Review of Alonzo's Coffee Shop

Let's see, there aren't many restaurants in the greater Sacramento area that serve traditional American "comfort food," along with Mexican "comfort food" on the same menu. Alonzo's Coffee Shop combines the best of Mexican and American comfort food, along with comfortable dining, and very friendly staff.

As with all of my reviews, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.

Photo: Alonzo's Coffee Shop is located in a small strip mall, on the south side of Sacramento. It's a little after 0700 in the morning, on Monday, June 10, 2019, and I've arrived to enjoy a great breakfast.

Alonzo's has been serving Sacramentans great breakfast for many years, but only two months ago, they moved around the corner from their former store into their larger, and nicer current location.

Photo: As you walk in the front door, you'll immediately notice a significant reads "Please Seat Yourself," and that pretty well sums up what Alonzo's is all about, as the restaurant is very friendly and informal. The decor is pure "Americana," right down to the Norman Rockwell prints on the wall and the naugahyde vinyl upholstery on the furniture. Don't let the "seat yourself" sign put you off, as Alonzo's is one of the friendliest restaurant that you'll ever find in the greater Sacramento area. You'll find the spacious dining room is very comfortable, and "squeaky" clean.

On this early Monday morning, the restaurant was lightly seated, and I nearly had the place to myself. That is a great thing about being an "early diner" at Alonzo's, as by the time I left, the restaurant was rapidly filling with diners who know what delicious cuisine is all about.

Photo: So what do you want to eat? The breakfast menu offers an amazing array of choices, and a GIGANTIC variety of "comfort food" from both Anglo and Mexican cultures. That's right... the menu offers American, truck stop classics, such as biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, bacon and eggs, along with Mexican classics, such as chorizo and eggs, pozole and menudo, any time, all of the time... Yes, menudo and pozole are offered every day of the week, anytime the restaurant is open for business.

The lunch menu - not pictured - offers both Mexican and American classics. Alonzo's Coffee Shop is open for breakfast and lunch.

Photo: I sat at the small breakfast counter and the back of the restaurant, near the kitchen. There are six seats at the main counter, and the restaurant also has a small, adjacent counter with extra room, for diners with mobility issues who choose to dine at the counter.

I like to sit at the counter, as if the restaurant isn't busy, I get to chit-chat with the staff, and watch them in action.

Photo: I look over Ana Mari's shoulder, and get a peek into the kitchen, and the efficient staff at work.

Photo: Meet Ana Mari, my friendly server, who brings my breakfast to me with a cheerful smile. The service is fast and friendly, as my breakfast arrived less than 15 minutes after I placed my order.

During the course of our visit, Ana Mari and I enjoyed chatting about food, this web site, and various Yelp reviews. She is a definite "foodie," as she loves dining, food in general, and eats out frequently. She's very familiar with Alonzo's menu, as she eats at Alonzo's every day she's on duty and knows the menu choices thoroughly. I enjoyed my breakfast, I enjoyed her company and I enjoyed her friendly service.

Photo: Thanks, Ana Mari, for snapping my photo, as I get ready to chow down on my breakfast of carnitas, beans, eggs, salad, tortillas, along with two varieties of Alonzo's in-house-made fresh salsa.

Photo: When I'm dining at a restaurant that offers Mexican "comfort" food for breakfast, it's always my entree of choice. From the Mexican side of the menu, I went with "Carnitas, Two Eggs and Beans." You get a choice of flour or corn tortillas, and I ordered the corn variety, as I absolutely love the "earthy" flavor that corn tortillas offer.

The "main event" of my breakfast was a generous pile of perfectly fried carnitas, with a great combination of small pieces, larger pieces of seasoned, fried pork, which combine to make for a delicious entree. The refried beans were simply amazing, as they, like everything Alonzo's produces are made in-house, from fresh ingredients. The texture of the beans was smooth and creamy, and they were simply delicious. The melted Mexican cheese added a great taste, without overpowering the beans, and I loved the two tortilla chips jutting up from the beans.

As always, I ordered my eggs fried over easy, and they arrived as ordered, which is the mark of a good chef. I absolutely loved the little side salad of lettuce, tomato, onion and a slice of avocado that not only enhanced the beautiful presentation, but made the breakfast seem even more special than it was. On the side was a basked with three hot corn tortillas, along with two bowls of in-house made salsa. I went crazy over the mixed salsa, and asked for a second bowl. I loved the red salsa, but it was a little to warm for my "gringo" taste buds. Condiments are provided on the side, but weren't needed to enhance this delicious breakfast.

I might also add that, without asking, I was given a 10% senior discount. That's SERVICE!!

The breakfast was simply AMAZING! As pointed out by my friendly server Ana Mari, all ingredients are fresh, locally sourced, and everything is made in-house. The freshness of the delicious breakfast is very apparent, along with the care, and the attention to detail. Such a great breakfast!

Back on Friday, December 11, 2009, the now defunct Sacramento Breakfast Club enjoyed one of our bi-monthly meetings at Alonzo's Coffee Shop. Here is the article we wrote about our visit...

Let's see, it's been nearly a year since I've had the pleasure to visit beautiful Mexico and enjoy a authentic, delicious style Mexican breakfast. There are a TON of Mexican restaurants in California, but there are very few that are open for breakfast, as most lovers of Mexican cuisine in the United States don't really associate Mexican food with breakfast. But in Mexico, people eat breakfast, don't they? So it's difficult in California to find a Mexican restaurant that serves breakfast. I've been hungering for a Mexican breakfast, and as luck would have it, by word of mouth, I stumbled upon Alonzo's Coffee Shop, where I was assured that a good Mexican breakfast could be enjoyed. On Friday, December 11, 2009, when it was my turn to choose the location for the December meeting of the Sacramento Breakfast Club, I chose Alonzo's Coffee Shop.

Photo: "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head... " as I snap the photo of Alonzo's Coffee Shop, sandwiched in between other businesses, in a small strip mall in south Sacramento. Editor's note: This is a photo of the "old location," of the restaurant, at 5649 Stockton Blvd. As of March, 2019, Alonzo's has moved around the corner to 5709 Stockton Blvd.

Alonzo's is a Sacramento institution, as its been in the same location for many years. After spotting Alonzo's sign, which stands alone, like a tall tree along busy Stockton Blvd., you have to perform a small search in the shopping center, as it's a small diner, sandwiched between other businesses, and a little hard to find But the end justifies the means, and whatever effort you make to find Alonzo's Coffee Shop is well worth it, as simply put, this restaurant is a gem.

As you walk in the front door, you'll immediately notice a significant reads "Please Seat Yourself," and that pretty well sums up what Alonzo's is all about, as the restaurant is small and unpretentious. The decor is pure "Americana," right down to the Norman Rockwell prints on the wall and the naugahyde vinyl upholstery on the furniture. Don't let the "seat yourself" sign put you off, as Alonzo's is about the friendliest restaurant that you'll ever find! By the way, members of our club absolutely love a unpretentious, family-friendly, truck-stop-like, hash slingin' place like Alonzo's... it's our kind of restaurant!

Photo: At 0830 on a rainy Friday morning in December, 2009, Alonzo's is a busy restaurant.

So what do you want to eat? The menu offers an amazing array of choices, and a GIGANTIC variety of "comfort food" from both Anglo and Mexican cultures. That's right... the menu offers American, truck stop classics, such as biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, bacon and eggs, along with Mexican classics, such as chorizo and eggs, pozole and menudo, any time, all of the time... What??? Menudo and pozole, during weekdays? Yes, menudo and pozole are offered every day of the week, anytime the restaurant is open for business.

Dan, Bev and I were the vanguard of today's club members, as we arrived about a half hour before the meeting was scheduled to begin. We sat ourselves at a booth near the window big enough to hold all of the club members, and were greeted by Veronica, who produced menus, and coffee, and made us feel at home. We weren't alone, as the restaurant was nearly filled with other diners - Alonzo's in indeed a busy place on a rainy Friday morning!

Photo: Veronica brought a sample bowl of menudo to our table, complete with all of the garnishes. How many restaurants actually provide samples? Alonzo's does... and Alonzo's rules!

As Dan, Bev and I were waiting for the other club members to arrive, I commented to Veronica that I'd heard of Alonzo's menudo, and, although I am a HUGE fan of menudo, I wasn't contemplating ordering menudo for breakfast, but I was curious to see what all the fuss was about, concerning Alonzo's menudo. She offered to bring me a sample of their menudo, which I accepted... Just a few minutes later, she brought a sample bowl of menudo to the table, complete with diced white onions, and a slice of lemon for garnish! We're talking about a FREE sample! Wow! How many restaurants offer a free sample of their wares? How many restaurants serve menudo, whenever they're open? Alonzo's Coffee Shop does, and they've earned a GIGANTIC green flag in my book of fine restaurants... Alonzo's Coffee Shop rocks!

Seating was not a problem, as the "vanguard" of the breakfast club had reserved two booths, enough to seat the eight of us. By the time the rest of the club members arrived, the restaurant was packed... is there really a recession in late 2009? If you look inside Alonzo's, on a rainy Friday morning in December, you'd think the talk about recession/depression or global warming is just a bunch of hyperbole, as Alonzo's Coffee Shop was packed on this morning. I might add that Alonzo's caters to the local crowd, and we observed that practically every element of Sacramento society was present at Alonzo's doing exactly what we were doing, enjoying a delicious breakfast!

Photo: Veronica brings Bev's delicious breakfast to her, as other members of the Sacramento Breakfast Club admire her handiwork.

Veronica brought us coffee, coffee, and more delicious coffee. If you're a lover of coffee, Alonzo's is your place, as the delicious coffee keeps on comin' ... we were especially impressed by the large, stainless steel pitcher of cream on the table, so we didn't have to pester our waitress for more cream, nor did we have to fiddle with those small packaged containers of Half and Half, which lesser restaurants place on the table.

Back to the menu at Alonzo's... most of us ordered an entrée on the Mexican side of things, after all, you can order "Americana" practically anywhere, but if your taste runs south of the border, your choices are somewhat limited in the greater Sacramento area. In my case, I ordered chorizo, eggs, refried beans and rice, with corn tortillas on the side. We didn't have long to wait, as despite the nearly packed house, our breakfast arrived in scant minutes after we'd ordered. Despite the nearly packed house, Veronica was accompanied by only one other server, yet she cheerfully brought our food to our table in a timely manner, and actually agreed to snap a photo of us, after I talked her in her to do. She remarked, "I'm not a good picture-taker..." and I replied, "Just do the best that you can..." and she did... thanks Veronica...

Photo: Today's Sacramento Breakfast Club members, from left to right: Matt Donnelly, Sergio Gaona, (peeking) Mark MacIntire, Dan MacLeod, Brad Holther, Bev MacLeod, and Eric Rench, your webmaster, photographer, writer, and producer of this edition of the Sacramento Breakfast Club. Speaking of Sergio Gaona, although he's attended meetings prior to this posting, he is now an official member of our club, and all I can say is Yeah!!! Glad to have you, Sergio!

Photo: Oh yes! My delicious breakfast of chorizo, eggs, rice and refried beans... oh yes!

Comfort food in any language, be it in Spanish or English, is,well... comfort food, and Alonzo's Coffee Shop excels at comfort food. Two thirds of the club members ordered breakfast from the Mexican side of the menu (the menu doesn't differentiate between the two cultures) and all of had the same opinion... Alonzo's Coffee Shop rocks, in any language!

I commented to Bev that today was the first time, in all the years of enjoying breakfast with Bev and her husband Dan, that I'd ever seen her completely finish her breakfast... she's a typical female diner, and always leaves a portion behind, but today, she polished off her breakfast of Huevos Rancheros that she ordered. She replied that her breakfast was ymmmm, ymmmm good, which seemed to sum up the synopsis of the opinion of the Sacramento Breakfast Club.

Photo: Dan MacLeod, Mark MacIntyre, Matt Donnelly, Latasha Banks, Sergio Gaona and Brad Holther attend to their wonderful breakfast, enjoyed at Alonzo's Coffee Shop. Great food, and great people...

Alonzo's Coffee Shop is a Sacramento institution, and it's a treasure of a restaurant. Combine delicious food, to-die-for, fast, friendly service, Mexican entrees, and a comfortable, family-friendly place to eat... you can't beat Alonzo's Coffee Shop. Factor in menudo and pozole anytime the restaurant is open, and... that just leaves me devoid of absolute superlatives to describe this amazing diner.

Alonzo's Coffee Shop
5709 Stockton Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95824
916 453-9225