TJ Cafe

(No official web-site.)

Place: TJ Cafe

Location: 724 La Playa Street (between Balboa and Cabrillo Streets); phonicular contact: (415) 702-6286

Hours: open Wednesday - Monday at 8:30am

Meal: "Veggie" (uggh!) Cheese Omelet ~ served with grilled onion, bell pepper, mushroom, spinach, avocado, & cheese, with toast or potatoes (homefries); and a bottle of some corporate-brand cranberry-grape juice

(Okay, so maybe there was no "A Taste of Honey" in this morning's meal, but ol' Herbie & his Brass-men never recorded a song called "A Taste of 'Veggie' [uggh!] Cheese Omelet".)



A few weeks back I stumbled upon TJ Cafe during lunchtime and noticed that they are also open early for breakfasts most mornings, too. They have only been open since March 2014 in the space that used to house a Burger King®[1] for many years. As best as I can discern, they are a Korean(?) family-owned restaurant. However, there are no dishes on their lunch and dinner menu that would specify it is Korean-owned; I don't know, a nice Kimchi-Burger or Bulgogi-Burger might be a big seller.

As can be expected by a strip-mallish oceanside restaurant, the space is rather small with seating of just two tables for two, two booths for four, one booth for five-six people, and an additional two-seater table out front on the sidewalk.

For being just a little oceanside café-joint, their breakfast menu is pretty diverse, though. A few of the other ideas that I was looking at that were suitable for stupid vegetarians:

The Bountiful Breakfast ~ served with 2 eggs any style (chicken eggs are usually my go-to style) & potatoes; choice of pancake, French toast or toast; choice of bacon, sausage, or ham (I wonder if they would let me substitute another pancake or French toast in place of the dead, decaying animal flesh-stuff);

Breakfast Sandwich - B ~ egg and cheese, tomato and avocado on toasted English muffin (you can also order this on a bagel or croissant);

or 

"Veggie" (uggh!) Burrito ~ flour tortilla filled with eggs, cheese, grilled onion, bell pepper, mushroom, spinach, avocado, potatoes, & fresh salsa.

I happened to notice that they serve Peerless Coffee & Tea®, but did not feel like having any more Coffee this morning (I had already dripped-me-down a cuppa my own Coffee earlier in the morning at home before heading out). They offer at least two different blends/roasts of Coffee in self-serve Thermos®-canister/dispenser-things up by the front door (and they also had a de-caf, but we need never speak of/drink of such atrocities).

http://www.peerlesscoffee.com/

Wow! I hate to sound like that guy who always judges reading material by its outer covering, but this meal was soooooo much better than I was expecting. Do not be fooled by the paper plate and napkins, plastic fork and knife accoutrements, and it being served on a cafeteria-style plastic tray. Not only was the omelette very good on its own merits/making, but they use real Cheddar cheese inside, not that faux, tasteless 'merican "processed cheese product" that you would normally get at a fast food joint. 

Of course, I went with the potatoey choice as my side (I suppose I could have ordered a side of toast, but it was not needed, anyway). This was a very good choice, as their homefries were pretty decent all on their ownsome.

TJ Cafe offers Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce 
(Original Red Sauce), Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce, and Huy Fong Foods, Inc. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce for use as condimentary supplements. I used some of my own Dragon Breath Garlic Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on top of the omelette and some Emperor's Revenge Teriyaki Hot Sauce (Thanks again, Mom!) judiciously all over the homefries.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
"Veggie" (uggh!) Cheese Omelet ~ 6.5;
friendly, neighborhoody, laid-back, oceanside atmosphere ~ 7.6

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1. I really like living in the Richmond. There are only about five to ten (possibly even less than five) National/International fast food chain-type restaurants that are in this entire neighborhood of San Francisco, which is pretty d*rn good for the size of the neighborhood.

That is not counting the corporate bastages of St*rbucks, but even they only have one stinkin' location in this whole neighborhood.