Le Peep! Le Yum!
Written: May 16 '01 (Updated Jun 04 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: irresistibly yummy breakfasts, good service
Cons: long wait (depending on location), frozen broccoli
The Bottom Line: Le Peep offers a scrumptious breakfast experience that shouldn't be missed. If you like breakfast, you need Le Peep.
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| pipet's Full Review: Le Peep |
Breakfast. It's my most important meal of the day. I never skip breakfast. Trust me, I'm not the sweetest person to be around if I miss this most critical meal (my husband can attest to the veracity of this claim)! Being such a breakfast-dependent girl, I love finding a great eatery to handle all my breakfast cravings.
In my search for the perfect breakfast spot, Le Peep has remained my top choice now for several years now. I first went to Le Peep with my Dad. There was a location very near his house, and I was immediately hooked. When we'd meet for a father-daughter breakfast, I looked forward to Le Peep almost as much as spending time with my Dad. How could this restaurant have such a hold on me? How could the food be so captivating as to warp my sense of family affection? Was Le Peep really the Elysian Fields of breakfast eateries?
Le 'cations
Le Peep is a chain. Can you believe my favorite breakfast place is a chain??? They have locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, and Wisconsin. My review is mostly based upon the San Diego location (University Town Center), but I have also been to all 4 of the Georgia locations. For the most part, food quality and service has been super at all locations that I've been to.
Le Food
How does this sound?
Peasant Potatoes, chunky chicken, fresh mushrooms, broccoli, almonds, and onions, bathed in Hollandaise sauce and crowned with two basted eggs.--from the Le Peep menu
That's the Nomad. It's my absolute favorite meal at Le Peep. First of all, I love fried breakfast potatoes, and the Le Peep version is cubed, lightly seasoned, and very tasty. The onions and mushrooms add extra flavor, the broccoli freshness, and the almonds a pleasant crunch. I don't really like plain eggs, but I love how the basted eggs complement the other yummy ingredients. The real secret to this dish, though, is the Hollandaise sauce. It adds richness, creaminess, and zing to the already wonderful tastes present. The dish is served in a ceramic skillet, and usually an English muffin accompanies it. The serving is quite generous, and this dish will leave you feeling full and satisfied for a long time (assuming you don't overeat - then you'll be pleasantly stuffed and need a nap). This is by no means a light dish - think of the calories it must contain! Actually, don't think of that and just indulge in this sin.
I should note that I am partial to all-in-one breakfast dishes like this. My mom used to make fried potatoes with onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers for breakfast. At the end she would mix in scrambled eggs with cheese. The Le Peep dish is just my mom's down-home cooking with a little upscale flare (ala Hollandaise). I've been inspired by Le Peep and have made my own Hollandaise at home to top off my breakfast fry, but it is a little bit of work to time everything just right & keep your Hollandaise from separating (at least of you make it from scratch you have to stir constantly). Even though you can get good results at home, it is sure easier to go to Le Peep and let them do it for you.
My second favorite dish at Le Peep, Green Fields Forever, is from their "Pampered Eggs" section. It has fresh spinach, fresh mushrooms, chicken, and cream cheese mixed in with the scrambled eggs. Mixing a little cream cheese with the eggs gives them a lighter, creamier, more sinful texture and flavor. Of course, since this is one of my favorite dishes, it should be no surprise that a side of Hollandaise is included!
My husband likes the Down Home Sausage Pie. It's also a skillet dish with potatoes, sausage, green peppers, onions, cheese, and sausage gravy, topped with eggs. He substitutes scrambled eggs for the basted eggs. It's also quite yummy, but it is hard to steal me away from the Nomad.
Le Peep would be incomplete without offering omelets! All their omelets are served with potatoes and an English muffin. Some of the omelet highlights are the Spinach and Bacon omelet and the Sir Benedict Omelette. The Spinach and Bacon omelet has fresh spinach, bacon, mushrooms, and the all-important cream cheese. Yumm! I also recommend the Sir Benedict Omelette. It has chicken, mushrooms, broccoli, cream cheese, and Hollandaise. Again, my Hollandaise and cream cheese fetish shows.
Those are just a sampling of my personal favorites, but they have so many other offerings. If you just want a classic breakfast, there is the Hen Pen. My dad frequently orders it, and it comes with 2 eggs, potatoes, English muffin, and a choice of breakfast meat (corned beef hash, sausage, bacon, or ham). One of our friend's favorites is an order of the Blueberry Granola Pancakes. He is even worse than me; he can't seem to try anything else out because he loves them so much.
You probably noticed that my favorites aren't particularly light, but for those of you watching your weight or who prefer to start the morning on a lighter note, they do have a selection of dishes for you as well. A few skillet dishes are offered with yolkless eggs, and they do have oatmeal, bagels, yogurt, and other lighter items to please the palate. Honestly, I don't ever order these, but I know that when we have company Le Peep always seems to have something to keep everyone happy.
There are also several lunch items on the menu. Because I love breakfast food so much, I have been tempted by the lunches but have never succumbed. However, for those of you less in love with breakfast, they do have panini (grilled sandwiches), burgers, deli-style sandwiches, pasta, crepe dishes, and salads.
Le Beverages
The San Diego location has espresso drinks, regular coffee, flavored coffee (usually Hazelnut), freshly squeezed orange juice, smoothies, milkshakes, and many other more traditional beverages. I usually get the Hazelnut coffee, and it's top-notch stuff if you like flavored coffees. I don't know if all locations offer the wide variety of beverages yet; I do know that the GA locations did not have espresso, hazelnut coffee, or smoothies as little as 2 years ago.
Le consistency
A challenge for many eateries (especially affordable ones) is to ensure that the food is consistent. For the most part, Le Peep succeeds at this although there are some minor exceptions. At the San Diego location, when I order my Nomad, I have to request that my onions are sautéed, or else I don't know if they'll be barely warmed or very cooked (I don't remember ever needing to do this at any GA location). Also, the doneness of my basted egg can vary quite a bit, although this only bothers me when the egg comes out with the white part not cooked (I won't tell you what that reminds me of). This has happened twice in probably 70+ visits (I've been a Le Peep fan for years). Also, a couple of times I was served a brew of obviously older coffee as it had a bitter edge to it, but the wait staff had no problem in exchanging it for me. That's doing pretty well in my mind!
Le service
Generally, the service at Le Peep is friendly and efficient. Whatever I order is prepared quickly. There have been a few exceptions, but these have been rare in my Le Peep dining career.
L'atmosphere
The atmosphere differs a little from Le Peep to Le Peep, but they are generally pleasant, relaxed and casual - just perfect for breakfast. It's a great place to meet friends and relatives for a morning out. They do not have a kid's menu, and although I do sometimes see families dining with small children, they are not in abundance. A wait is fairly standard at many locations on weekends.
Update 6/3/01 (erratum)
Le Peep does have a kid's menu. I guess I never noticed it before because it is separate from the regular menu and I see children very rarely at the location I frequent. The menu itself can be colored (it is served with a crayon) and has items such as a pancake decorated with a whipped cream smiley face.
San Diego location notes:
The San Diego location has a casual, yet yuppie-ish feel; even so, I don't ever feel the need to dress up at all to go to Le Peep. Since the weather here is so nice for most of the year, there is plenty of outdoor seating to allow you to wake up with the perfect day surrounding you. On nice days, because of the availability of outdoor seating, there usually isn't much of a wait, but if you go on a rainy Sat morning at 10:30 AM, expect to wait a while.
Le Price
At my San Diego location, most breakfast entrees range from $4.25 to $7.50. My favorite dishes (the Nomad & Green Fields Forever) are $7.25. Luckily for me, Le Peep is not as well known here as it was in GA, and my Le Peep has coupons available at Valpak (www.valpak.com). It is actually cheaper for my husband and I to go to Le Peep than to many other breakfast spots because of the coupons! I know for a fact that Le Peep coupons are not plentiful for the GA locations, but even without coupons, Le Peep is still a top breakfast spot. Two things the GA locations have that the San Diego one does not are a coffee club (buy a mug a get free refills; my dad keeps spares for when he has company) and a birthday club (get a free meal, including drinks).
Le Cons
My cons are pretty minor things, but possibly they may be important to someone else. Le Peep uses frozen broccoli. (All the other veggies are fresh.) I often use frozen broccoli at home so I am not offended by the taste, but that may disappoint some people. Also, the chicken dishes use breast meat that is fairly plain, although this is not a problem for me since most of the dishes have other great flavors to compensate for this.
Le Link
http://www.lepeep.com
Le Bottom Line
Le Peep offers a scrumptious breakfast experience that shouldn't be missed. If you like breakfast, you need Le Peep.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
pipet
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: San Diego, CA
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 35 members
About Me:
A baby, school, and a new house; lots to write about but no time.
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