the Little Chihuahua

http://www.thelittlechihuahua.com/location/lower-haight


Place: the Little Chihuahua[1]
Location: 292 Divisadero Street (near Page Street)
Hours: open on Saturday and Sunday at 10:00am for "Brunch"
Meal: Chile Relleno ~ a grilled and roasted Poblano chile[2] stuffed with scrambled eggs, Mexican potatoes, sautéed Poblano chiles and onions, spinach, and goat cheese, smothered with Ranchero sauce and garnished with Cotija cheese and crispy fried tostadas (which is just a fancy way of saying "tortilla chips"); a large glass of piña agua fresca; and (beforehand) a small cuppa Peet's Coffee & Tea® Fair Trade Blend (this was their Dark Roast offering this morning)

http://www.peets.com/coffee/by-roast/dark/fair-trade-coffee.html

(The reason for el Sábado Negro EweToobular juxtaselection is threefold[3]:

uno)  It is the weekend "Brunch" tradition at 
la Pequeña Chihuahua to always play a little Ozzy y amigos for the first hour or so after opening shop;

dos) This video happened to be subtitled en español;

tres) Who says that Ozzy can't croon a heartfelt ballad when needed?;

y cuatro) Not many people are aware that this song was actually written about Ozzy's favourite pet Chihuahua ~ who just happened to be named "Sabbath", and from which the band took its name ~ that had died earlier that year.[4])


I was originally planning on heading back over to redo Dante's Weird Fish (see previous 'blog-entry from November 3rd, 2013) before they close for good (I have heard that they are trying to sell the place and close up shop). However, due to the Pride Parade today, I didn't want to have to deal with crossing Market Street in any way (and if I were to circumnavigate Market Street to get to the Mission, it would have been about a ten to fifteen miles roundtrip; no thanks). So, instead, I just figured I'd redo the Little Chihuahua (see last 'blog-entry from June 29th, 2014 ~ which, serendipitously, was exactly a year ago today) as my last one for the month of June.

Their "Brunch" menu isn't that extensive, but the few (well, two previously) dishes that I have already had there have all been stellar. Next time I really have to check out their version of Chilaquiles, which generally are mi piedra de toque para los desayunos mexicanos. For drinks this morning, they also offered a sandía agua fresca and Passionfruit Mimosa (also, a "next time" choice).

As stated above, I got myself a cuppa Peet's® to enjoy while walking around the Panhandle a bit waiting for the Little Chihuahua to open up. I didn't espy any of the Wild Parrots of San Francisco there this morning, but there were a number of other caterwauling feather-brains all over the place. I saw several Crows (or possibly Ravens, I can't really tell the difference between the two unless they are standing side-by-each). There were also a number of Mourning Doves, Robins, Hummingbirds, and several u/i Little Brown Birds.

Ay, Chihuahuahita!!!

This was another complete winner of a breakfastary ("Brunchery", whatever) dish for me. This was very, very good, but just not quite as excellent as the Stacked Enchiladas that I had the last time I ate there. Even if I had never had the Stacked Enchiladas before, this one is definitely recommendation-worthy and worth a return trip on its own merits (or merits a return trip on its own worth, even). They state that this is "stuffed with goat cheese", but I am pretty sure that there was also some Monterey Jack cheese in with the mess, too. I particularly liked the inclusion of lots of crunchy Mexican potatoes crispitos stuffed inside the Poblano chilli, too. I probably would have asked for a side of the Mexican potatoes otherwise; they are pretty decent on their ownsome. 

For pre-packaged (pre-bottled, whatever) condimentary supplements, the Little Chihuahua offers just Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce on all the tables. Of course, that seems completely superfluous to me, as they offer five or six of their own superb, homemade salsas frescas. I used some of their very tasty Chipotle and a little Habanero-Lime in which to dip the tortilla chips ("crispy fried tostadas", whatever). The Habanero-Lime really isn't that espicy, but it does have a great fresh flavour with lots of lime in it.

Once again, after breakfast, I went back to 
Bi-Rite Creamery for a coupla scoops of Ice Cream. This morning's flavours were a scoop of Peach (with Masumoto peaches) and a scoop of Balsamic Strawberry. I figured that was a very decent Summer combination.

http://biritecreamery.com/icecream

It's really not surprising in the least that the Little Chihuahua has the initials "TLC", as this was another muy buen desayuno.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Chile Relleno ~ 7.1; 
Bi-Rite Creamery Ice Cream ~ 7.2; 
Peet's® Fair Trade Blend ~ 6.5


________________

1. Just in case no one has ever heard of this particular breed of indigenous perrito mexicano, here is a link from the friendly people at WikipediA:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahua_(dog)

However, there is no truth to the rumour that "Chihuahua" meant "yippy, little ankle-biter" in the Nahuatl language.

2. Here is another link from the folks at WikipediA (mainly because I am just too lazy to look it up myself):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poblano

3. Okay, there were really four reasons, but I didn't think that "fourfold" was an actual word and I just hate any of those madeuppery words (I have discovered that it is an actual word; or, at least for a change, the Nazi Spell-checkering jeenyuses at Microsoft have no problem with it). Besides, you just try folding a juxtaselection more than three times without any difficulty.

4. Please tell me that no one actually bought any of that bazofia.

Cafe Mason

http://m.mainstreethub.com/cafemason#

(This is not the best of official web-sites, but you get the basic idea.)


Place: Cafe Mason
Location: 320 Mason Street (between Geary and O'Farrell Streets)
Hours: open 24 hours, every day of the week
Meal: Swêdîsh Pâncâkês (sweet crepe [sic, I just figured that if they don't use the correct accent circumflex on "crêpe", I will include it elsewhere]) ~ homemade stewed blueberry and apple fillings in crepes [sic, still] topped with crème fraise [sic, also], served with fruit; a side of homefries; and a large glass of orange juice

(You were expecting some ABBA perhaps?)


My original plan this morning was to redo Taylor Street Coffee Shop (see previous 'blog-entry from March 3rd, 2013), but when I arrived there, there was a line out the door (it's another one of those tiny little, but good, places in the heart of Touristlandia). Luckily, I knew that there was another very good back-up plan redo just a block away and I headed back over to Cafe Mason (see last 'blog-entry from April 18th, 2015). Unfortunately, I didn't score my "regular" table (the really cool, two-person mini-booth along the window). (D*mn touristas!)

For some reason, I got the same four-page "Brunch" menu as the first time I ate there. I think they must give it out after 8:00am, anyone eating there very early in the morning will only get the reduced two-pager breakfastary menu. This was good, as they really do have a very nice selection from which to choose.

These came as two pâncâkês (or crêpes) folded over with the fillings in the middle. I have found that Swêdîsh Pâncâkês are usually served with a lingonberry[1] sauce, but this was all still very good to me, anyway.

I really do like their version of homefries, which are sliced and then homefried and include lots of white and green onions and green bell peppers in them.

The side of fruit that came with the pâncâkês (or crêpes) was a meal unto itself. There were slices of apple, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, watermelon, kiwi, pineapple, and one orange slice.

Cafe Mason offers for condimentary supplementation both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Cholula® Hot Sauce. I used some of my own Fat Cat® Surprisingly Mild Guajillo Ghost
(Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the potatoes.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Swêdîsh Pâncâkês ~ 6.5; homefries ~ 7.4


________________

1. Apparently Billy-boy and his Spell-checkering, Goose-steppering Nazis at Microsoft have never been to Sweden either, as they do not recognize this berry (and it is an actual botanical berry to boot).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinium_vitis-idaea

Mama♥s on Washington Square

"Today, Father, is Father's Day,
And we're giving you a tie.
It's not much, we know.
It is just our way of showing you,
We think you’re a regular guy.

You say that it was nice of us to bother,
But it really was a pleasure to fuss.
For according to our mother, you're our father,
And that's good enough for us.
Yes, that's good enough for us."
~ Harry Ruby

http://www.mamas-sf.com/


Place: Mama♥s on Washington Square
Location: 1701 Stockton Street (on the corner of Filbert Street)
Hours: open Tuesday through Sunday at 8:00am
Meal: Papa's Favorite M♥Omelette ~ roasted Ortega peppers, tomatoes, and Fontina cheese, served open faced, with Mama♥s Grilled Potatoes and your choice of toast: White, Whole Grain, Rye, English Muffin, or Sourdough Baguette; a large glass of (freshly-squeezed) orange juice; and, afterward, for a breakfastary dessert, un doppio Espresso e un nutella® bombolone at Caffè Trieste

http://caffetrieste.com/index.htm

(Because there really is a lack of good Father's Day songs ~ How many times can one listen to "Cat's in the Cradle", seriously? ~ I am just going with a few Maria McKee EweToobular songs this morning. Besides, I am sure that most dads would much rather listen to her than any ol' Harry Chapin song.)


I went back to Mama♥s on Washington Square
(see last 'blog-entry from October 6th, 2013) for breakfast this morning. I can't believe that it's been almost two years since I last ate there. 

I had arrived to Washington Square around 7:20am this morning and figured I'd have at least ten to fifteen minutes to kill walking around the area before I needed to get in line and start waiting with all of the other diners. However, I noticed that a small line was already forming that early, so I decided I should probably get in line, too, before it got much longer. As it was, there were only about ten people ahead of me, and I was assured a seating in the first wave of breakfasteers. By the time they had finally opened, there must have been at least fifty to sixty more people behind me.

One of the main problems with eating at Mama♥s is that there is always a pretty decent selection from which to choose and I can only eat one meal at a time. In addition to a long and tasty list of M♥Omelettes, they offer a great selection of other breakfast dishes: scrambles, Benedicts, French toast, pancakes, etc. Some of the other ideas I was thinking about today were: Apple Pan Dore (French toast) (slices of sourdough baguette with sautéed apples in lemon-butter sauce; I am pretty sure that I have never had this particular version of French toast, and I really have to try it one of these days; I just can't figure out why the dish is named for a cartoon fish portrayed by Ellen DeGeneres); (off the weekend/weekly specials board) French Toast Sampler (a trio of Orange-Cranberry, Swedish Cinnamon, and Banana Walnut slices; this is a great way to try a few different versions of their French toast); or Scrambled Florentine (baby spinach, bacon, red onions, and white Cheddar cheese; which I would have always ordered without the porky junk, of course).

the Wild Parrots of San Francisco Interlude

While waiting in line, I only saw two Wild Parrots flying overhead towards Coit Tower this morning. I wonder what the diminutive of "pandemonium" is called. 

Today's choice was predicated mainly on the made-up holiday this third Sunday of June. I really liked this one (I have yet to have a bad meal there, anyway); I am pretty sure I have had it in the past before, too. I liked that it was served open-faced. I went with sourdough baguette for my toast choice (which really should be the only choice offered, as this goes great with most meals and this is North Beach, after all).

For condimentary supplements, Mama♥s has Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce. I used a little (well, a lot, actually; I like to use this stuff like ketchup) of my own Palo Alto Firefighters Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Amys and Brian!) on the potatoes and just a little (and, believe me, this one I measured out judiciously at only five to six drops) Blair's After Death® sauce with Liquid Fire (Thanks, Sean!) on the M♥Omelette. And especially not to be missed, they make their own homemade (restaurant-made, whatever) jams. Today's offering was a nice tart raspberry jam. It went very well on the toasted sourdough baguette slices (and despite what Mr. Thomas claims, sourdough's nooks and crannies more than beat out about his faux English crumpets). I even talked the couple at the next table into trying some on their French toast. They agreed that it was a great addition (even I have maple syrup in my refrigerator).

I was informed by Vince at the door (I think he is one of the owners of the place and one of Mama♥s sons) that they are going to be opening a second restaurant in North Beach; it is going to be called Li♥l Mama♥s. This will be just a few blocks away on the corner of Vallejo and Columbus Streets. As can be seen from the above photo, the new place (while called "Li♥l") will be about twice the size of the original restaurant. They will also have a small store area where they will be selling not only their homemade (restaurant-made, whatever) jams, but their fresh-baked loaves (like Cranberry-Orange Walnut, Banana Walnut, and Kugelhopf Brioche) and other fresh-baked goods (Poppyseed Bundt Cake, Carrot Cake, etcake).

I was still a little hungry after breakfast (and there is always room for Coffee and doughnuts ~ even when it is Caffè e bomboloni), and Caffè Trieste is just in the next block across Columbus Street from where Li♥l Mama♥s is going to be located. (Wasn't it John Fitzgerald Mussolini that once said: "Ich bin ein Bombolone!"?)

(Sure, I could  have taken a photo of mio doppio Espresso e nutella® bombolone, but I figured most everyone already knows what a cuppa and a doughnut look like.)


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Papa's Favorite M♥Omelette ~ 6.7; fresh, tart raspberry jam ~ 6.8; doppio Espresso e nutella® bombolone ~ 6.5

Reverie Cafe

"Stonewalls do not a Jackson make." 
~ Groucho Marx

(No official web-site.)


Place: Reverie Cafe
Location: 848 Cole Street (between Carl and Frederick Streets); phonicular contact: (415) 242-0200
Hours: open 7:00am Monday-Friday, 7:30am Saturday-Sunday
Meal: Shakshouka ~ (2) eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce with onions, peppers, & pita bread; Pear-Almond Tart (for a breakfastary dessert); and a medium cuppa (which was actually a pretty large mugga) Equator Coffees & Teas™ (I forgot to ask which blend/roast it was this morning)

(The reason for today's EweToobular songs? Simples! Everyone knows that Nat King Cole's real name was Carl Frederick Shakshouka.)


In continuing my Month of Redo's, I returned to Reverie Cafe (see last 'blog-entry from May 10th, 2014) for breakfast this morning. You order at the front counter (typical coffeehouse-style), get a number (I got "11" this morning), and then they bring the food out to you. 

Even though it was still a bit (well, very) overcast and chilly (I had a sweatshirt on, so it was fine with me), once again, I sat outside in their large garden patio area, where there are about eighteen tables of varying sizes (for two to four people) on three levels (levels of the garden patio area, not levels of clientele) behind the building. There was only one other idiot couple outside the whole time I was there. An added bonus of sitting outside this morning was that I was underneath a large blooming Honeysuckle plant (at least I think it was a Honeysuckle plant; my botanical expertise is pretty limited to just actual berries and nuts) and it really smelled great.

For a little nebby ("Mediterranean-Inspired" ~ per their menu) joint, they offer a pretty decent breakfast selection. Some of the other ideas that caught my fancy (when catching a fancy, I have found it best to use an over-sized Outfielder's glove so that there is less possibility of dropping it) this morning were: Breakfast Risotto (leeks, zucchini, mushrooms, tomato, farro, spinach, Feta cheese, and eggs; which really sounded very good; next time… if the weekly Frittata special doesn't trump it that is); Swiss Chard 
Scramble or Omelet (with leeks, shitake mushroom [sic; because everyone knows that the better transliteration from Japanese-to-Engrishu should be "shiitake", and that the whole "mushroom" part is a completely repetitive superfluousness[1]], & Mozzarella; plus, I like the option of having this as either a scramble or omelette); or (from their weekly/weekend specials board, where there are usually about five or six choices) Chorizo & Manchego[2] Frittata (with asparagus, leeks, tomatoes, potatoes, & Spanish paprika).

This was a very good meal; pretty simple in all, but still very tasty. I think the version of Shakshouka that I had at Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen (see previous 'blog-entry from December 15th, 2013) was a little better. Saul's tomato sauce was much thicker, almost the viscosity of a stew; whereas, Reverie Cafe's was a bit thinner/runnier ~ that is where all the toasted pita triangles came in very handy. This was made with three types/colours of bell peppers (which we all should remember by now are a botanical berry, right?): red, green, and yellow.

I was almost tempted to go with their weekend Frittata special, as asparagus is usually a deal-maker for me, but I had the Shakshouka in mind even before looking over any other items… next time, if their Frittata special includes asparagus (or kale). Besides, "Shakshouka" is just fun to say. Go ahead, try it; you know you wanna say it out loud: "Shakshouka!" (Of course, it also sounds like a bad Blacksploitation Kung-Fu movie from the 70's.)

I don't think that they bake any of the dessert/pastries that they offer, but the Pear-Almond Tart was very good, all the same.

Reverie Cafe offers for condimentary supplementation Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce), Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce, and Huy Fong Foods, Inc. Sriracha Sauce. I mixed some of my own (though it may have been a bit superfluous to do so) Nando's Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce (Thanks, Kerry! That was finally the last of that bottle.) in with the spicy tomato sauce of the Shakshouka.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Shakshouka ~ 6.7; Pear-Almond Tart ~ 6.8


________________

1. Okay, I admit, I actually expected this word to be a made-up word of my own making-uppery; however, per Dictionary.com*, this is an actual noun form of the adjective "superfluous". (I knew I shoulda gone with "superfluocity" instead!)

*(Even so, Wild Bill Gates and his troupe of Nazi Spell-checkering jeenyuses at Microsoft do not recognize "superfluousness" as a noun.)

2. So-called because it originated in La Mancha region of Spain, Señor Donkey Joté.

http://www.cheese.com/manchego/

And I should point out that Billy-boy and his Braunhemden spell-checkers do not recognize this very popular and tasty queso español either. The alternate choices they are suggesting: "Montego", "Manteno", and "Manchukuo"… yeah, because those are all much more common terms.

Breakers

A (redo) breakfastary roadtrip:
Rockaway Beach, Pacifica, CA

http://ilovebreakers.com/


Place: Breakers
Location: 145 Rockaway Beach Avenue, Pacifica
Hours: open 7:00am every day! (They actually added the exclamation point, not me.)
Meal: Roasted Eggplant Crepe (sic, they do not use the little circumflex hat-thingy on the first "ê" in "Crêpe" on their menu) ~ red peppers, glazed onions (Do you know how to glaze onions? Just tell them really awful corn-ball jokes until they can't take it any longer.), Portabella mushrooms, garlic, Jack cheese, Marinara sauce, sour cream & chives, served with hashbrowns & marinated salad; and a potta/pitchera/thermosa Peerless Coffee & Tea® Organic 80th Anniversary Italian Roast Blend

http://www.peerlesscoffee.com/product/all-coffee/organic-80th-anniversary-italian-roast-blend/

(I never need an excuse for a little George Ivan on a Sunday morning. 

I am pretty sure that I have posted different versions of both of these songs in the past ~ and in the case of "Into The Mystic", numerous times before. I just came across this live concert of his at Winterland Ballroom[1] in San Francisco the other day and really liked it.

And there is never anything verose about a little George Ivan in the morning, daytime, or evening.

Turn up your EweToob… so you know it's got Soul!)


I surfed on down California State Route 1 (aka "Highway 1" to most of you people) to Breakers (see last 'blog-entry from August 24th, 2014) for breakfast again this morning. This is one of the only places around ("around" being "around Rockaway Beach" and "around Pacifica" in general) that is open early enough and will usually attract most of the early-morning tourista business from the surrounding hotels and motels on Rockaway Beach. I got there around 8:00am this morning and had no problem being seated right away; however, it filled up quickly while I was there. There was a great view of the Pacific Ocean (hence the name of the town of Pacifica) from my seat in the corner of the restaurant this morning; even though it was still a little overcast and gloomy out.

Breakers really does have a pretty decent breakfast menu from which to choose; they offer a nice selection of 3 Egg Omelets, Three Egg Scrambles, Frittatas, Pancakes, French Toast, Belgian Waffles, and Crepes. Some of the other dishes that looked good to me this morning were: Feta Omelet (roasted red peppers, spinach, & Feta cheese, topped with black olives & red onions; I probably would have definitely gone with that one IF the black olives were of the Kalamata variety, but I knew from my last visit that they were just the plain ol' boring canned type); Veggie Frittata (mushrooms, onions, the vile weed, celery, zucchini, diced tomatoes, & Combo cheese; I am not sure what part of Italy "Combo" cheese comes from, though; for some reason, when I asked my waitress-server-lady, she said she'd get back to me on that and ended up avoiding me for the rest of the meal); Islander French Toast (topped with strawberries, bananas, & blueberries[2]; they don't specify which "Island" that is from, though); or Garden Crepe (avocado, spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, Jack cheese, tomatoes, sour cream & chives ~ but, thankfully, none of the vile weed).

If you are like me and are un amante melanzane e fungi, you will really like this one (Sorry, Skip!) as there was a great amount (and in large chunks) of both the eggplant (which is a botanical berry, remember?) and the Portabella (or Portobello or Portabello, take your pick). Needless to say, I enjoyed it a lot. They forgot the sour cream & chives, but it really didn't need any of that and I probably enjoyed it more for the omission.

I am generally not a big fan of these "side salads" that usually come with crêpes; just give me more of the good potato-stuff and leave all that green for the rabbits. However, this one was actually pretty good and I ended up eating most of it for a change. It had nice bite-sized/diced pieces of cucumber, tomato, celery, and zucchini in it (along with the requisite boring lettuce junk); and the dressing was really very light and not overpowering.

The Coffee is a great deal. For the price of a standard cuppa at most places, they leave an entire thermos/pitcher/pot-thing (à la IHOP®, just with much better Coffee). I probably had at least two-and-a-half to three cuppas while I was there.

For condimentary supplements, Breakers has Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce), Cholula® Hot Sauc), and The Pepper Plant® Original California Style Hot Pepper Sauce. I used some from my own collection and went with lots of Fat Cat Strawberry Serrano Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the potatoes and some Marie Sharp's Grapefruit Pulp Habanero Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on top of the crêpe. The Marie Sharp's is the newest hot sauce to my collection (I just received it this week); I am pretty sure that I have had this one before, though. It has a nice balance of grapefruit and habanero flavour. Plus, this was a small (sample) bottle and it fits nicely into my Tabasco® holster.

http://www.thepepperplant.com/

http://www.mariesharps-bz.com/

Once again, they completely stiffed me on the crayons and kids colouring menu; I made sure to vociferate my dissatisfaction to the owner-manager-person on my way out. Even so, that overlookance didn't influence my tip or Glen Bacon Scale Rating in any way.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Roasted Eggplant Crepe ~ 6.5


________________

1. Unfortunately, I never got to see any live music played there. Winterland Ballroom closed way back on New Year's 1978 going into 1979; the Grateful Dead were the last group to play there. Some guy named Bruce Springfield and his Band of E-Streeters also played there a few weeks before it closed, too. It is also probably best known as the place where the Band played "The Last Waltz".

2. Okay, here's a pop culinaristic trivia quiz to see how many (how few?) of you readers out there are really paying attention (or not):

Which of those "Island" fruits is/are actual botanical berries?

That would be, of course, just the bananas and blueberries.

Dottie’s True blue café

"Jack the Ripper… cut quite a figure in his day." ~ Groucho Marx

(No official web-site any longer.)


Place: Dottie's True blue café 
Location: 28 Sixth Street (on the corner of Stevenson Street, which is a little alley about halfway between Market and Mission Streets); 
phonicular contact: (415) 885-2767
Hours: open for breakfast Thursday through Monday at 7:30am
Meal: Spinach Provolone[1] Strata[2] ~ served with Italian sausage, roasted tomatoes, and fruit; a side of homefried potatoes; and a large glass of grapefruit juice

(There really are no EweToobular juxtaselections with today's songs and destination; however, if you have ever been to that neighborhood, the second video probably rings a very loud bell. I just like the harmonica Blues styling of Jazz Gillum ~ plus, that is an electric guitar being used way back in 1938.)


It would be completely verose[3] of me to do a month of redo's without going back at least once to Dottie's True blue café (see last 'blog-entry from April 4th, 2015). I was second in line this morning as I had gotten there very early to beat the crowd, but, as it turned out, the restaurant was initially only half-full (well, that is an optimistic estimate) with the first wave of people, anyway. It did fill up pretty quickly before I had finished eating and there was the typical line out the door and around the corner when I was leaving the place.

Dottie's True blue café always has many other great ideas for breakfast (for both stupid vegetarians and those that partake of the dead, decaying animal flesh). Some of today's choices (from the weekly specials chalkboard and their standard menu): Raspberry Preserve (sic) & Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast; Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes; Avocado, Tomato, Jalapeño, Corn, Scallion, & Feta Frittata (served with toast & potatoes; I probably would have ordered that one, but they didn't specify exactly what was in it); or, the ultimate in verocination, Zucchini Cakes (topped with poached eggs & spicy Marinara sauce, served with fruit & potatoes; probably one of my All-Time Favourites of All-Time at Dottie's True blue café).

As best as I can tell, a Strata is kinda like a savoury bread pudding thing. This was a huge slice/chunk and it was additionally grilled on two sides. I have also had different versions (different ingredients) at Dottie's True blue café in the past. Of course, I nixed the Italian sausage stuff (if it ain't authentic chouriço português, I don't want none of that junk!). The roasted tomatoes appeared to be of the Roma variety and they really added a nice bit of charred sweetness to the whole mess (Sorry, Greg.).

Today's side o' fruits was: watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, pineapple, white (green, whatever) grapes, and one red grape.

It is well known (well, to me and the few people that I have brought with me there and might actually read this stupid li'l 'blog-thing) that Dottie's True blue café offers a very decent selection of condimentary supplementation. This is always a big help so that I don't have to bother schlepping any of my own hot sauces with me. I used a little (well, a lot really; this stuff isn't really that hot and I can pour it like ketchup without any adverse effects) Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce Chipotle on the potatoes and a little Frank's® RedHot® Chile 'n Lime™ Hot Sauce on the Strata. 

Anyone not enjoying an early morning breakfastary repast at Dottie's True blue café would be extremely suspect in their verosability.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Spinach Provolone Strata ~ 6.7


________________

1. Just in case anyone has never heard of this popular formaggio italiano (Wild Bill Gates and his Spell-checkering Nazis at Microsoft, in their eminent verocity, have been known to question several other common Italian cheeses in the past):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provolone

2. "Strata" is the plural of the Latin word "stratum", meaning "layers/layer". How this all applies in a culinaristic sense, I am not really sure. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strata_(food)

3. There is no such word as "verose", nor any of the other words that I have used here today with it as its root. This was just a made-up word that either an old high school friend (Hey, Philboyd!) came up with or I did. He mentioned it the other day on defacedbook, but I had completely misremembered ever using it. 

He said that I actually invented this word, but I highly doubt I was ever that original. More than likely, his superior intellect originated this word (no way do I want to ever take any credit for making up any words). I don't think we even ever assigned an actual meaning to the word, we just used to use it to confuse other people into thinking we were more intelligent than we really were.

Of course, we completely stole the idea for making-up words from an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus where someone panicked and used the made-up word "splunge", which basically meant: "It doesn't mean 'yes'. It doesn't mean 'no'. And I am not being indecisive."

Chloe♥s Cafe

"I can't stand an actor or actress who tells me acting is hard work. It's easy work. Anyone who says it isn't never had to stand on his feet all day dealing blackjack." 
~ Dino Paul Crocetti

(No official web-site.)


Place: Chloe♥s Cafe
Location: 1399 Church Street (on the corner of 26th Street); phonicular contact: (415) 648-4116
Hours: open 8:00am every day of the week 
Meal: Special Scramble ~ 2 scrambled eggs w/ mushrooms, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, choice of cheese (Cheddar, Jarlsberg[1], cream cheese, Mozzarella, or Feta), served with a cup of fruit or homefries and toast; and a large glass of grapefruit juice

(Today happens to be Dean Martin's[2] birthday. I always liked "Ol' Bloodshot Eyes" singing better than "Ol' Blue Eyes"; however, Frank Sinatra was a much better serious actor ~ maybe he worked harder at it).


Continuing along with my redo's (redux's? reduxes? redi?), I went back to Chloe♥s Cafe (see last 'blog-entry from May 26th, 2014) this morning for breakfast. Their menu states: "Serving Noe Valley since 1987", so they have been in business almost as long as I have lived in San Francisco. I have been going there for many years now (since at least the early 90's).

You really have to get there early just before they open to be in the first group of breakfasters. There are only eight tables for two and one table for four inside this tiny little joint. So, if my calculations are correct that is just about enough seating for only twenty people (okay, so I cheated and took off my shoes to get that correct count… just be glad the place doesn't seat twenty-one). They do also have sidewalk seating of two tables for two and four tables for four, but no one was brave enough to partake of the outside dining this morning as the Sun had yet to dare show its face through the thick misty fog.

The menu isn't much bigger and really only offers a few other choices from which stupid vegetarians can decide: Avocado and Jarlsberg Cheese Scrambled Eggs (I don't think that I have ever ordered that one before); Red Potato, Cheddar Cheese and Onion Scrambled Eggs (which I have ordered a few times in the past, but generally will just go with whatever their "Special Scramble" of the day/weekend might be); or Grilled Brie and Tomato on Croissant (with blue corn tortilla chips; which I have also had before, but would probably need to order a side of homefries).

I went with the choice of Feta cheese as I felt it would go best to go with all the other ingredients (Mozzarella would have done nicely, too). This was a very good combination of flavours: sundried tomatoes, basil, and Feta all work together nicely for me. Of course I went with the side choice of the homefries. I actually asked for their Potato Rosemary toast, but they brought out Whole Wheat Walnut by mistake, which is all fine as that is still a very good bread (plus, they gave me three halves of this toast… Did that mean that someone else got cheated out of a half-slice or was I supposed to have four halves?).

For condimentary supplements, Chloe♥s Cafe has both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce. Knowing what they had to offer after many, many visits there over the past few (well, about three) decades, I always make sure to bring a few from my own collection. Today I used some (just a few drops sparingly, as this stuff is a tad on the hot side) 
Fat Cat® Chairman Meow's Revenge (Scorpion Pepper Sauce) (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the scramble mess and some (this one I could go a bit more generously with, 'cause that is the generous kinda guy I am) Lucky Dog Hot Sauce Medium Fire-Roasted Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) all over the potatoes.

The good thing about this place is that they open early enough in the morning for my liking (and don't call their early morning meal "Brunch"), and if Dottie's True blue café[3] ever does close, Chloe♥s Cafe can always be added back to my Breakfastary Starting Rotation.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Special Scramble ~ 6.9


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1. I don't know how many times I have to state that Wild Bill Gates and his idiot Auto-spellcheckering Nazis really need to get out and eat more often. They don't recognize this typical Norwegian mild cow's-milk cheese. The alternatives they are offering are "Carlsberg" or "Arlberg". Perhaps they need to curtail their Walpoling activities and sally forth and infiltrate Ye Old Cheese Emporium to negotiate vending of some cheesy comestibles with the proprietor, Henry Wensleydale*. 

*(Hmmm?! It seems that Billy-boy and his Braunhemden spell-checkers also do not recognize this common North Yorkshire cheese varietal either. Perhaps they also need to watch more "Wallace & Gromit" animated movies.)

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

Dino always seemed a bit confused (or maybe just a bit blotto) with all these songs: "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till* Somebody Loves You", "Somewhere There's a Someone". So, which one was it?!

*(sic; yes, I know that really should be "until" or the abbreviated "'til", but I don't write these titles)

3. Did you ever wonder why the phrase is "true blue" or "true-blue"? Why not "true-red" or "true-orange" or "true-pomegranate-and-puce"?