If you’re in the mood for healthy food with a South American twist, head to “the top of the hill” in Daly City to fill your stomach without emptying your wallet.
Mission Edge Cafe and Rotisserie is a Peruvian and American-style cafe offering healthier alternatives at reasonable prices — not too far from the SF State campus, located at 5999 Mission St. on the corner of Templeton Avenue.
Huevos rancheros is the customer go-to. The dish, prepared with two eggs (any style), cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream with pinto beans, two corn tortillas and avocado on the side, is priced at $8.75.
“We use large brown organic eggs for all of our egg products,” said Irene Canales, barista and the owner’s daughter. “The veggies, we also get them all organic. We go get them twice or three times a week and the salsa we make ourselves.”
According to hostess Yamel Vallejo, customers also go for the omelet, served during breakfast hours until 3 p.m. The dish, priced at $8.75 and stacked with scrambled eggs, ham, swiss cheese, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and spinach, gives customers plenty of fuel to start their day. Slices of avocado are neatly added on the side, with a small portion of pico de gallo and warm toast.
Owner Javier Canales wanted to use his 25 years of restaurant experience to bring healthy, organic, grass fed and free-range food to the community he’s been a part of for three decades. Canales opened the doors to his family restaurant in April 2015 with the knowledge of how to build the business himself, and create a space where he and his family could provide a dine-in feel with fresh and healthy meals.
“My community doesn’t have anything sustainable and organic to eat here,” Canales said. “Everything around here is all conventional, like greasy foods … There are no choices for people like me that eat healthy.”
Their menu draws on American-style meals and traditional dishes from Javier’s native Peru. Vallejo mentioned that the owner’s Peruvian background is a big reason why they offer items such as Chicha Morada, a cold refreshing purple drink made from purple corn, pieces of pineapple and cinnamon priced at $3.00.
Irene Canales said customers also favor the Aguas Frescas, a fresh fruit drink made with any fruit. She said the flavor options they offer each day of the week are Lemonade mixed with berries, Chicha Morada and Passion Fruit.
“We sometimes do Horchata, which is a big seller,” Irene Canales said, speaking of the cold, sweet, rice milk mixed with cinnamon. “People love using the Horchata milk also for lattes … Milk and cinnamon, you mix it in and you make a really yummy Horchata latte.”
Javier Canales said that although the restaurant is busiest Thursday through Sunday, some customers come in every day.
“They did a really spectacular job with the look of the place,” Greg Kennedy, a daily customer that stops by for a meal in the afternoons, said. “It’s very welcoming and clean. The food is very good. I like that the food is organic. I always feel good after I eat here. I never had a bad meal.”
