Ristobar ~ San Francisco

"Anybody can grow old, all they have to do is live long enough." ~ Groucho Marx

http://ristobarsf.com/


Place: Ristobar[1] ~ San Francisco
Location: 2300 Chestnut Street (on the corner of Scott Street)
Hours: open Saturday & Sunday at 10:00am (well, sometimes) for "Brunch"
Meal: Polenta e Uovo ~ Mulino Sobrino[2] polenta, two poached eggs, Taleggio[3] cheese fondue, truffle "caviar"; a side order of roasted potatoes; and a Bellini[4] made with Prosecco[5] and yellow peach purée 

(You know what they say, "Quando a Roma… fare come i veneziani fanno.")[6]


I finally made it to Ristobar ~ San Francisco for breakfast (well, "Brunch") this morning. I was glad to see that they were actually open and serving when I stopped in a little after 10:00am.

I sat outside in their sidewalk caffè area, where there are six tables for two and one table for six along the Scott Street side, and another five tables for two along the Chestnut Street sidewalk. I know what you are thinking: "So, big deal! You 'sat outside' in the end of May, Brian!". Well, this is actually a major thing in San Francisco for late May still. The morning fog had yet to burn off (As Oliver Hardy once said to his long-time friend Stan Laurel when visiting London for the first time: "Here’s another fine mist you've gotten us into!") and the outside temperature was probably only 55° Fahrenheit (which is about 13° Celsius for those of you from Europe following along here) and they actually had those overhead gas heater thingys on. (I made sure to sit as far away from those as possible. I mean, what is really the point of "sitting outside" if it is as warm and comfortable as inside? Any fool can do that. As it was, I was the only fool to sit outside the entire time I was there. I did keep my jacket on the whole time, though ~ I may be a fool, but I ain't no idiot.) This turned out to be a great spot for dog-watching (it's a well-known law that in the Marina District, if you own one or fewer rug-rats, you must also have a canine companion). I really didn't get a count on the inside seating, but, from a quick glance, there looked to be seating enough for fifty to sixty (wimpy-assed) people (that can't stand a little prima colazione al fresco).

Their "Brunch" menu isn't really that extensive, but they do offer several other nice ideas (for stupid vegetarians and meatetarians alike). I liked the sound (if a menu can make a sound, that is) of: Spinach Frittata (eggs, spinach, caramelized onions, goat cheese, roasted potatoes, bacon or sausage or salad; Eh, Giuseppe! Why a no "Frittata di Spinaci"?!); Deviled Eggs alla Rossi (mascarpone, grana padano, and crispy prosciutto di parma topped; which I would have ordered untopped, grazie!); Marina Bianca (egg whites scrambled, grilled bell peppers, zucchini, Feta cheese, turkey bacon, fruit); or perhaps a Pizza Verdure Grigliante (San Marzano D.O.P. tomato sauce, seasonal grilled vegetables, Mozzarella di Bufala D.O.P.; on top of which I would have had them "lay" an egg).

This was a nice dish. I particularly liked the Taleggio cheese fondue. Taleggio cheese has a strong, ripe odour similar to Gorgonzola, but the flavour is nowhere as strong (and I bet a nice Gorgonzola cream sauce would also be great with this dish, too). I am not sure how they made the "truffle caviar" stuff, but I assume it entailed some kinda newfangled molecular gastronomy trick (as one might see on the likes of food network). Of course, in Southern Italy, this dish would simply be called: "Eggs and cheesy greets and fungus".

I have no idea what kind of condimentary supplement selection that Ristobar offers; I really didn't bother to ask. I just used a few drops of my own El Yucateco® XXXtra Hot Sauce Salsa Kutbil-ik® de Chile Habanero (Thanks, Brian!) on top of one of the poached eggs and some Toad Sweat Chocolate Orange Dessert Hot Sauce™ (Thanks, Sean!) generously on the potatoes. Hey, don't judge me! I know this says "Dessert Hot Sauce", but I misread it as "Desert Hot Sauce" and thought it just meant it was as "hot as the Sahara". (Nah, I knew all along what I was doing, but don't knock it until you try it! Besides, I hardly ever get a chance to use this slightly sweet-and-savoury hot sauce).

In Other Words… a Sad Update Interlude

I happened to walk past Judy's Café (where I had just eaten breakfast two weeks ago; see last 'blog-entry from May 17th, 2015) on my way to Ristobar this morning and saw some signs in the window that shocked and disappointed me. The place was completely empty (and I don't mean that they didn't have any customers, I mean the joint was entirely empty of everything ~ no kitchen, no chairs, no tables, and no customers). 

There was a handwritten notice that stated: 
"May-29-2015
Landlord told me end of the month move out ~ 34 yrs. I am gone. 
Thank you.
Charles"

There was another printed notice in the window that read:
"URGENT NOTICE TO OUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS
Please come inside to sign a petition to save Judy's Restaurant [sic; I am pretty sure that it is actually called Judy's Café] from closing on May 30th.
We've been open since 1978 [Wait… isn't 2015 minus 1978 ~ 37 years?!], and we'd love to continue to serve the community.
Thank you for your support!"

That kinda sucks. I always liked the food at Judy's Café and it was a nice back-up plan when needed (as can be seen in the previous 'blog-entry for that). I sure hope they can relocate to a nice spot (and maybe a little closer to me) in the future.

Additionally (and this is the even-more-shocking, Earth-shattering news ~ now I know how Helen Benson must have felt), I was told by a friend the other day that Dottie's True blue café (yes, THE Dottie's True blue café!) may either be sold or leased to a new owner. If they do end up closing/selling to new owners, I may have to find a new Starter for my Breakfastary Rotation.

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2015/05/22/dotties-true-blue-cafe-is-on-the-market/

Does anyone have $2,371,200.00 that you can loan me? I will gladly repay you Tuesday for it…


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Polenta e Uovo ~ 6.4


________________

1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numero uno:

Apparently, a "ristobar" is just some kinda Italian neighborhoody bistro/caffè/café.

2. Che cosa?!

http://www.ilmulinosobrino.it/ita/index.asp

3. (I just love that there is actually a "Cheese.com" web-site.)

http://www.cheese.com/taleggio/

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellini_(cocktail)

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecco

6. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numero due:

"Volare" simply means "flying" in Italian, and "Nel blu dipinto di blu" means "Kiss me quick, I'm double-parked!"

Corner Bakery Cafe ~ Market Street

"I wouldn't join any organization that would have me as a member." 
~ Groucho Marx

http://www.cornerbakerycafe.com/locations/ca/san-francisco/market-street


Place: corner bakery CAFE ~ Market Street
Location: 665 Market Street (between New Montgomery and 3rd Streets; well, technically on the corner of Market and Annie Streets, but Annie Street is really just an alley now-a-days)
Hours: open Monday-Friday at 6:30am, Saturday-Sunday at 8:00am
Meal: Anaheim Scrambler ~ freshly scrambled eggs with applewood smoked bacon, tomatoes, green onions, and Cheddar cheese, topped with avocado, served with harvest toast and choice of oven-roasted potatoes or fresh seasonal fruit; and a cuppa their CAFE europa (rich & sophisticated; an extravagant blend of Coffees from the Americas, Africa, and Indonesia)

(Once again, there is no real EweToobular juxtaselection with these songs and the breakfastary destination this morning. I just like Maria McKee and her doing covers of George Ivan songs ~ one of them from Them, even~ just makes it even better.)


I went to corner bakery CAFE ~ Market Street for breakfast this morning. I guess they are some kinda nationwide chain of bakery-restaurants, but this is the only one in town (a quick search shows that there are four others in the Bay Area). This was my first time eating breakfast or any other kind of meal there. They have the slogan on their menus: "Skip the Line. --> Order Online."… but isn’t that still using a "line"?!

This was a pretty decent-sized space. It had lots of tables for two and four people ~ probably enough seating for upwards of sixty or so; plus, there are four sidewalk/café tables along the Market side of the "corner".

For a national bakery-restaurant chain kinda place, they had a good enough selection for breakfast items for my liking. Some of the other ideas that I was looking at were: Anaheim Panini (freshly scrambled eggs, applewood smoked bacon, tomatoes, green onions, avocado, and Cheddar cheese on  grilled sourdough; this was basically the same meal that I ordered just in a sandwich version, anyway, but it didn't come with any potatoes); Avocado & Spinach Power Flat (scrambled eggs with fresh avocado and spinach, and Cheddar & Parmesan cheeses in a grilled multigrain flatbread); or Garden Gate Scrambler (freshly scrambled eggs with chicken apple sausage, fresh spinach, red bell peppers, mushrooms, and Cheddar cheese; which I would have ordered without the dead, decaying paltry poultry sausage stuff).

Of course, I got the scrambler without the bacon. There was nothing really special about this, but all the ingredients were fresh (and there was a good amount of avocado on top, which is always nice). I think that some actual "Anaheim" chillies[1] would have been a nice addition (and added a bit of heat and some extra flavour, too) and would have made complete sense with the name of the dish. 

Their oven-roasted potatoes were very good. I had gotten there just as they were opening and was told at first that the potatoes were not ready yet and that a side of fresh fruit was all that was available. Luckily the counter-ordering person-lady checked with the kitchen and the potatoes were actually ready. I was glad because they turned out to be pretty decent, too (even I can "cook" my own side of fruit at home if I ever want).

The harvest toast ended up being some kinda whole/multigrain bread with flax seeds and quinoa in it.

It was nice that there were four different roasts/blends of Coffee from which to choose. I tasted a little of the BAKER'S Blend first, but liked the CAFE europa better. It was a little stronger and more to my liking.

corner bakery CAFE had for condimentary supplementation: Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce Original Red Sauce, Tapatio® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce, and Huy Fong Foods, Inc. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. I just used some of my own Fat Cat® Surprisingly Mild Guajillo Ghost (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the potatoes and some Florida Gold Premium Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Kerry!) on the scrambler mess (I just hope the people of Anaheim forgive me for this blatant misuse of a Floridian product).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Anaheim Scrambler ~ 6.3


________________

1. http://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-types/sweet-mild-chili-peppers/anaheim-chili-peppers

Just For You bakery & cafe

"And another thing. Don't ever kid yourself about loving some one. It is just that most people are not lucky enough to ever have it. What you have with Maria, whether it lasts just through today and a part of tomorrow, or whether it lasts for a long life is the most important thing that can happen to a human being. There will always be people who say it does not exist because they cannot have it, but I tell you it is true and that you have it and that you are lucky even if you die tomorrow." 
~ Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

(Whoever said ol' Ernie wasn't a romantic?! As for the answer to the title: "it tolls for thee".)

http://www.justforyoucafe.com/


Place: Just For You bakery & cafe
Location: 732 22nd Street (between 3rd and Tennessee Streets)
Hours: open Monday-Friday at 7:30am, Saturday-Sunday at 8:00am
Meal: Bleu Scramble ~ 3 eggs scrambled with Bleu cheese, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, spinach, and red peppers, served with home fries or grits, and your choice of homebaked (well, restaurant/bakery-baked) white, whole wheat, or cinnamon-raisin toast, cornbread, scone, biscuits, English muffin, or gluten-free toast; and a cuppa (and one-and-a-half refillas) Community Coffee® (at least that was what they used to serve there the last time I asked; I forgot to ask if that was still their house Coffee and which blend/roast they serve)

http://www.communitycoffee.com/

(There is no real EweToobular juxtaselection between these songs and the restaurant. I had just posted two Wild Colonials songs on Saturday and felt like doing another. 

These are two versions of the same song; I actually prefer the instrumental version. It was used in the 1995 movie "The Last Supper". Which, of course, starred "Survivor" alumnus Jonathan Penner… as well as some other lesser-known actors and actresses like Cameron Diaz, Bill Paxton, Jason Alexander[1], and others.)


It's been about (well, exactly) two years since I last ate at Just For You bakery & cafe (see last 'blog-entry from May 27th, 2013). I figured it was about time for another visit. Even if they do have a stupid parklet out front.

At least it is just a one car-length wastelet. As far as these parking obstructions go, it's a nice (little) one, at least. There are two wrought iron benches on either end and one small, round table for two. I don't know if there is actual table-service out there, but it could be a nice spot to sit in while waiting for a table during a busy day (today was only about 75% full inside that early on a holiday morning, but I have seen a line out the door on Saturday mornings).

In addition to a very decent standard/weekend breakfastary menu, they have a "Daily Special' menu that can change seasonally. Today it included: Special Scramble! (three egg scramble with Longanisa sausage, white onion, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, & Swiss cheese; I could have always ordered that without the sausage stuff ~ Longanisa or not; by the way, they added the "!" to all of these specials!); Belgian Waffle! (Belgian waffle topped with a homemade chocolate sauce, fresh strawberries, & powdered sugar); or Smoked Turkey Benedict! (turkey & sautéed spinach topped with poached eggs & Hollandaise sauce over choice of bread; this would not be a very good choice for any stupid vegetarian-type persons or anyone that is trying to cut down on their daily intake of smoking turkeys[2]).

This scramble dish had lots of Bleu cheese (which is either a good or bad thing, depending on your take of this stinky, moldy cheese; I like it, of course). This was kind of a strange combination, but it all worked for me… in a strange way. The artichoke hearts were the brined, not marinated, version, which is always the best kind for any scrambles or omelettes. 

I went with homefries instead of "greets" as my side choice . I also chose cinnamon-raisin toast as my homebaked (restaurant/bakery-baked, whatever) bread choice (and it was a nice extra-thick slice, too; I was asked if I wanted one slice or two and was glad that I only got the one). After I had already eaten about half of my meal, I overheard one of the waiter/server-person guys say that they offer two different types of scones: apple or cherry… next time I am getting one of those for sure (if I remember, that is).

Not everyone likes their Coffee à la N'Arlins (where it is made with roasted chicory added), but I rather like it, and usually only get it at N'Arlins-style joints, anyway.

Just For You offers a fine array of condimentary supplementation. In addition to the Standard San Francisco Triumvirate of Hot Sauces (that would be: Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce [Original Red Sauce], Cholula® Hot Sauce, and Tapatio® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce), they always have a few other interesting choices. Today there were: Tabasco® Brand Green Pepper Sauce (made with green jalapeños); Crystal® Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce; Huy Fong Foods, Inc. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce; and Chef Michael's "Ruin Your Day" World's Hottest Pepper Sauce. I used just a bit of the "Ruin Your Day" on a small area of the pile of homefries. While they may claim that this is the "World's Hottest Pepper Sauce", that is really a bit of a stretch. Albeit, this is very spicy, but I have had several others that are much hotter still (and may or may not have killed an innocent, unsuspecting Korean waiter-dude). This is one of those hot sauces that is mostly all heat and not as much flavour; this is due to one of the main ingredients being capsaicin extract. I also used some of my own The Wiltshire Chilli Farm Mango hot chilli sauce on most of the rest of the homefries and some Hell Mouth on the entire scramble mess. (Thanks again for both of those and the other two bottles that I had already used up, Cindy & Greg! I am going to have to finally "retire" these two, even though they are both only at half-mast. The label stated to use within 6-8 weeks once opened, and I have more than doubled that expiry date already.)

File under: "It's a small World… but I wouldn't want to paint it."

As today is Memorial Day, I happened to be wearing my one article of clothing that I knew had an American Flag somewhat on it (I say "somewhat", as the design is on a five-petal White Rose of York and has half the Union Jack and half the Stars and Stripes on the petals ~ I will let you determine which flag goes with which country ~ with a White Rose of York at its center). This happens to be an RAF Menwith Hill/Harrogate[3] sweatshirt. It was a gift/souvenir that I had received on one of my many trips to North Yorkshire over the years (Thanks, Greg & Cindy!). Well, the manager-guy saw it and said that he used to work on the base; he had managed the Officers Club for several years there. 

A Side Sojourn to Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Tea_Garden_(San_Francisco,_California)


On my way home after breakfast, I decided to stop by Golden Gate Park and walk off breakfast a bit. I was originally planning on just traipsing around San Francisco Botanical Garden (formerly known as Strybing Arboretum), but noticed that the Japanese Tea Garden was also just opening up for the morning and I hardly ever traipse through there. (It's free on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday before 10:00am; whereas, San Francisco Botanical Garden is free all day long every day to San Francisco residents, and I can always traipse my heart out there on any other weekend.)

(This was my million dollar view ~ well, $7.00 view, before taxes ~ from my seat in the tearoom area.)


No trip to the Japanese Tea Garden should be complete without stopping for some actual tea (Hey, it's in the name, fercryinoutloud!), so I had a cuppa jasmine tea (for the uninformed ~ or those just living in Omaha ~ "a green tea scented with jasmine flowers and boasts a slightly sweet flavor. Jasmine tea originated in China, but is now enjoyed by tea lovers throughout the world.") and a dorayaki[4] (which they describe as "a pancake like pastry, filled with red bean paste"). 

(Sharon, check out that ceramic mug design. Nice, huh?)

I am not sure, but this building is probably some kinda Japanese "weather" station. (I would expect that only ex-Russkij 208's might get that dumb joke… or maybe not even them.)


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Bleu Scramble ~ 6.3; Jasmine Tea ~ 7.0; Dorayaki ~ 6.2; Japanese Tea Garden ~ 8.0


________________

1. Here is a fun, little-known Cliff Clavinistic fact: Jonathan Penner's wife and Jason Alexander's wife are sisters. 

2. "Abruptly giving up an addiction to cold turkey sandwiches is referred to in some circles as going cigarette." ~ the Library of Amazing Facts

3. While this little "Spy-base" is well-known and popular amongst the Liberal Leftist protestors of Great Britianland, not many 'mericans have ever heard of the town of Harrogate, let alone RAF Menwith Hill. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Menwith_Hill

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrogate

4. For the general uniformed, or just local Omahaians:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorayaki

The Fat Lady

A breakfastary roadtrip:
(Historic) Jack London Square, Oakland, CA


"It's much better to live rich than to die rich!"

(Of course, if your name happens to be "Richard", I suppose it is all the same.)

http://www.thefatladyrestaurant.com/


Place: The Fat Lady
Location: 201 Washington Street (on the corner of 2nd  Street), (Historic) Jack London Square, Oakland, CA
Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday and Sunday at 9:00am
Meal: Farro[1] & Beet Hash ~ organic beets, asparagus tips, fire-roasted peppers, leeks, baby kale, & potatoes, topped with poached eggs; and a cuppa (and two refillas) Mr. Espresso® (I forgot to ask for the specific roast/blend, though)

http://mrespresso.com/

(No, Robert Allen Zimmerman was not born in [Historic] Jack London Square [or in a brothel]. Today just happens to be his 74th birthday. 

The first EweToobular video is one of my favourite songs of his: 

"Crimson flames tied through my ears
Rollin' high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads
Using ideas as my maps…"

"A self-ordained professor's tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
'Equality,' I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow…"

"Ah, but I was so much older then 
I'm younger than that now…" 

You just can't write stuff like that. Well, maybe you can, but I can't. 

And I just liked the ironic juxtaselection of the other two songs of his.

What do you think happens when Opportunity knocks on Heaven's Door and no one is home to answer?!)


For a mini-roadtrip on this Memorial Day 3-Day Weekend, I went "all the way over" to Oaktown and had breakfast ("Brunch", whatever) at The Fat Lady (or The Fat Lady Restaurant, or The Fat Lady Restaurant & Bar, or The Fat Lady Bar & Restaurant; take your pick, they are all listed somewhere either on their menu, web-site, or printed cards). As I had arrived there about twenty minutes before they opened, I went for a walk down by the water (that would be the Oakland/Alameda side of the San Francisco Bay) around (Historic) Jack London Square.

(That would be a statue of [Historic] John Griffith Chaney, not Robert Allen Zimmerman.)

This turned out to be a completely cool spot for breakfast ("Brunch", whatever). As the story goes, the building may (or may not) have been an old early 20th Century bordello and Jack London may (or may not) have actually "slept" there. Thanks(!) for this great suggestion go to an old Air Force buddy, Karl Brandt (son of top NASA scientist John C. Brandt, of course).

http://www.cartoonistsgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=124770

In addition to the awesome selection with which I ended up going, there were several other good ideas from which to choose (and if any of these are half as good[2] as today's stellar breakfast ~ "Brunch", whatever ~ they would still be worth a return trip all on their ownsome): Roasted Asparagus Omelet (fresh spinach, applewood smoked bacon, Mozzarella, & roasted asparagus; served with homestyle potatoes or mixed greens, and Ciabatta[3] toast; this would have been my first choice IF the meal that I ordered didn't also have asparagus… and beets… and kale ~ all favourites of mine; I would have ordered this without the smoked porky product, of course); Greek Omelet (Feta cheese, fresh herbs, spinach, & tomatoes; again, served with homestyle potatoes or mixed greens, and Ciabatta toast; I was informed by my knowledgeable, friendly, and very cute waitress/server lady-person that the owners are Greek); Greco/Roman Benedict (herb roasted Roma tomatoes [I highly suspect that is the "Roman" part of the name], fresh basil, Feta [which would probably then make this the "Greco" part of the name], drizzle of EVO [take your pick: either a good quality "Roman" olive oil or "Greco" olive oil] on Ciabatta); or Grand Marnier French Toast (cinnamon brioche bread, fresh berries, pure maple syrup, & powdered sugar).

All "Brunch" meals start out with a complimentary (or complementary) plate of mini-muffins and baked goods stuff. Mine included: a triangle of cornbread, two slices of some kinda fruitcake (or something like that; I liked it, whatever it was), a blueberry mini-muffin, a banana-walnut mini-muffin, a cranberry-orange mini-muffin, and another mini-muffin that I really couldn't figure out what it was (it was all still good, anyway). I made short work of all of them way before my meal came out, and they brought that out pretty quickly still.

They don't state it on the menu, but this hash all sits on a base of farro (hence the first part of the name of the dish). That was a piece of genius in my book (okay, we all know "my book" is just a wee 12-page colouring book, but I do try to stay within the lines). This interesting meal is going down as another "Great New Find for 2015" (I can actually say "New" here and mean it, as my knowledgeable, friendly, and very cute waitress/server lady-person also told me they had just added this specific dish on the menu last month). I especially liked that they didn't go "el cheapo" (which, of course, is Greek for "Hey, Yorgo! Where's all the asparagus at?!") with the asparagus, and it all worked very nicely together as a pile/mound of hash on which the poached eggs to sit. Heck, I even liked this meal so much that I finished all of the side of mixed greens for a change; they were nicely lightly dressed and went well as a nice addition to the rest of the meal.

For condimentary supplements, The Fat Lady had both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and El Yucateco® XXXtra Hot Sauce Salsa Kutbil-ik® de Chile Habanero. I used some of my own Palo Alto Firefighters Pepper Sauce (the original strength kind) (Thanks, Amys and Brian!) on top of just one of the poached eggs to flavour just half of the mess/pile.

Even though they call their early morning meal "Brunch" (breakfast, whatever), this was definitely worth the hour (or 32.7 miles) roundtrip this morning, and I won't have any problem doing it again (probably just not within the next several months, though).

(I bet you are all surprised that there was not even one quip about "the Fat Lady singing" in this entire 'blog-entry… well, up until just now.)

(See? This is what happens when you allow children the use of crayons at the dinner table… "Brunch" table, whatever. 

Sorry. Not all of us can be as talented as Berkeley Breathed[4] or Bruce Ozella[5].)


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Farro & Beet Hash ~ 7.5


________________

1. Oh… come… on… now! Billy-boy and his troupe of smarty-pants Brown-shirted spell-checkers at Microsoft do not even recognize this common wheat grain. 

2. I know what you are thinking (and just cut it out right now!), "But, Brian, if today's breakfast ("Brunch", whatever) was a 7.5 on the GBS, wouldn't half of that only be 3.75 on the GBS? 3.5 is not even up to the standards as such fine breakfast fare as one can get at Mickey D's Golden Arches."

Well, no. Generally, any actually palatable meal will start at 5.0 on the GBS (an Eggamuffin sandwich is probably just at 5.0... if I am being quite liberal with the GBS points). So, half of 5.0 to 7.5 would be 6.25 on the GBS. That is still a very decent rating and worthy of a return trip, too. 

(Hey, I didn't make up these complicated rules. Complain to Glen Bacon if you have any complaints.)

3. I won't even justify this lack of recognition (once again) of this well-known Italian bread type by Microsoft's spell-checkering "jeenyuses" with a footnote rant. 

Well, other than this minor one.

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Breathed

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Ozella

Triptych

"The World isn't an illusion after all; it only seems that way." ~ Peter De Vries

http://www.triptychsf.com/


Place: TripTych[1]
Location: 1155 Folsom Street (between 7th and 8th Streets)
Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday and Sunday at 9:00am
Meal: Garden Omelet ~ mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, spinach, and avocado cream sauce, served with roasted potatoes; and a cuppa (and one-and-a-half refillas) of whatever the house Coffee was (I asked and was told it was a local "San Francisco" roastery; so I just figured it was some place called "San Francisco Roasting Company" or such; however, a quick web-search didn't really locate anything by that specific name)

(Does today's first EweToobular juxtaselction really need any explanation? The second one is because the members of Tryptich [sic] are also members of the band Wild Colonials. I rather like this cover of the Grateful Dead's song better than the original version.)


Okay, I will admit that I am a little disappointed that this restaurant wasn't actually located at 333 Folsom Street (or 333 Any Street). That aside, I decided to go to TripTych for breakfast (which they call "Brunch", even though they open up early enough for my liking). I just had lunch there three weeks back when I was in the area stuck pulling Jury Duty. I really liked what I had for lunch that day and noticed that they did an interesting looking weekend "Brunch" menu, too, so I figured I would get back again for the early morning meal.

It is a medium-sized joint with seating of: eight tables for two, four tables for four, two tables for six, and six seats at the bar/counter. Additionally, there is a decent size, cool backyard garden seating area with three tables for two, two tables for four, and two tables for six (I was the only idiot there this morning when they had first opened and decided it was best to just stay indoors ~ besides, the weather was still a bit overcast and chilly).

Even though they call it "Brunch", their breakfast menu has several good ideas from which to choose. A few of the other selections that I was looking at were: Frittata Blanc[2] (egg whites, mushrooms, roasted tomato and onions, spinach, & avocado cream; now, this wasn't really that different from what I did order, but it sounded very good, too); Croque Madame (baked open-face foccacia, alpine cheese, fried egg, smoked Black Forest ham, Dijon cream; of course, I would have ordered that ohne die totes, verfallenden Schwein Zeug); or Spinach & Mushroom Benedict (they don't list what the ingredients are for this one on their menu). 

They also have a section listed as Non-Traditional "Brunch" Entrées (okay, I added the quotation marks on "Brunch", but still). All three items sounded very good, too: Sweet Savory Ravioli (shitake mushroom [sic] [3] ravioli, sweet chilli mango sauce, coconut milk); Vegan Spring Vegetable Tagine (Vegan dish, tofu, chickpeas, spinach, tahini and pita); or Quinoa and Tofu (Vegan dish, mushrooms, winter squash, red bell pepper, & tahini garnish; "Whether you are Vegan or not, this is one of our house favorites").

Also, their Beignets (N'Arlins style pastry with seasonal berry cream) looked really good as a starter. Next time.

First off, I would really like to commend them for using the nomenclature of "Garden Omelet" and not the overtly odious "Veggie Omelet" that is ubiquitously seen everywhere these days. The vegetables inside the omelette were roasted, which is always a plus. However, there was no eggplant in this, but there were summer squash and red peppers in place of that one ingredient, so it all was good with me. While eating this, I had forgotten exactly what the sauce on top was supposed to be (I was trying to discern if it was some kinda Hollandaise sauce), but it was pretty tasty all the same and did have the texture/consistency/viscosity of a Hollandaise sauce, anyway.

TripTych offered for condimentary supplementation both Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce and Floyd & Fred’s HotLime™ Extra Hot . I used the Extra Hot liberally all over the potatoes; this wasn't really as hot as you might expect (well, not since the advent of Bhut/Naga Jolokia/Ghost Chillies, Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Chillies, and Carolina Reaper Chillies, at least). Just for the heck of it, I also put a few dashes into my glass of water (Hey, water and lime go good together! Actually, I can see using a few dashes of this stuff in a Mojito for an extra-added kick). I also used some of my own The Wiltshire Chilli Farm 
Hell Mouth (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on top of the omelette to mix in with the avocado cream sauce stuff (another reason that I really couldn't figure out why the "Hollandaise sauce" didn't exactly taste like Hollandaise sauce).

http://www.hotlime.com/home.htm

minor landmark interlude

For anyone paying attention (other than myself that is), today's 'blog-entry happens to be #600 since I started doing these back in March 2010. 

I never really asked why the place was named TripTych, but I will surely be going back again someday and will try to remember to ask then.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Garden Omelet ~ 6.6


________________

1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, νούμερο ένα:

"Triptych" comes from the Greek adjective "τρίπτυχον (triptychon)", meaning "three-fold". This comes from the words "τρία (tria)" ("three") and "πτύσσω (ptysso)" ("to fold"). Simples!

2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numero due/numéro deux:

I don't quite know why they would mix up the Italian word "Frittata" (meaning "Frittata") and use the French adjective "Blanc" for "white". As best as I can tell, the correct phrase in Italian should have been "Frittata Bianco".

3. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, 数 三:

I have commented on this mispelink and misconception before. The correct spelling should be "shiitake" and it already means "oakwood mushroom" in Japanese. So it's just a superfluous redundancy to say "shiitake mushroom" mushrooms and is basically repeating itself again again.

Memorial Day Remembrances ~ 2015

For seven years in a row (because "one year in a row" is not really), I have been posting these two links together.

http://francona.blogspot.com/2014/05/memorial-day-2014_1427.html

The article was written by Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona[1], U.S. Air Force (Retired). He originally wrote the article back in 2007 when he was a Military and Middle East analyst with MSNBC. He updates the article each year on his own 'blog and graciously allows me to re-post it here.

The music video/song is sung by the Boston-based Irish Punk Rock band Dropkick Murphys[2]. While the song really isn't a Memorial Day song, it is written about WWI and individuals (sometimes forgotten and unknown) that fought in "the War to end all Wars" and paid the ultimate price of freedom (that would be mine and yours).

Take a moment and read the article and listen to the song, or read the article while listening to the song, or listen to the song while reading the article. Either way, take a moment to reflect on the meaning of this current three-day weekend; after all, it's not really about an extra day off, the start of Summer, parades, and barbecues.

Have a safe and "rememorable" Memorial Day, everyone.

________________

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Francona

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropkick_Murphys

The song was originally written by Scottish Folk singer-songwriter Eric Bogle under the title "No Man's Land"*, and has been covered by many Rock-and/or-Roll bands, Folk bands, and other Traditional Celtic bands (e.g. Joss Stone with Jeff Beck; Peter, Paul and Mary; the Chieftains; Celtic Tenors; the Clancy Brothers; Donovan; and even some guy from Minnesota named Robert Allen Zimmerman).

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man%27s_Land_(Eric_Bogle_song)