Art's Cafe

http://www.artscafesf.com/

(However, for the past few years [yes, years], it reads: "Sorry! Work in progress")


Place: Art's Cafe
Location: 747 Irving Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues); phonicular contact: (415) 665-7440
Hours: open at 7:00am Tuesday through Saturday; open at 7:30am on Sunday (??? ~ Here is where it might have been nice to be able to check their actual hours of operation on their "in progress" web-site; in any case, I had arrived there a little bit after 7:30am [and, by that, I mean exactly 7:33am; I had just checked my watch before getting there] and the place was already packed except for one last empty stool, which I quickly sat at... 7:30am on the day that Daylight Saving Time ends? Don't any of these people ever sleep in?!)
Meal: Spinach, Onions, Mushrooms, and Hot Sausages Hash Brown Sandwich ~ served with melted Cheddar cheese on hash browns, two eggs, and toast; and a glassa Strawberry-Lemonade; and, afterward, a cuppa Snowbird Coffee Zatarra, pourover-style

http://snowbirdcoffee.com/

(Good luck finding a specific reference for their Zatarra roast/blend there; while this web-site isn't a "work in progress", it really ain't nothin' much of which to speak none neither; interestingly enough, if you do a Google-search for "Zatarra Coffee", look what pops up as the fifth entry)

(Why all the Joan Armatrading[1] songs today? Simples. I asked them this morning and Momma[2] Art told me that their last name is "Armatrading"; apparently, it is a very traditional Korean family name.)


It had been some time since my last visit to 
Art's Cafe (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, July 19th, 2015), so I figured it was about time for some more of their most excellent, crispy hashbrowns. This morning, I sat right in front of the grill where Poppa Art was working his magic with the never-ending line of hashbrowns being prepared.

As I have noted before, the diner-counter is covered with postcards (well, it is covered with Plexiglas and the postcards are under that) from around the World. This postcard from Santorini[3] was just to my left today. (Please note: I do not think that this photo is meant to be a political commentary on America's two current choices for the upcoming Presidential Election on Tuesday.)

I have eaten just about all of the available/suitable choices for stupid vegetarians on their menu. I think that there are just two items left for me to try: Spinach Scrambled Eggs (with onions, mushrooms, hot sausage, and Jack cheese; served with hash browns or rice and toast; which I would have ordered without the grounded-up porcine stuff, of course) or Four Cheese Omelete [ sic ] (American [well, I suppose they should call it "Three-and-a-half Cheese Omelete [ sic ]" with the inclusion of this "cheese"], Cheddar, Jack, and Swiss cheese; served with hash browns or rice and toast). Otherwise, I could always re-do a couple of my favourite choices: Bi Bim Bop Veggie Omelete [ sic ] (with spinach, zucchini, bean sprout, carrot, and Swiss cheese; yeah, it all sounds pretty strange, but it works for me) or Vegetarian Hash Brown Sandwich (onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, and tomatoes).

What can I say? I absolutely love this idea for a breakfast dish! Any time potatoes are the main focus for a dish, I am right there. Of course, I made sure to 
여든 여섯 the dead, decaying porky-product junk. For my "sides", I went with two over-medium eggs and whole wheat toast. (I almost thought about ordering a side of their famous hashbrowns, too.)

The Strawberry-Lemonade was extra thick and seemed to be made with much more ("many more"?) strawberries than lemons. This was not a bad thing, but I almost asked for a glass of water with which to cut it a bit.

For bottled condimentary supplements, Art's Cafe offers both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Crystal® Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce. Not that either of those were used, nor even (ever) needed. Knowing that they also have a very good (and thick) Gochujang of their own available in plastic squirt bottles, I don't even bother bringing any of my own hot sauces with me. I used a good amount of the Gochujang on both of the eggs and all over the hashbrown sandwich-thing.

I purposely had skipped any Coffee with my breakfast because I know that Snowbird Coffee is just around the corner and really like their Coffee. While I was there enjoying my Coffee at one of the tables, a guy in line that was ordering his own Coffee kept looking over in my direction and staring at me. Now, I have lived in San Francisco for thirty years and figured that maybe he was someone that I may have met in the past, but could not place his face at all. After he had ordered and received his Coffee, he came over to me and said, "That's a great Beer!"... I almost said to him, "But it's a cuppa Coffee..." and then I noticed that he had recognized my sweatshirt with a Black Sheep Brewery Riggwelter Strong Yorkshire Ale[4] (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) logo on it. It turned out that he was from the West Riding market town of Hebden Bridge[5] himself. 

I thought this pretty funny. The official name of this coffeehouse and roastery is Snowbird Coffee, but, for some reason, my paper cup had an ink stencil that read: "Snowbirds SF". I am sure they have a good explanation/justification for that on their most informative web-site... oh, wait...


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: 
Spinach, Onions, Mushrooms, and (no) Hot Sausages Hash Brown Sandwich ~ 6.4;
Snowbird Coffee Zatarra ~ 7.0;
Black Sheep Brewery Riggwelter Strong Yorkshire Ale ~ 8.2

___________________

1. Why?! Because I said so! Dammit!

http://www.joanarmatrading.com/

I feel that Joan Armatrading has one of the best voices for all the Rock-and/or-Roll singing. 

Plus, that last song happens to be one of my All-Time Favourite Rock-and/or-Roll Songs of All Time. Heck, it's easily in my Top Ten All-Time Favourite Rock-and/or-Roll Songs of All Time; it might possibly be right up there at #3 ~ right after Bob Marley's 
"No Woman No Cry" and Jimi Hendrix's version of 
"All Along the Watchtower" (which share the #1-#2 slots; I can never decide which is my actual top favourite).

2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day:

The word for "mom/momma" in Korean is "엄마" and it is pronounced pretty much like "momma".

3. I have never been to Santorini, but really wish that I had visited that Cycladic island when I lived in Greece. 

One of these day...

http://www.santorini.gr/index.php?lang=en

4. This is just my opinion (like I care for the opinions of anyone else, anyway), but I feel that Black Sheep Brewery Riggwelter Strong Yorkshire Ale is one of the Best Beers in the World!

https://www.blacksheepbrewery.com/beers/1181/rigg

5. http://www.hebdenbridge.co.uk/