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SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: CREST CAFE
This iconic restaurant’s personality is apparent before you even walk
through its doors: The outside walls are decorated with neon signs
and a vibrant mural featuring a large elephant. Inside, however, it’s the
food on the menu that speaks volumes — Crest Cafe was featured
on Food Network’s
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
.
On the Menu:
Breakfast items include indulgences such as creme
brulee French toast and the Cabo quesadilla, stuffed with eggs,
bacon, cilantro, hash browns, and Monterey Jack cheese. For
lunchtime, a popular pick is the insanely decadent butter burger,
made with a half-pound of ground beef stuffed with a garlic, tarragon,
basil, and parsley butter.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA: MATT’S BIG BREAKFAST
With three locations in Phoenix, Matt’s delivers a bit of an upgrade to
the traditional diner, and they manage to do it while keeping prices
wallet-friendly. Matt’s has gotten so much attention, it was also fea-
tured on
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
.
On the Menu:
Matt’s specializes in typical diner options with ele-
vated ingredients, such as cage-free eggs, house-roasted corned
beef, line-caught tuna, and locally sourced organic produce. You’ll
also find some out-of-the-ordinary plates, such as scrambled eggs
with Molinari sopressata salami or a skillet-seared Iowa pork rib
chop served with eggs and potatoes.
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INTERVAL WORLD Summer 2016 IntervalWorld.com
Ingredients
Compound Butter
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roasted Garlic Aioli
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
11 small cloves garlic, roasted and chopped
Burgers
2 pounds fresh ground beef or four 8-ounce
Angus beef patties
4 slices cheese
4 large burger buns
Directions
For the compound butter:
Stir together the butter, basil, parsley,
tarragon, cayenne, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Spoon
the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap in a 6-inch-long mound.
Fold the plastic wrap over the mixture to enclose it, and roll it to
form a log about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill until firm, about 2
hours.
For the roasted garlic aioli:
Blend the mayonnaise, lime juice,
paprika, cayenne, cumin, and garlic in a food processor until
smooth.
For the burgers:
Preheat the oven to broil. Form the ground beef
into 4 patties. Stuff a slice of the compound butter inside each and
broil the burgers to the desired doneness. Add another slice of the
butter to the top of each burger, followed by a slice of cheese. Broil
briefly, just until the cheese melts. Serve on buns with a small
mound of the aioli on top of the cheese.
Cali Griebel/www.photosbycali.com/Crest Cafe; Yvette Cardozo/Alamy Stock Photo
CREST CAFE
Courtesy of Crest Cafe
CREST CAFE’S BETTER BUTTER BURGER