Dottie’s True blue café

"May you build a lettuce juice-box…"???

http://dotties.biz/

(The first EweToob video is one of the original two versions sung by the mumbling Mr. Zimmerman himself, and it is currently being used as the theme song for the NBC TeeVee show "Parenthood"; whenever Bob gets to the second verse, I swear it sounds like "May you build a lettuce juice-box…" which makes absolutely no sense, but you try to understand a word he is singing. As a counterpoint, I figured I would showcase another version that is a bit easier to understand and enjoy.)


For the first Start of the 2013 Season from my Breakfastary Rotation, I went with the Ace of the Staff: Dottie's True blue café (see last 'blog-entry from December 23rd, 2012). I was the first in line this morning and I had only gotten there fifteen minutes before they opened. It was a very clear and sunny (and not the least bit chilly for the time of year) morning, and it was very unusual that there was no line waiting to get in before they opened and also it was basically an empty restaurant (only four to five tables occupied) the entire time I was there. Kurt said that is pretty typical for a late January morning, but I had never seen it before. I am not suggesting that anyone wait until the last week in January to go to Dottie's, but if you do, don't think there is never a crowd the rest of the year.

There were some really nice selections on the fresh-baked pastries chalkboard this morning: 1920's Prohibition Whiskey Blueberry Crumb Cake; Pumpkin Toffee Muffin; 1925 Rum Runner Caramel Rum Bread Pudding; Sweet Potato Cranberry Muffin; among several others. I may have talked the two people that sat down behind me just before I left and hadn't ordered yet into trying at least one of the pastries to share between themselves (they were more than welcome to share some with me, too).

Once again, I ordered off the Chalkboard Specials. They had their famous Zucchini Cakes Benedict on there again today, but I ordered the Portobello Mushroom, Arugula & Fontina Tart ~ served with eggs any style and fruit & potatoes (that would be a cup of fruit and a side of potatoes). I also had a large glass of orange juice. I skipped a cuppa coffee at Dottie's and am enjoying a very decent cuppa Bettys Christmas Coffee while I am typing this out (Thanks, Cindy and Greg, or Greg and Cindy! There is no need to cause any undue familial strife with the credit.). 

This was another real winner with the tart. I had never had this particular meal before, but Kurt said they offer it a few times a year. It was full of flavour (if you like the flavour of mushrooms, of course). It may have had some Balsamic vinegar in with the filling, too, as I know that goes very well with Portobello mushrooms. I was wondering to myself if Gorgonzola cheese (or another extremely stinky blue cheese), instead of the milder Fontina cheese, would pair well with Portobello mushrooms, but that might be too many strong flavours all at the same time. I simply got my two eggs "over medium". Today's fruit cup included: blueberries (a real berry), strawberries (faux berries), blackberries (more faux berries), cantaloupe (who knows if this is a berry or faux?), and watermelon (another real berry).

As stated many times in the past, Dottie's has an extensive selection for condimentary supplements. I used some Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce ~ Chipotle liberally on the potatoes; and a little Frank's® RedHot® Chile 'n Lime™ on the eggs. This was another weekend where I didn't need to use any of my own hot sauces (Thanks, no one!).

And just to let you know, Dottie's does not serve any "lettuce juice-boxes", I asked… *face-palm*… but I coulda had a V8®!


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Tart ~ 7.1; Bettys Christmas Coffee ~ 7.6; Bob Dylan's Lyrics ~ 8.5; Bob's "Singing" ~ 6.3 (and I am being very generous with that rating)