The Colossal King Kong of Crust: Deep-Fried Chicken Cordon Bleu in Ramona
About an hour northeast of San Diego, right at the gateway of the desert, sits a small-town landmark that’s been serving up homestyle cooking for over 26 years. The Ramona Cafe, owned by the daughter of a local egg farmer, is the kind of place you’d expect basic cafe cooking—until you see them submerge a chicken cordon bleu into the deep fryer.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen chicken cordon bleu submerged,” Guy remarked, clearly intrigued by the unconventional technique. Owner Sonia Vanderine has her answer ready: “Why deep fried? It just tastes better. It has a crispy texture to the exterior and it tastes really yummy.”
How Sonia Builds Her Signature Dish
The process starts with a chicken breast cut in half and pounded to quarter-inch thickness under plastic wrap. Ham goes in the middle, followed by Gruyère cheese—and Sonia insists on Gruyère specifically. “You really have to use the Gruyère cheese,” she told Guy. “That’s the tang.” The whole thing gets rolled up and secured with toothpicks.
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But here’s where it gets interesting. Instead of a single dredge, Sonia double-coats her cordon bleu. Straight egg—no egg wash—then breading, then egg again, then more breading. When Guy caught on to this technique, he dubbed Sonia “the Colossal King Kong of Crust,” a title she happily accepted.
The secret to that crust? Sonia’s homemade breading made from dried-out homemade biscuits mixed 50/50 with flour, plus black pepper, half a teaspoon of cayenne, a tablespoon of poultry seasoning, and half a teaspoon of salt. The cayenne adds just enough heat without overwhelming—”not too spicy,” as Sonia puts it.
The Swiss Connection
Sonia’s Swiss-born mother contributed recipes when Sonia bought the cafe 20 years ago after returning to her hometown. The chicken cordon bleu is her own adaptation, but that Swiss influence runs through the menu. When she first put the deep-fried version on the menu, Guy asked if people went bananas. “They did, they love it,” Sonia confirmed.
Beyond the Cordon Bleu
That same magical breading appears on Sonia’s buttermilk fried chicken and her unique chicken fried steak. Rather than using a solid piece of beef, her version combines a 50/50 mixture of ground beef and veal. Guy’s verdict: “The breading’s not too thick and the meat is nice and moist inside… you can actually taste meat. You’re not just tasting fried batter.” Much like the Buffalo Burger at Casino El Camino, this dish proves that sometimes the best versions of classics come from unexpected twists.
The breakfast menu draws crowds too, featuring the “kitchen sink” loaded with tomatoes, bacon, garlic, green bell peppers, cheddar, and jack cheese, plus Hawaiian short stacks with pineapple, coconut whipped cream, and strawberry cream cheese stuffed French toast.
The Cinnamon Roll That Keeps Locals Loyal
One regular confessed the whole reason he hasn’t left town is because of the cinnamon rolls. Made fresh daily using her mom’s recipe, Sonia combines milk, margarine, salt, sugar, yeast, and flour, lets the dough rise (what Guy called “the big gabagoo got happy”), then spreads it with margarine and loads it with cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecans before rolling and slicing.
As locals told Guy, “It tastes like someone cares.” That sentiment extends to everything coming out of Sonia’s kitchen—real home cooking where the flavors come together because someone’s actually paying attention. For more Triple D destinations like this one or Outstanding Lamb Korma in Music City, check out our restaurant directory.