Coffee Break

Richmond (District) Coffeehouses ~ Part 11

(and also Breakfast on Geary [redux], Part 27)

http://coffeebreaksf.com/


Place: Coffee Break
Location: 4601 Geary Boulevard 
(on the corner of 10th Avenue)
Hours: open Monday - Friday at 7:00am and Saturday - Sunday at 8:00am (well, sometimes)
Meal: Veggie Breakfast (Sandwich) ~ eggs with mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, roasted peppers, red onions, with Parmesan, Provolone, and pesto on a sweet roll; an apple turnover (pastry-thing); and a 16 oz cuppa Caffè Umbria® Arco Etrusco Blend (to start) and a cuppa (refilla) Bizzarri Blend (to enjoy with the breakfastary dessert thing)

http://www.caffeumbria.com/

(While Aretha Franklin's cover of this song [originally written for and performed by Miss Dionne Warwick ~ without the aid of any of her psychic friends] is very good, everyone knows that the best ever version of this song was sung by Rupert Everett.)


Two weeks ago, I happened to notice that Coffee Break was now open late(r) for dinner (coincidentally enough, that day was the first night they were open until 8:30pm) and stopped in for dinner. I had a great sandwich (Veggie Special ~ avocado, tomatoes, Feta cheese, red onions, cucumber, roasted peppers, and lettuce, with pesto and mustard; I was talked into getting this with their "Special Sauce" in place of the pesto and mustard by the friendly counter-lady [again, by "counter-lady", I mean the woman working the cash register, not that Caitlyn Jenner is working there for extra money or anything] and was very glad that I did) that night and knew that I would have to make a return visit for breakfast under the Richmond (District) Coffeehouses series. Unlike last week, I waited until 8:30am to head over there this morning just to make sure they were actually open.

As best as I can remember, Coffee Break has been open now on Geary Boulevard for over twenty years. I think that there are now new owners since circa April 2013 (a Korean-family? whereas, this used to be russkaya-family owned place). This is within walking distance of my apartment (well, twenty-two blocks both ways), but I decided to drive over there this morning, anyway. There are just eight tables for two; two stuffed armchairs that share a small (Coffee)table between them; and one lone stuffed armchair that has a small (Coffee)table all to itself.

What else do they offer in the way of Breakfast Sandwiches? Check out their menu on their web-site, yer own damn-self; I am too lazy to list them this morning. (But the Egg Salad Sandwich [with capers] does sound pretty good, too.)

This was basically an omelette/scrambled egg sandwich. I ordered the sandwich with a soft French roll (which they call a "sweet roll") and upgraded it with their own Special Sauce (which I knew was very good from my previous visit there; and, for which, I am giving the overall Glen Bacon Scale Rating an additional 0.1 points). The two (real) cheeses were a nice combination in the sandwich. I like that they do offer other bread choices, too. There are also Dutch Crunch rolls, Sourdough rolls (which is usually more of a hard, crusty roll, and my normal choice), or sliced breads.

There was a little mix-up when they brought out my sandwich; it had slices of the dead, decaying porcine belly-stuff on it. Apparently, the counter-lady misheard "Veggie Breakfast" sandwich for their (standard) "Breakfast" sandwich (which is made with egg, tomato, roasted peppers, ham, and American cheese[1]), but, as it was still early and not very busy, a new sandwich was brought out in less than five minutes.

Once again, it was nice to find a coffeehouse that offers a decent (and different) brand of Coffee. I also like that they offer four different roasts/blends (well, three real Coffees and a de-Coffee); so it was nice to get to try two different kinds this morning. I preferred the dark(er) roast of the two that I sampled this morning.

Coffee Break has Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce), Trappey's® Red Devil™ Cayenne Pepper Sauce, and Montecito Hot Sauce for condimentary supplements, which is a pretty good selection for a coffeehouse joint. I didn't need to use any of their hot sauces and didn't bother bringing any from my own collection with me, as I knew I was going to get whatever I ordered with their own Special Sauce on it and didn't want to obstruct the flavour in any way.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: 
Veggie Breakfast (Sandwich) ~ 6.4; 
Caffè Umbria® Arco Etrusco Blend ~ 6.8; 
Caffè Umbria® Bizzarri Blend ~ 6.7

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1. That the United States of 'merica has to be associated with this blandest of cheesy comestibles is very insulting. This is like saying "French Beer".