Seal Rock Inn Restaurant

(bka IHOO* Restaurant®)



The Seal Rock Inn Restaurant is located at the end of Geary Boulevard (well, where Geary splits off and turns into Point Lobos Ave) just across the street from Sutro Heights Park (which I think is now part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area) and up the road a bit from Cliff House. The location makes it a good, quick stand-by for me as it is less than 15 blocks from my apartment. It is a family owned/run place. I have been told the owners are of Greek descent, and some of the menu reflects this.

http://sealrockinnrestaurant.com/

The inn and restaurant take their name from the Seal Rocks, which are just off the coast of Ocean Beach (and Cliff House overlooks them). They are populated mostly by California Sea Lions ~ like I can tell one Pinniped from another. Locally they are better known as "Bird Poop Rocks" (see photo for self-explanation). I actually heard several sea lions barking when taking this photo.


I had their Greek Omelette No. 1 ~ (with lots o' what I can only assume is πραγματική ελληνική) Φέτα cheese, olives**, bell peppers, onions (white, red would be better), and tomatoes. It is one of my favourites and I have had it dozens of times. It tastes just like a good χωριάτικη σαλάτα (and this is a very καλό thing) surrounded by eggs. It comes with decent hash browns and choice of toast (I have found rye bread toast pairs very nicely with this omelette). They also offer a Greek Omelette No. 2, with just Φέτα and (again, lots o') fresh σπανάκι, that is another winner.


They serve Peerless Coffee & Tea®; Which is generally a decent enough cuppa, but they don’t make it very good here… however, this didn’t stop me from getting a few refills. ("No thank you. No more coffee for me, I’ll be up all night!" ~ why is it that they do not ever seem to get this great joke?)

http://www.peerlesscoffee.com/

As for condiments, they only offer the Ubiquitous® ketchup (which I find much better than Heinz® or Hunt's® brands) and regular Tabasco®… Sylvia's "Smokin' Hot" Hot Sauce to the rescue again (Thanks again, Sean!).


As for other "International Omelettes" that they offer: an Italian Omelette (not a frittata, though); a Spanish Omelette; a Mexican Omelette; and several other interesting versions. However, no matter how tempting it sounds, DO NOT try their Sunrise (Omelette w/no country) (after trying it, you will know exactly why no one would ever want to claim it as their own) ~ Banana, raisins, shredded carrots, low fat sour cream, topped with pine nuts. As hard as it may be to believe, it is actually worse than it sounds and really "completely 'orrible" (I was fully expecting it to be, so there was really no surprises there); I will try anything… once.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Greek Omelette No. 1 ~ 6.5 (with authentic Ελιές Καλαμών this would be a 7.0 at least); Coffee ~ 5.2 (I make terrible coffee, but with a good blend of coffee: i.e. Peet's® or Bettys, even I make a decent cuppa that ranks about 6.0); Sylvia's® Hot Sauce ~ 6.0; Sunrise (Omelette w/no country) ~ is it possible to be a negative number on this scale?


*(International House of Omelettes: to get this corn-y joke see last weeks entry.)

**(They use just the standard black canned variety. This would be soooo much better with real Ελιές Καλαμών; Cliff House used to have a great version of a Greek omelette, but no longer offer it, unfortunately.)