The OK Cafe

Every Saturday, my dad and uncles go for a run somewhere in San Diego. My dad retired from the Air Force and one uncle was in the Navy so they are no strangers to exercise.

But right after their weekly run, what do they do? Head to a restaurant and stuff themselves with bacon, eggs, pancakes, french toast, etc.

Sigh.

Maybe this public shaming will change their ways.

So for this week's Healthy Bites, I decided to find the type of place my uncles might eat and see what healthier options are available. This brought me to at 11828 Rancho Bernardo Rd.

I wound my way to the front after mistakenly entering through the patio (there is a front door, I discovered), and the staff was kind enough to laugh with me about my mistake. Or at me. Same difference.

I asked the waitress if they had a "lite" menu and she pointed me to the Healthy Choices section. Nice. Except the breakfast choices—yogurt, granola, oatmeal and fruit—were a bit limited. Luckily, the traditional part of the menu with the omelettes and typical choices offered egg whites or egg substitute and fruit in exchange for regular eggs and hash browns. The egg switch will cost you 95 cents.

Oh, how I love hash browns. But not that day.

I opted for the Lox Omelette with egg whites, smoked salmon, cheese and green peppers instead of the onions that are normally included. To drink I had orange juice and water.

My dad loves salmon and I think he might be happy with this lighter choice, should he and my uncles find themselves in Rancho Bernardo one Saturday. There was plenty of salmon in the omelette to keep you satisfied, though combined with the cheese it was a tad salty for my taste.

I had some tasty cantaloupe with the omelette instead of the side choices (the lox usually comes with a bagel and cream cheese that I declined).

On a future trip, I probably would get something other than the salmon, but it was pretty good. The restaurant didn't include the nutrition facts on the menu, but I'm sure my fruit and egg whites were an improvement calorie-wise over the hash browns and regular egg.

So if you're at a local restaurant on a Saturday and you see a stack of buttery pancakes surrounded by a group of men, including one who bears a striking—but manly—resemblance to me, encourage them to eat something else.

And when they ask why your friendly Patch editor didn't join them on their morning run, well ... just walk away.

Rating: 3 out of 5. Price: $9.75 for the omelette; 95 cents to substitute the egg white; $3.50 for the orange juice.