab cakes. So delicious with the right amount of salt balanced the creamy sauce. The avocado added to the richness and the spring onion was a good contrast to the rich cream.

What the F with American portion sizes? The skillet potatoes while amazing were 60% of the plate. I couldn't help but notice all the uneaten food on the tables. I find it strange but i also realize that is part of the brunch gorge experience. Just too much to follow up that decadent Saturday, but also you are proud of yourself for holding back and not devouring it all. What are we, animals?

Aside from my critically acclaimed cultural theory...haha.... Wow amazing food, amazing diner ambience #california style. Two block from the aquarium, so an easy downhill walk for...