811 Prospect Street | www.mvpfamilyrestaurant.com | 858-352-6578
by Robby Robinson
In June, during the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic, one passionate family braved the elements and opened the winning MVP Family Restaurant at 811 Prospect. The four team members on the front line of the restaurant are Ned Kern and his wife, Sami as well as son Zach and Zach’s wife, Lauren. Ned has a solid background in the restaurant business and Zach specializes in the food prep division, having graduated from the San Diego Culinary Academy and starred in several San Diego top drawer restaurants. He also worked in a butcher shop. Clever, smart, and the perfect way of understanding meats. Good thinking, Zach.
This is a true family-style restaurant. The owners hope that this will be a destination for family dinners and celebrations. They envision birthdays, anniversaries, and just plain old family gatherings. The Kern family grew up playing Little League and were always seeking a restaurant to host the players and their families after games. They decided to build their own! The name came to Zach in a snap – MVP Family Restaurant.
The restaurant is sleek, beautiful, roomy, and includes an awesome large patio area with a fire-pit. A cool looking open-air patio runs the full length of the exterior of the restaurant facing Prospect Street. People watching galore.
MVP’s menu nicely includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Ahem – from experience, the French Toast gets a home run, the burgers get a 3-pointer, the pulled pork hits it out of the house, and the grilled cheese gets a touchdown. All foods are made from scratch (what a treat!). Zach cures his bacon and the bacon cures our hunger in the best way possible. The slices are THICK! And the service??? A five-star rating.
One wall is covered with photographs of popular sports MVPs. A most impressive collection and great fun to see.
Here are some MVPs in top sports categories. Let’s see what you know!
NFL – Peyton Manning. Yeah, baby, He won the MVP with the Indianapolis Colts in 2003, ‘04, ‘08, ‘09, and then again with the Broncos in 2013.
MLB – Barry Bonds. Oh, he’s good. He won the MVP in 1990 and ‘92 with the Pirates and in 1993, 2001, ‘02, ‘03, and ‘04 with the SF Giants. Wow.
NBA – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You just gotta’ love this guy. He won the MVP in 1971, ‘72, and ‘74 as a Milwaukee Buck and in 1976, ‘77, and ‘80 with the Lakers. Go ahead – jump in with Jordan or King James, but neither has as many MVPs as Kareem.
NHL – Gretzky! There are no other words needed. Except maybe the “Great One.”
Major League Soccer – Preki. Ok, want his full name? You asked for it – Predrag Radosavljevic.
PGA – You’ll know this without my help. TIGER!
Men’s Tennis – Pete Sampras. He won the ATP Player of the Year a record six times. Federer and Djokovic are knocking at the door, however.
Women’s Tennis – Steffi Graf. Serena Williams could catch up this year, though.
Auto Racing – Jimmie Johnson.
No list of sports greats would be complete without mentioning Floyd Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray – and – Secretariat! And of course, there is the Luge champ — Georg Hackl. Store that away for your next game of Trivia.
“I want the restaurant to be known for good food and a good time. From our friendly staff to our dedication in the kitchen. We want to be a place where you can take the family out to have an affordable meal, but also come for a date night to impress”, says owner Zach Kern.
Well, Zach, you certainly hit those goals out of the park. The restaurant lives up to your goals. At MVP Family Restaurant, you will dine like an MVP while being treated like a VIP.
Hours: Daily 8:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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