Carbonara Is Breakfast Food At This Extravagant San Diego Restaurant

The origins of carbonara, the creamy pasta topped with pancetta or bacon, are a little vague. But whether it was created by American soldiers in Italy around World War II or by native Italians, it's not usually a dish served and eaten for breakfast. Then when you consider that two of the main ingredients are bacon and egg yolks, a breakfast carbonara starts to make sense. That's exactly why we're fascinated by Morning Glory, a San Diego breakfast-focused restaurant that slings the Italian dish for the morning meal. 

Aptly named Breakfast Carbonara, the dish is made of bucatini, crispy pork belly, a creamy cheese sauce, a soft-poached egg, and Calabrian chili oil for a touch of spice. Its menu says the dish is an ode to the eatery's neighborhood, so there must be some Italian influence in this section of San Diego. The breakfast carbonara is priced at $15 at the time of publishing. A quick Yelp search shows many images of the decadent pasta dish, which is also garnished with a julienne of basil placed directly on the poached egg.   

If you can't make it to San Diego anytime soon, make the dish yourself and start with our simple spaghetti carbonara recipe. Swap the spaghetti with bucatini to really make the dish like Morning Glory does. For a rendition similar to Morning Glory's, replace the pancetta with pork belly, perhaps with the ingredient plucked out of our crispy miso-braised pork belly salad recipe. You can also lean into the breakfast inspiration and use crumbled bacon, sausage, or a fried egg on top of the carbonara. Then add a garnish of freshly-cut basil and have yourself a flavorful and unique breakfast.

And if you happen to be in San Diego, Morning Glory serves up some other unique dishes for breakfast that might be worth a try. Another breakfast mashup is its Ginger Fried Rice with pork belly, green vegetables, and an egg. We're also intrigued by its Lobster Benny that has leeks, poached eggs, Béarnaise, and a salad. There's even a caviar tasting if you're feeling fancy and more traditional offerings such as egg sandwich, omelets, and an array of pancake dishes won't suffice. To try out more grub in the city, here are 20 of the best restaurants in San Diego.