If there is one thing the beach-themed Sunny Daze Cafe can teach us, it's that checkers and food go surprisingly well together.
The built-in checkerboards at each of the restaurant's tables serve as an excellent time killer during the brief wait between ordering and eating.
Moreover, it gets those brain cells moving, which might come in handy for that early-rising breakfast crowd looking to catch a bite before work.
Sunny Daze opened last November and is a perfect addition for an area of town still growing in size and tastes.
It's no Margaritaville, but we think Jimmy Buffett would get a kick out of Sunny Daze.
The breakfast and lunch cafe aims for that laid-back Key West kind of attitude.
Model boats, cockatoos, bamboo lining and grass-mat ceilings transport you from a strip mall on Tucson's South Side to the sunny shores of San Diego, Oahu and the Bahamas.
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The restaurant has island music, including a few Buffett tunes, piping quietly through the speaker system. You can even dine beachside in the patio area, where the walls have been painted to resemble views of the open ocean.
Seating is usually available even during those busy after-church Sunday morning rushes.
Sunny Daze doesn't stray far from the norm when it comes to its breakfast selections.
Aside from calling pancakes hotcakes, most of the items are standard diner dishes: country ham and eggs, french toast, various omelette selections.
The restaurant gets a little more adventurous at lunch.
Sunny's Cali Burger ($5.99) comes out thick and juicy, stacked high with bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and tasty avocado wedges. Swap out beef for chicken for the same price.
Smoked sausage ($5.79) and white fish are common sights on the lineup, but we recommend the seasoned pulled pork ($7.58), a mouthwatering pile of succulent pork smothered in cheese, diced bacon, sautéed onions and mushrooms.
You may not want to make this a regular dish — not if you want to keep those arteries clean — but your taste buds will thank you for the occasional order.
Topping Sunny Daze's sandwich menu is "The Unbeatable" ($6.79) — a sandwich chock-full of a marinated meat of your choice (chicken, steak or smoke sausage), cheese, onions and peppers on toasted bread.
All sandwiches and favorite items come with varying numbers of side orders depending on what's ordered.
Sunny Daze Cafe
• Where: 4980 S. Campbell Ave.
• Hours: 5:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily.
• What: A beach-themed Americana restaurant.
• Parking: More than enough.
• Phone: 295-0300.
THE BILL
Cali Burger: $5.99
"The Unbeatable": $6.79
Seasoned Pulled Pork: $7.58
Three sodas: $4.77
Total, before tax and tip: $25.13
