Mel's drive-in

http://melsdrive-in.com/


Place: Mel's drive-in[1]
Location: 801 Mission Street (at 4th Street)
Hours: open at 6:00am every day of the week
Meal: BYO (Build Your Own Omelette)! (They added the "!", and why is this not called "BYOO"?) ~ with spinach, red onion, and goat cheese, served with choice of grilled potatoes, hash browns, or fruit (and choice of toast, which they don't state on the menu); and a large glassa fresh squeezed orange juice

(The first EweToobular juxtaselection should be pretty evident. [I really liked it when Mel Carter played that feisty housekeeper on Gimme a Break!]

For the second song, you will need to know either ελληνικά, Latinae, français, or español to get the reference.)


I went back to Mel's drive-in (see last 'blog-entry from April 28th, 2012) for breakfast this morning. 
Historically, this is the same "drive-in"/diner-joint chain as featured in a few Hollywoodland movies, such as: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, American Graffiti, and Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More...

This particular location has only been open since 2000 (so, if I can do some quick Common Core Math, that is about sixteen years now ~ give or take ten). Well, technically, this location really isn't a "drive-in" (the only actual "drive-in" locations in San Francisco would be their first restaurant on Lombard Street and their second location on Geary Boulevard, and those locations have long since given up the use of door-to-automobile carhop service); however, because it is located on the bottom level of a five story parking lot facility, I suppose this could be called a "drive-on".

Eddie, Shrevie, Boogie, and Fen[2] would be very surprised by what this modern-day diner has to offer in the way of breakfastary items. Ferinstance, some other ideas that I was looking at today were: Avocado Toast (avocado mashed on multigrain toast, three poached organic eggs, and smoked chili flakes; this looked really good and would have been my back-up choice, but I am down to smoking one pack of chili flakes a day now and didn't want to aggravate my addiction); Chilaquiles (corn chips, sauteed with chile poblano Ranchero sauce and 2 eggs, served with refried beans and sour cream; in the past, they were calling this dish "Tortilla Scramble"); Huevos Rancheros (What's with all these Mexican breakfastary dishes? Maybe "Mel" stands for "Melagro"); or a different combination of  BYOO! (they offer eight different cheese choices, fourteen vegetable choices [including "the vile weed", so that only left thirteen decent vegetable choices for me], and, for those of you that do partake of the dead, decaying animal flesh, seven types of dead, decaying animal flesh choices). Additionally, for you dead, decaying animal flesh-etarians, they have two other interesting items on their Breakfast Specials menu: Breakfast Pot Pie (country gravy, peas & carrots, potato, puff pastry and an organic egg; I am not sure if that could be made vegetarian, but it sounded pretty good) or The Trio Breakfast Slider (pastrami, egg, jalapeño Jack on brioche bun).

Just to prove even further that this is not your old Uncle Melvin's style of "drive-in" diner; they offer four types of lemonades (Ginger-Chia Lemonade [Say whaaaaa?!], Cherry Lemonade, Arnold Palmer, 
or Strawberry Lemonade) and they also have a Fresh Natural Raw Juice Bar (with many juices and smoothies from which to choose). (Don't worry, they do still offer all of those standard healthy soda fountain entries like Vanilla Cokes and Chocolate Malts.)

This was a very nicely made omelette ("drive-in" or not). It was made with lots of fresh (baby?) spinach in this. I was very pleased with my choices of ingredients this morning, too. I went with hashbrowns as my side and sourdough as my toast choice.

For condimentary supplemenation Mel's drive-in had both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Cholula® Hot Sauce (Original). I used some of my own Fat Cat Chairman Meow's Revenge (Scorpion Pepper Sauce) (Thanks, Cindy & Greg! ~ I think that I might have about one good [nasal-dripping] dosage left in that bottle now.) on the hashbrowns.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: BYOO! ~ 6.4

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1. Apparently, there are now two California mini-chains that feature similar monikers: "Mel's drive-in" and "Mels the Original". As far as I can discern, the original "original" Mel's drive-in went out of business in 1972 or 1974. The current Mel's drive-in was started in 1985 by one of the sons of one of the original "original" owners. Mels the Original was later started in 1994 by another family member of one of the original "original" owners (I am not exactly sure what their relationship might be to the present ownership of 
Mel's drive-in, though). 

http://originalmelsdiner.com/

Whatever the case may be, only Mel's drive-in has any locations in San Francisco (currently Standing at Four) and Hollywoodland (currently with three LocÅlly).

And, for what it is worth, the original "original" first Mel's drive-in location that used to be at 140 South Van Ness Street is now some kinda housing or condominium facility (right next to Tower Car Wash).

2. The actor that portrayed "Timothy Fenwick Jr." is no relation to the inventor of the Glen Bacon Scale.