Blue Jay Cafe

http://www.bluejaysf.com/


After doing my laundry earlier this morning (I wanted to get that out of the way early enough today to free up time for Super Bowl XLV this afternoon), I revisited Blue Jay Cafe (over on Divisadero, somewhat in the Western Addition; see my last post from May 31st, 2010). This is a pretty good place for breakfasts (well, technically they call it "Brunch" on their menu, but this is a pretty unassuming joint ~ reservations are not needed and they don't have fancy cloth napkins; so I let them slide on the whole "Brunch" wording); however, they do open a little late normally for my liking (they open at 10:00am on Saturdays and Sundays), but it worked out very nicely today.

On the weekends, they offer different drink specials for "Brunch". Today was a 2-for-1 Bloody Mary, which is made with Jinro Soju, as they only have a Beer and Wine License. As best as I can figure Soju is a Korean rice wine product (about 24% ABV) that can be used as a mixer in places where they don't have a Liquor License. I am not sure what it tastes like, but they seemed to be doing a good business selling them this morning (well, 2-for-1 always helps).

They have a pretty decent standard breakfast ("Brunch", whatever) menu, but I went with today's special off the board: Tomato, Spinach, and Feta Omelette (do I really need to list the ingredients?). All of their omelettes come with grits, a bowl of fruit, or spiced homefries, and choice of toast, BlueJay's corn muffin, or BlueJay's biscuit. I went with the spiced homefries and a BlueJay's biscuit. I also had a cuppa coffee and a glass of their fresh-made ½-Lemonade/½-Limeade.




There was lots of fresh spinach (not frozen) and lots of Feta (also not frozen) in the omelette, which is always a plus. The portions aren't really huge, but are just right for my appetite, where I was able to comfortably finish all on my plate for a change ~ I even ate the watermelon slice/garnish thing (if I still had been hungry, I would have ordered a side order of their Home made giant Biscuit with Mushroom Gravy; it sounded pretty decent). The regular homemade biscuit was good, but the spiced homefries were great ~ crispy, but not greasy at all; they must be baked, not cooked on the grille. The Lemon/Limeade was a little bit on the sweet side (but it was fresh-made and served in a large glass, not one of those tiny shot glasses); I added a bit of water to it to dilute it and then it was perfect.

They only have Crystal® hot sauce on the tables/counter, so I went with some of my own stash of HP® Brown Sauce and Trees Can't Dance ~ Tree Fire Sauce (Thanks yet again, Cindy and Greg!) on the potatoes. For those of you that have never been to Great Britannia, HP® Brown Sauce is a condiment, very similar to A.1.® Steak Sauce, that is as ubiquitous there as ketchup or Tabasco® are here in 'merica. I like the HP® Brown Sauce much better than A.1.® ; I think it's the tamarind versus the raisin paste in the ingredients (either that or it's just that I am still boycotting all Kr*ft products).

They have a small backyard patio area that can seat about 8-10 people comfortably. I debated on sitting outside today as it was turning out to be a beautiful sunny day and the weather will reach about 70-75° today, but it was still a little early (and the patio never really gets any sunshine) so I opted for a seat at the counter instead. Maybe next time…

Oh, and…

GO GREEN BAY PACKERS!!!


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Omelette ~ 6.5; Lemon/Limeade ~ 6.7; Spiced Homefries ~ 6.8