Sounds like a good time to head out to Ocean Beach for "Brunch".
http://outerlandssf.com/
(The first EweToob video should be self-exploratory with the coffee shop I went to this morning. The second one is just because I like them, so deal with it.)
So, I lost an hour of sleep somewhere, but I gained an hour of sunshine, right?
Today was a perfect day (another gorgeous pre-Spring, sunny morning) to meet some friends (Lori and Juan) at Outerlands (see last 'blog-entry from April 15th, 2012) for breakfast. Well, technically, Outerlands calls their morning meal "Brunch" (and they don't open up until 10:00am, but as I stated when I started my 2013 breakfastary restrictions, if the place is pretty damn good, I will overlook that). I actually arrived there at 9:00am and put our names on the list ahead of time and waited for Lori and Juan to show up later. I also happened to notice that they are expanding sometime in 2013 to the space next door (which used to house a Chinese restaurant); this should help with the waiting time and allow for more people to get in.
As I had about a half-hour to kill before Lori and Juan showed up, I went down the block and grabbed a cuppa at Trouble Coffee Co. I have no idea if they roast their own coffee or not (you try finding any detailed information on their web-site), but it is a popular enough little place and many people were doing the same thing as I was and getting something to drink while waiting for Outerlands to open.
http://www.troublecoffee.com/content
Parklets Rant (continued)
Now I am as green-minded as the next person (well, if the next person happens to be named Monsanto Company), but I really think that all of these stupid Parklets are getting completely out of hand. There were two more stupid Parklets in this neighborhood and within a block of each other: one right on Judah in front of Trouble Coffee Co. and the other on 45th Avenue alongside Outerlands. Yeah, because it is such a looooong walk (two blocks) all the way to Golden Gate Park, or even Ocean Beach (three blocks), if people need to enjoy the fresh outdoors! At least the one on Judah only takes up two parking spaces and is pretty cool incorporating an old tree trunk to use as seating, but the one on 45th takes up three entire parking spaces!
Lori and Juan have both eaten at Outerlands a few times and knew exactly what they wanted to order ahead of time. Outerlands only offers a few items on their "Brunch" menu (and it changes frequently with whatever is seasonally available[1]), but I was glad to see that there were several items that I could choose this morning. Lori also told me that Outerlands makes all of their own fresh baked breads and pastry products (and they are all made by the surfer-dude owner). I was debating on either the quiche (caramelized onions, spigariello, goat's cheese & gruyere) or the slow cooked farm eggs and cracked farro grits (grilled broccolini, parmesan), but ended up ordering the fried egg open faced sandwich ~ grilled chicories & portobella - roasted shallot spread, provolone; with a side of greens. Lori had the eggs in jail ~ with bacon and mixed greens salad. And Juan ordered the dutch pancake baked in a cast iron pan ~ sweet - topped with spiced caramel apples (this is what I had the last time I ate there and it would have been my fall-back if necessary).
I had no idea what grilled chicories would taste like. I have only ever had roasted chicory root in N'Orleans-style coffee and wasn't sure what to expect. They were pretty good and reminded me of bitter, spicy greens or such. The entire sandwich mess was very tasty with lots of sliced Portobella (or Portobello, or Portabello) mushrooms. There was plenty of melted Provolone throughout, too. The side of mixed greens went mostly untouched, though. I was glad I had ordered this, as I saw someone at the next table had ordered the quiche and it was just a rather small slice of pie.
Lori's breakfast was your typical "egg-in-a-hole", where the bread has a large hole cut out of the center and the egg is cooked in the middle of it on a griddle; it came with two large slices of bacon crisscrossed on top. Juan likes his breakfast to be on the sweet side and the dutch pancake is perfect for that. I tried talking him into getting it as "sweet and savoury" with both the apples on top and bacon in the batter, but he wasn't having any of that (this is not something that they offer on the menu, but they do offer it as either sweet or savoury and I am sure it could be done).
Once again I didn't bother to ask what Outerlands has as condimentary supplements, but I had brought a few of my own hot sauces and used some Palo Alto Firefighters Pepper Sauce XX Habanero (Thanks agains, Amys and Brian!) on top of the eggs/sandwich thingy.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: fried egg open faced sandwich ~ 6.5; Trouble Coffee Co. ~ 6.5
1. As stated on their web-site:
"Outerlands is dedicated to supporting our environment by utilizing sustainable local resources at every opportunity. Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in our relationships with local organic farms, ranches, and specialty foods purveyors."
Translation: We buy local seasonal junk.
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