It took us a mere 11-years of boycotting before we tried Corona Airport Cafe again. We actually…read moregave them two chances this time around. The reviews had shown that a lot had changed, and Yelpers were trying to tell me that. But could they change our mind?
It was still the same basic, old fashioned building, but with minor expansions and some quirky upgrades. I have to say, the interior is cute and clean and their servers are delightful. But more importantly, it seemed they had a different owner. Could this possibly be a game changer?
I settled on a Vegetarian Scramble, 2 eggs, with tomato, bell pepper, spinach and mushrooms, sharing the plate with house potatoes and a generous slab of avocado on the side. Deliciously done. I didn't even realize that there was no cheese until writing this review...duh! Yes, it was yummy... I would get this again.
Huevos Rancheros. While surprised that the "fried tortillas" were flabby, not crisp, Mr. B decided he enjoyed the meal overall, especially the tasty, homemade Ranchero sauce. The over-easy eggs were nicely done; their refried beans were a success as well. Too bad the home-style potatoes were overcooked and, in some cases, he said they were "burnt". Me, I confess to liking burnt/ well caramelized, so I inherited them. It's true, some of them were harder than hard, but the rest were ok.
Curious, we also indulged in sides, i.e. both types of sausage. The patties were delicious, the links were plump. I thought it would be hard to choose between them, but on our second visit (see below), I decided that their brand of sausage link simply was not for me. The taste was off.
The coffee came in a huge mug and our server made sure the cup was filled often. Great job! However, I've had better coffee; this one was super thin, brown water both times we visited. I cannot recommend the coffee for serious coffee drinkers.
Great multi-grain and seed, wheat toast with plenty of butter. Right up my alley.
Also on our second visit, we ordered the Tres Leches pancake combo and chilaquiles with verde sauce. The pancakes were beautiful with a buttery cinnamon sauce, topped with sliced fresh strawberries and whipped cream. This was a nice choice.
The chilaquiles had a nicely seasoned verde sauce but the pork chunks themselves were hard and lean. That was a turn off.
Mr B also got a side of bacon. It was crisp and super thin. I thought it tasted good, but he did not. And at a $4 charge for two skinny slices, it was not worth it.
More bad news. Some of the food, particularly the sausages and the ranchera sauce, came out of the kitchen slightly warmer than room temperature. This happened both visits. On our first visit they were not particularly busy, so it was hard to justify why things cooled down so quickly, even before arriving at our table. The second visit, I ended up sending the cold sausage back and requested they cook it longer. That backfired, because then, the sausage links came back way overdone. I had complained enough that visit, so I just left them uneaten. The sausage did not come home with our leftovers.
This little cafe has strengths but also weaknesses, some of which I cannot forgive, like weak coffee and cold food. I cannot agree with others that this is the best Corona has to offer for breakfast. They're good, but we have better, more consistent options.
