Sparrow Bar and Kitchen

What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and a fractured ulna?[1]

http://www.sparrowbarandkitchen.com/


Place: Sparrow Bar and Kitchen
Location: 1640 Haight Street (between Belvedere and Clayton Streets)
Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday-Sunday 10am
Meal: Fritatta [sic] ~ golden beets, oyster mushrooms, red onions, bacon (which I skipped), and goat cheese, with toast; and a cuppa Sightglass Coffee (I have no idea what roast/blend, though, as I didn't think to ask.)

(Just a few avian EweToobular juxtaselections.)


This morning, I had breakfast at a relatively new-ish restaurant (they have been open since July 2013) in the Haight: Sparrow Bar and Kitchen. The old restaurant that was in the same space used to have a stupid parklet out in front, but I am very happy to see that the current ownership didn't feel the need for that stupidity. 

stupid parklets mini-rant

There is another of these urban atrocities on the next block, and it is taking up three valuable parking spaces. Of course, a person would have to walk all of three whole blocks to Golden Gate Park or two entire blocks to the Panhandle!!!

Sparrow only has inside seating of four four-seat tables and four two-seat tables; plus, one large 12-seat table in the back. Luckily it was a great sunny day so that I could sit outside in their large deck patio area, where there are five tables for four and twelve tables for two. There is also a really cool smaller "Garden Seating" area which has just three small, round tables that can seat from three to four people (but more likely two people comfortably); when I had first arrived there, they were originally set up for four people each, but they changed that to three seats a little later on.

The Wild Parrots of San Francisco Interlude

In keeping with the whole fine-feathered-friend theme, I saw three Wild Parrots in some of the tall Eucalyptus trees in the Panhandle on my way over to breakfast this morning. There is possibly a small pandemonium[2] that roosts in the Panhandle, as I have seen and heard more of them around there in the past. However, I saw not a hide nor feather of any Sparrows, Larks, or Black Vultures in the air.

There were a few other tempting "Brunch" ideas on the menu: Quinoa Cake (poached egg, broccoli rabe, and Romesco); Cheddar Grits (collard greens sautéed in árbol chili and poached eggs); or Soft Scramble Farm Eggs (Humbolt Fog goat cheese, oyster mushrooms, and fingerlings). There were also a couple of Brunch Salads that sounded good (I am not normally a "salad for breakfast" fan, but I can make an exception once in a while): Watercress Salad (grilled pears, beets, pistachio, Humbolt Fog goat cheese, and aged Balsamic) or Grilled Kale  Salad (butternut squash, quinoa, roasted pumpkin seeds, pomegranate, and goat cheese).

I was a little disappointed that the "fritatta" (which is how they actually had it spelled on the menu) was not made from Sparrow eggs; I asked. It was also a kind of small portion, and it was not really a traditional "fritatta", but more like scrambled eggs in a small clay tureen. There were lots of oyster mushrooms and golden beets in it; both a plus in my book. (Do you think that oyster mushrooms are Kosher?) The toast was very good, made from large pieces of grilled bread actually.

Some kind of potato side would have been a nice addition; and I know that they had fingerling potatoes as a side on a few of the other dishes. If I had known what the size of the dish was going to be, I may have opted for a side of Fried Cauliflower (Sage and Garlic), which sounded (and looked, from another couple's serving) very good.

For condimentary supplementation, Sparrow had Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (the standard red) and some form of a Sriracha sauce (probably Huy Fong Foods Inc.). I just used some of my own Youk's Hot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) and Mama Africa's™ Zulu Sauces Chilli Mint (Thanks, Kerry!) on different areas of the "fritatta". 

While the portions may not have been overly generous, I liked what I had well enough and will probably get back there again one of these days to check out some other of their "Brunch" items.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Fritatta ~ 6.5 (no GBS points are ever taken off for miispelingz, but that doesn't mean I can't make fun of it if I want)


1. This has nothing to do with either my breakfast this morning nor Sparrows. But have you ever wondered where the term "funny bone" comes from?

It comes from the fact that it is a point on the elbow where the ulnar nerve runs close to the surface and produces a sharp, tingling sensation when knocked against the bone. The expression is thought to be a pun on "humerus" (pronounced the same as "humourous"), the Latin name for the long bone of the upper arm.

2. "Pandemonium" or "company" are both accepted Terms of Venery for a group of parrots. (There is no truth to the fact that a "flock of seagulls" is actually called "One-hit Wonders", though.)