Sandy’s Café

A breakfastary roadtrip:
Gilroy[1], CA 

The Wild, the Innocent, & the Monterey Street Shuffle?

(No official web-site.)


Place: Sandy's Café
Location: 6120 Monterey Street, Gilroy, CA; phonicular contact: (408) 848-1200
Hours: open at 6:00am every day of the week
Meal: (Me) Veggie Omelet ~ spinach, mushrooms, and asparagus, topped with your choice of cheese; (Dave) Canadian Bacon and Cheese (Omelet) ~ (they did not specify what the ingredients in this omelette were); and (both Dave and Me) cuppa(s) their house Coffee (and a few refillas, too) 

(Okay, maybe Bryce Springfield had his Holidays mixed up; just pretend that this EweToobular juxtaselection is about Thanksgiving and not the 4th of July.)


This morning's breakfastary roadtrip was all the way back down to Gilroy (the one in California). I happened to be down there already anyway after spending Thanksgiving Day with Dave, Patryce, Zoey, Nellie, and Comet (the last three names happen to be the canine members of Dave's family). Dave and I went back to Sandy's Café (see previous 'blog-entry from November 26th, 2010). This restaurant has had a name-change since the last time I went there. I think that they are probably trying to distance themselves as far away as possible from any association with the old "Death Café". As best as I can figure, "Sandy" is the owner/wife of the same owner from our last visit there.

They no longer have either Greek Scramble (which I was looking forward to and would have chosen for sure; everything's betta with Feta) or Gyro Omelette on the menu, but there were still a few other decent options from which to choose: Blueberry, Strawberry, or Apple Pancakes ([3] topped with whipped cream); Blueberry, Strawberry, or Apple Waffles (topped with whipped cream); Sandy's Skillet Special (prepared with country potatoes, onion, ham, Cheddar cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, and green peppers; topped with [2] eggs any style); Ortega Omelet (chopped Ortega chilies, Jack cheese, black olives, and sour cream; served with fresh salsa); Maserati Omelet (sausage, mushrooms, Jack & American cheese, topped with Italian meat sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese; I liked the name of this one, but without any of the dead, decaying meaty additions, it would have just been a cheese and mushroom omelette); and Chef's Favorite Omelet (tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, sausage, and topped with Feta cheese; Dammit! If I had noticed this one on the menu initially, I would have ordered it for sure, less the sausage, of course… next time).

(Sorry, there is no corresponding photo of Dave's omelette. It was basically the same looking as mine, anyway. Besides, if he wants people to see a photos of his damn food, he can start his own damned 'blog-thing.) 

As they state on the menu: "Omelets made with (4) eggs and served with hash browns or fruit and choice of toast or (1) pancake". Yes, four eggs! This was so much food that I skipped any lunch this afternoon and may not eat again until dinner.

They didn't really ask me what my choice of cheese was, and brought it out with two kinds of cheese on top, which is always nice. I think there was Jack and American on mine. My omelette was good and had a lot of spinach and asparagus in it. However, my one complaint with my omelette would be that the asparagus in this was not fresh, but the frozen kind. It was still good, but fresh asparagus is always much better.

For our bready side choices, Dave went with plain ol' boring white toast, but I was much smarter and went with the (1) pancake; it was a very large (1) pancake at that (even I can "cook" toast myself at home) ~ plus, it came with a little cup of heated maple syrup (little touches like that are always nice, too). We both were smart (well, I am always smart, but Dave was smart, too, for a change) and had the hashbrowns (over plain ol' boring fruit) as our side choices.

The house Coffee was actually pretty decent for a family-style diner kinda joint, too (hence the several refillas that both Dave and I had).

For condimentary supplementation Sandy's Café had Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (the standard red), Tapatío®, and A.1.® Steak Sauce. I went with a mixture of some Tapatío® and A.1.® Steak Sauce on my hashbrowns (Dave left his un-supplemented, though).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Veggie Omelet ~ 6.4 (an extra 0.1 was added for the excellent option of "[1] pancake"); Canadian Bacon and Cheese (Omelet) ~ 6.5 (Dave is very versed in the GBS and can be trusted with his rating)


1. I never knew this before, but Dave explained to me how the City of Gilroy got its name. 

I am taking this information directly off the plaque on the statue of John Cameron Gilroy in front of the old City Hall building:

"John Cameron Gilroy, native of Scotland, arrived in Spanish California in 1814, and became the first permanent English speaking settler.

He married Maria Clara de la Ascencion Ortega, daughter of the family that owned Rancho San Ysidro, and together they had seventeen children.

Inheriting a third of the rancho through his wife, Gilroy became a prominent landholder who served many years as the local alcalde (mayor) and later as a Justice of the Peace."