http://frjtz.com/
(The first EweToob video should be self-exploratory from the street today's restaurant is on; the story goes that the street name was the actual inspiration for Colin Meloy writing the song. The second link is just because this song, along with many other late 70's to early 80's songs, was playing while I was there. Jim, feel free to borrow this one for next week's "Friday Period Piece" if you like, or there is always "The Beer Barrel Polka" still.)
I went back to (je suis retourné à; ik keerde terug naar; oder Ich kehrte zu) frjtz (see last 'blog-entry from November 19th, 2011). They have since closed their original location on Hayes Street and the only branch that still remains open is the one on Valencia[1] Street (near the corner of 17th Street) in the Mission. They open at 9:00am daily (as shown on their front door sign); however, their website states that they open at 8:30am daily.
As I had gotten there a little earlier than when they actually open (that's what I get for checking an "official" company web-site beforehand), I stopped at Craftsman and Wolves (which is just two blocks away down Valencia) beforehand for a cuppa Sightglass Coffee. I was thinking about getting a pastry, too, but figured (correctly) that I would have too much to eat with breakfast as it was. I have no idea what the roast/blend was this morning, but it was pretty good.
http://craftsman-wolves.com/
https://sightglasscoffee.com/
the Wild Parrots of San Francisco Interlude
While drinking my cuppa at one of the sidewalk tables, I heard several of the little chatter-birds flying overhead (probably heading out in the morning from their roosts in Mission Dolores Park for their own coffee or breakfast), but really didn't catch a glimpse of them.
stupid parklet mini-rant of the day
After getting my coffee and heading back to frjtz, I saw a sign in the window of Dandelion Small-Batch Chocolate (which is just a few doors down) that they are applying for another stupid parklet in front of their joint. For which, they have been placed on my ever-growing "Places to Boycott Due to Stupid parklets List". (Sorry, Lori and Juan, them's the rules.) I won't even bother allowing them the distinction of linking their stupid company web-site here now or italicizing their name in this paragraph. (You are St*rbucks to me now, Dandelion!)
Well, back to the breakfastary portion of this 'blog-entry. You order at the front counter and pay first, they give you a number (I was lucky #89 this morning; well, I was actually the first customer of the morning, so I should have been #1), and then they bring the food to your table when it's ready (if they brought it out to you before it was done, that would kinda suck). The breakfast menu items are named for: Crêpes (both Savory and Sweet) ~ famous painters; the Belgian (bien sûr, natuurlijk, oder natürlich) Waffles ~ stations on the Brussels Metro (and they even offer a brand new Bananas Foster Waffle ~ named for that well-known Metro stop, Bananas Fosterstation, of course); and their pancakes and egg dishes (Benedicts, omelettes, and scrambles) ~ world-class museums.
Decisions, decisions (décisions, décisions; beslissingen, beslissingen; oder Entscheidungen, Entscheidungen).
I was torn between one of the savoury crêpes (Picasso, El Greco, Rembrandt, or Da Vinci); one of the waffles (Hankar, Belgica, Petillon, or Bananas Foster); or something eggy (the Guggenheim, the Benaki, the Louvre, or L'Hermitage). After much deliberating, I settled upon (well, I didn't actually sit on it, that was just my choice) the Picasso Crêpe ~ roasted (red) peppers, grilled eggplant, caramelized onions, (just for distinction, I added the Oxford comma which they had missed) & Gorgonzola. As their moniker suggests, I also had a side of Small Frjtz, with two dipping sauces: Chipotle Rémoulade[2] and Spicy Pomegranate[3] Ketchup (one sauce comes complimentary with a small order of fries, but I always think that isn't enough, so I got another sauce for an additional 50¢, which is completely worth it). And what is a crêpe and order of fries without a Beer? So I finished it all off with a glass of Stella Artois (after being assured that it was after Noon in Brussels ~ Bruxelles, Brussel, oder Brüssel).
The Gorgonzola cheese was the deciding factor in my decision. I was not sure how well it would pair with the roasted red peppers and eggplant (and the addition of any hot sauce/condimentary supplementation; see 'below), but it really wasn't that bad (if you like Gorgonzola cheese, roasted red peppers, and eggplant that is). The crêpe was made à la Belgique, where it is made with buckwheat flower and served square (carré, vierkant, oder quadratisch) versus the standard triangle (triangle, driehoek, oder Dreieck). The fries (pommes frites, friet, oder pommes) are served in a tall sundae glass; I mentioned last time that these are some of the best French fries in San Francisco.
Along with all of their various dipping sauces, frjtz now offers their own home-made bottles of hot sauce (which are also for sale if you really like them) for condimentary supplementation: The Frjtz Meyer-Lemon Hot Sauce. I had to try some of that on the crêpe. It was pretty decent; and reminiscent of a Tabasco®-style hot sauce, but with a little more heat and a bit chunkier. I was surprised to find that the hot sauce actually went very nicely with the melted, gooey Gorgonzola cheese, roasted red peppers, and eggplant. I really liked both of the dipping sauces, but I think I liked the Spicy Pomegranate Ketchup a little better than the Chipotle Rémoulade; however, the rémoulade was a bit more picante (épicé, gekruid, oder würzig).
VWG mini-rant of the Day, too
frjtz selection of dipping sauces includes ketchups, mustards, and mayonnaises; however, unlike the standard "vile white goop" (see 'blog-entry from June 20th, 2012), their mayonnaises are actually freshly made and pretty decent (for mayonnaise).
I found this pretty interesting, when you go to the bathroom (les toilettes, de toiletten, oder das Klo), they have German Lessons being broadcast over speakers:
"What is the weather like in January?" ~ "Was ist das Wetter im Januar?"
"The weather is better in February." ~ "Das Wetter ist besser im Februar."
"etc." ~ "usw."
The front-counter server guy said they also have French, Japanese, and a few other languages lessons during the day.
So, let's all do like "the Belle of Amherst" ("la Cloche de Amherst"; "de Bel van Amherst"; oder "die Glocke von Amherst") said and stuff that li'l bastage, Anger, full of crêpes and French fries! (He can buy his own damn coffee and Beer, though!)
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Picasso Crêpe ~ 6.4; The Frjtz Meyer-Lemon Hot Sauce ~ 6.4; Stella Artois ~ 6.9; Small Frjtz (figuring in both dips) ~ 7.8
1. So, just who was this "Valencia" guy and why does he rate a street named for him, you ask? (Well, even if you didn't ask, I am gonna tell you, anyway.)
Valencia Street was most likely named for local landowner Candelario Valencia, but may be named for his father, Jose Manuel Valencia, a member of Juan Bautista de Anza's 1775-1776 expedition to San Francisco.
And here's an additional little-known Cliff Clavinism: Candlestick Park was named after Candelario, too.*
*(Now, if anyone bought that one, I have a nice little International Orange bridge for sale, too.)
2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numéro un/numerus unus:
"Rémoulade" comes from French (original dialect "rémola" or "ramolas"), and is an alteration of Latin "armoracea" (meaning "horseradish").
Additionally:
"Rémoulade" in Dutch and German: "remouladesaus" und "Remoulade".
3. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, secunda pars:
"Pomegranate" derives from Medieval Latin "pomum" ("apple") and "grānātum" ("seeded").
Additionally:
"Pomegranate" in French, Dutch, and German: "grenade", "granaatappel", und "Granatapfel". The French term "grenade" for pomegranate has given its name to the military word "grenade". Soldiers commented on the similar shape of early grenades and the name entered common usage.
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