In 2006, I called Break of Dawn the best little gem of a restaurant in Orange County. Three years later, I’m standing by my opinion and naming it Restaurant of the Year.
When it opened three years ago, neither the public nor restaurant writers expected a place serving only breakfast and lunch to become so important to the culinary scene. And, few could have predicted that it would become so well known and highly regarded in such a short period of time. We’re talking about a restaurant that is tucked in the back of a common looking shopping center,the Oakbrook Village Center at the back of Laguna Hills Mall,after all.
From culinary aficionados to unpretentious diners who just appreciate great food, we’re no longer surprised by Break of Dawn. We’ve simply fallen under the spell of the ultra creative and sophisticated food that the former executive sous chef of the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel is showcasing,and all of it at such value-oriented prices. What owner/chef Dee Nguyen puts on the plates has the same appealing vibes as anything in our most exclusive restaurants; he merely does it for a lot less money in a happy, casual and down to earth place where the spirit of friendship floats in the air like the heady aromas wafting from the food. It’s a family run affair where repeat customers become friends.
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Break of Dawn: open for breakfast, lunch |
I guess I should tell you that about $10 will get you a long way at breakfast. For lunch just a tiny bit more will have you wondering why you haven’t been coming to Break of Dawn for the last three years.
Personal Touches
The decor is artistically personal. Some of Dee’s favorite food aphorisms have been transformed into large pieces of calligraphy-style artwork and two of Dee’s most meaningful chef jackets have been framed. A full bar top along one side of the room serves a dual purpose. One part is the wine and cocktail station (they have a full liquor license) and then it changes gears to become the line station for finishing the food orders. Tables and banquettes hugging the walls are made of natural wood. One of our favorite places to sit, though, is on the front patio beneath the umbrellas. It’s good for catching glimpses of all the customers coming and going and we always seem to find someone we know during our foray through more of Dee’s creations.
This spirit of family is part of the restaurant’s core. Dee and his wife, Linh, who is a pharmacist, first thought of opening a restaurant of their own with limited hours to spend more time together and with their son, who was experiencing some serious health problems. By doing only breakfast and lunch and closing on Mondays and Tuesdays, Break of Dawn became their viable option for extra family time.
So, here’s a couple whose past adversities don’t dampen their delightfully positive attitudes. Both survived war-torn Vietnam and actually were on the same boat coming to the U.S. but did not connect until Dee was in college.
Dee fell into becoming a chef in college, but not through his school’s classes. He cooked a lot for his on-campus friends while pursuing his degree and found he really loved working with food. That led him to the prestigious California Culinary Aca-demy in San Francisco that has a reputation for turning out chefs who later become very prominent.
The Food
Here’s but a smattering of what you can expect in Dee’s very contemporary food. French toast is made from cinnamon-raisin brioche and crusted with brown sugar. Sausage and rice begins with Portuguese sausage mingled with aromatic rice and then accompanied by a green papaya and sesame salad with a couple of fried eggs. His eggs benedict begins with sun-dried tomato focaccia topped with smoked ham and poached eggs and then thinly blanketed with pesto hollandaise. If you love coffee and a pastry, the huge cinnamon roll baked in its own cast iron skillet with a coffee glaze is beyond delicious. If you’ve got to stay with what you know, Dee will cook you any of the breakfast classics.
The lunch dishes are even more divine. How about butternut squash soup with crispy shrimp rolls on the side? I swooned when discovering the oxtail cassoulet (also containing nine kinds of beans, bits of sausage and bacon and a poached egg atop the hot liquid). Pulled pork can be addictive with its jalape & #324;o corn cake and tropical slaw taking part in the waltz. Braised duck is strewn with black mission figs and further features a marvelous onion omelet and a distinctive style of creamed corn as accompaniments. Meatloaf is tender and exciting and sports hints of Vietnamese flavoring. Need I say that this is but a sampling of his wonderful, eclectic menu?
Break of Dawn is at 24351 Avenida de la Carlota in Laguna Hills. Call (949) 587-9418.
