Serpentine

"Who lined himself with hope,
Eating the air on promise of supply."
~ Wild Bill Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part II, Act i, Sc. 2

http://www.serpentinesf.com/


Place: Serpentine
Location: 2495 3rd Street (at 22nd Street)
Hours: Sat & Sun open at 10AM
Meal: baked eggs (two eggs - spiced garbanzo beans - roasted root vegetables - broccolini - hen of the woods mushrooms - tomatillo salsa - with toasted levain); and a cuppa mighty fine Mr. Espresso 

(There is no relationship between "Serpentine" and Sarah Borges. I just like her music and I couldn't think of a decent "snakey" EweToob video, Mr. Plissken.)


I made the long trek over to Dogpatch again this morning for breakfast at Serpentine. This was my first time ever eating there; however, they may possibly have the same ownership as Slow Club (see 'blog-entry from June 4th, 2011) as there is a recommendation on their web-site to try that place, too. Serpentine is located in an old warehouse space, with 20-foot high ceiling and brick walls, etc. There are tables for about forty or more people and they seem to fill up quickly for "Brunch". (Many people actually had reservations ~ Really? For "Brunch"? No, thank you.) They also have a long bar/counter seating area for about fourteen people (which seemed to be where they stuck those of us that couldn't be bothered to make "Brunch" reservations).

There are only about twelve to thirteen items on the seasonal/changing menu. The only other real vegetarian option was buckwheat pancakes (toppings offered: pineapple - bananas - pomegranates - candied walnuts - maple syrup - whipped cream; you can get these as either one or two pancakes). Otherwise, their menu is pretty carnivore-centric, of note: red flannel hash (beef brisket - crispy potatoes - roasted beets - horseradish crème fraîche[1] - arugula - poached eggs - rosemary salt - grilled levain) and savory bread pudding (smoked turkey breast - leeks - eggplant - fennel - cauliflower - carrots - rutabaga & turnips, served with mixed greens). 

One very important thing that I noticed while sitting at the bar/counter: they do not offer any crap Beers in their bar at all! I saw that they do have a few excellent Beers: Unibroue La Fin du Monde (which is one of my current favourites ~ even if it is from Canadialand) and Almanac Beer Co. Farm to Barrel Series, as well as a few other very good Beers. I don't think that I have ever really seen a place that didn't offer at least Budweiser or Miller of some type.

http://www.unibroue.com/en/beers/15

http://www.almanacbeer.com/ourbeer/

Stupid Customer Rant of the Day
I had gotten there about ten minutes before they opened and there was a small line of about ten people ahead of me. While waiting the few minutes before they opened, another five to six people lined up behind me. Just as the restaurant was opening, a small group of three to four arrived and tried to cut into the line and asked the people behind me: "Are you waiting to get in?" WHAT?! Is this your first time ever eating "Brunch" out, bucky? Get a clue!

stupid parklet mini-rant of the day
I am sad to report that there is a brand new one-space wastelet in front of Just For You Cafe. If they weren't already one of my favourite places for breakfast, I would easily place them on my ever-growing Boycott List, too. 

Additional Stupid Pedestrian Rant of the Day
I figure as I was already in a ranting mood, here is one more. What kind of maroon walks down the street on a bright, sunny day with a large mirror (a wardrobe sized one) facing out to traffic so that it reflects into the drivers eyes and blinds people driving their cars?! 

(Okay, that about does it for today's rants.)

This was a simple enough meal; served in a small cast iron skillet. The eggs were probably fried a bit first, then finished/baked on top of a pile of very good ingredients: broccolini (which is not the same thing at all as its cousin the vile weed), mushrooms, roasted root vegetables (which, due to some of the other items on the menu, I figure probably included: fennel, turnips, rutabagas, and sweet potatoes ~ but no beets, unfortunately), garbanzo beans, and a very tasty salsa. The "toasted levain" is just a fancy way of saying sourdough toast.

I didn't ask what the actually roast of Mr. Espresso that they were serving, but it was strong and very good. I have had this local (out of Oakland) brand several times before and it is usually very good.

http://mrespresso.com/

Serpentine only offers for bottled condimentary supplements Cholula® Hot Sauce, but they do have small peppermills on all the tables, which I put to good use. Before adding any of my own hot sauces unnecessarily, I actually tasted their tomatillo salsa and it was pretty tasty on its own, so I really didn't need to add any extra spiciness.

Glen Bacon Scale Rating: baked eggs ~ 6.9; Mr. Espresso Coffee ~ 6.9

1. The correct spelling of this is "crème fraîche"; however, they have it spelled incorrectly as "créme fraiche". It's really just a small point, but if they can use an accent aigu, why can't they use the correct accent grave? Granted, the circumflex (the little hat thingy accent on top of the "i") may not be readily available on some printers.