Breakfast on Geary (redux), Part 1C (or "The yolks on them!")
http://www.dailygrill.com/locations/daily-grill-san-francisco-california/ Place: Daily Grill® Location: 347 Geary Street (between Powell and Mason Streets) Hours: open for breakfast (however, they have it listed as "Brunch" in their on-line menu) at 7:00am Sunday - Saturday Meal: Egg WhiteOmelette~ mushrooms, tomato and scallions, served with avocado-tomato salsa and sliced tomato (where I had them substitute some Breakfast Potatoes ~ aka homefries ~ in place of the tomato slices; even I can slice my own tomatoes at home); and a large(-ish) glassa grapefruit juice
(I do not know if Katie Melua[1] is a fan of egg-white omelettes or not, they just happened to be playing one of her songs [not this one, though] on the house-stereo this morning during breakfast and I felt like sharing one here.) Because it is only a few blocks (well, many blocks ~ about six miles worth) straight down the road from my apartment, I went back to Daily Grill® (see last 'blog-entry from Saturday, October 22nd, 2016) for breakfast this morning. I like that for a Union Square-area restaurant they open up pretty early every day of the week. There are still a few other ideas on their ("Brunch") menu that I would like to get back to try (in another two to three years, probably, at this rate): Texas French Toast ~ thick slices of bread, dipped in cinnamon batter, dusted with powdered sugar (however, I am not sure if there is really a town or city named "Texas" in France[2]); Three Egg Omelette~ additional items: bell peppers, mushrooms, ham (not for me, but for any of you dead, decaying meatetarians), onions, bacon (again... ), tomato, spinach, Cheddar, Bleu, Mozzarella, Swiss cheese, or avocado; served with Breakfast Potatoes, sliced tomatoes or fresh fruit; Eggs Benedict ~ two poached eggs on grilled Canadian bacon (which I would have 86-ed, of course, you hoser) and toasted English muffin, topped with homemade Hollandaise sauce; or Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes ~ three pancakes filled with blueberries, served with maple syrup, topped with powdered sugar.
I do not think that I have ever had an all egg-white omelette before (or, if I have, I do not remember when), so I do not have anything with which to compare this. I liked it well enough and enjoyed the inside-ingredients. It probably could have used some cheesy element inside, too, though. I figure Swiss cheese would have been a good complement. The best part of this dish was the avocado-tomato salsa; it was pretty simple, but very good. For some reason, I again received three halves of toast (I went with the whole wheat choice); it must be some kinda half-conspiracy against me. I really did not bother to ask what Daily Grill® might have to offer in the way of condimentary supplementation. Once again (in a seemingly never-ending effort to use up another bottle from my hot sauce collection ~ I probably have at least three to four more doses left in this one at this rate), I used some more of my own Hot Licks®SerranoHot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the homefries and some Old St. Augustine Snake Bite Datil Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the omelette. Strange (Canine) Interlude On my way back to the bus stop after breakfast, I met a dog named "Flea" (I forgot to get his human partner's name, but I gave him a buck, anyway), which I thought was a very cool dog-name (not quite as cool as "Peeve" or "Front", but still... ). Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Egg White Omelette~ 6.4 (this is with adding 0.2 GBS points for their extremely tasty avocado-tomato salsa) ___________________
1. It is such a d*rn shame that Katie Melua is so unattractive... http://katiemelua.com/ 2. However, I was surprised to find that there is a town called Texas in Australia (the one "Down Under", not the one nach untenDeutschland, Marcus). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas,_Queensland
http://sfgrubstake.com/ Place: Grubstake[1] Location: 1525 Pine Street (Bewteen Polk and Van Ness Streets) Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday and Sunday at 8:00am Meal: Build Your Own Omelet (but, thankfully, not Cook Your Own Omelette) ~ 3 large eggs + your choice of one: cheese, mushrooms, ham, bacon, sour cream, spinach, avocado, or sausage (where my choices were Cheddar and spinach), served with made-to-order home fries & your choice of toast: whole wheat, rye, or San Francisco sourdough; a cuppa (and 1-1/2 refillas; whatever their house Coffee roast/blend may have been) LavAzza; and then afterward, for a breakfastary dessert[2], a Strawberry PeachRye Scone at batter bakery https://www.lavazza.us/en_US.html http://www.batterbakery.com/
(There is no particular EweToobular juxtaselection for today's video/song. Perhaps both Mick and Joe are/were fans of Strawberry PeachRye Scones.) Grubstake has only been open as a diner since 1927 ~ in an old converted railcar that was once used for travel between Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco ~ and this was my first ever visit (for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late-night snack) there. Of course, it may very well also be my last ever visit there. They are soon to be closed/demolished to make way for a new condo-building planned for that neighborhood. So much for San Francisco history... I sat at one of the two-seater tables in the front of the railcar-diner portion of the restaurant ~ where there are only three two-seater tables, one four-seater table, and nine diner-stools at the bar/counter area. There are several more tables and booths in a second larger dining area right next door. Plus, there are three two-seater tables on the outside/street side elevated porch area. I thought about sitting outside (it was more than nice enough this morning), but I wanted to experience the old-timey railcar dining area (which was kinda my whole point in trekking all the way over to Polk-Gulch on a Sunday morning, anyway). There really are not a whole lotta things (not to be confused with those "half-lotta" things) from which to choose on their breakfast menu for stupid vegetarian types. Otherwise, I was looking at either the Grubstake Benedict (sourdough toast, guacamole, chopped bacon [which I would have 86-ed, natch'] & Hollandaise sauce – summer perfection!) or Huevos Rancheros for Real (corn tortillas topped with beans, ham [once again, ochenta-y-seis-ciudad] and two fried, runny eggs), both of which are listed on a separate "Get Brunched!" menu.
This was a good omelette/meal. I liked it and it filled me up. I found out that they only offer Cheddar (but it was "real" cheese, at least) as their choice of cheese; I would have gone with Swiss cheese, otherwise. It was also made with lots of fresh, sautéed spinach. I chose sourdough as my toast choice; it came as three half-slices of toast. Three halves of toast?! I have seen this anomaly at other restaurants, too, and I always have to wonder if I am getting someone else's half-slice, or if someone else is enjoying my missing half-slice. Grubstake truly excels in the condimentary supplement department in that they offer their own homemade (diner-made, whatever) hot sauce: Verde Fire Sauce. It is available for use in plastic squeeze bottles on all of the tables. It is made with a jalapeño base (I asked) and is not really that picante (well, I suppose it might be considered estupido gringo espicy), but it has mucho sabor; I ended up using a lot of it on the potatoes. I also used some more (about eight splashes/drops) of my own Hot Licks®Serrano Hot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the omelette. After breakfast, because I still had a little more room in my appetite and because it is right next-door, I stopped in to batter bakery to sample some of their wares. I knew I was going to get one of their fresh-baked scones, but there were several other excellent choices from which to decide: Ginger Cranberry, Lemon Currant, Orange Chocolate Chip, or Walnut Fig(buckwheat). I went with the choice that I did because this was their seasonal choice and may only be available for a short time longer ("short time longer"?); plus, I was intrigued by a scone made with rye flour. It was a very good choice, and it was made with lots of large slices (not just small bits and pieces like some places might do) of both peaches and strawberries. Sadly, I did not see any actual breakfastary dishes that included steaks made from grubs. I may have to get back there for lunch or dinner to try one of those... if they are still open then, of course. (Apparently, calling yourself "World Famous" just don't count for much these days.) Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Build Your Own Omelet ~ 6.4; Verde Fire Sauce ~ 6.8; Strawberry PeachRye Scone ~ 7.0; cool, historic San Francisco atmosphere ~ 7.8 ___________________
1. So, sorry, the name really has nothing to do with either beetle larvae or sliced-up dead, decaying bovine flesh. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grubstake 2. I have still yet to come up with a decent portmanteau for a snack-treat after the early morning meal. If anyone out there wants to give it your best Charles Lutwidge Dodgson try, please let me know.
IHOb®, YOUHOb®, WEALLHOb®... for free P®ancakes![1]
https://restaurants.ihop.com/ca/san-francisco/1762/ Place: IHOb® Location: 200 b®each Street (on the corner of P®owell Street) Hours: open at 5:00am Sunday through Thursday; open 24 hours Friday & Saturday Meal: Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity® ~ four of our (well, their) thick buttermilk pancakes are topped with your choice of fun fruit topping (my choice was the whimsical raspberry topping) and finished with our (again, their) fluffy whipped topping; a side of hashbrowns; and a glassa Tropical Island Twist I know what many of you are thinking (well, by "many", I mean the one or two persons that actually read this silly little 'blog-thing): "But, Brian, why would you subject yourself to such pedestrian fare?!" Well, firstly, I drove over there this morning (and found a free, legal spot just a block away) and did not need to walk all the way. Secondly, "free P®ancakes" (even the type you might find walking along the street) always taste better than the ones that I make at home (which is almost never, anyway). And, lastly, have you seen some of the other cr*p that I have 'blogged about here?! It is like that line of Woody Allen's at the beginning of "Annie Hall": “There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, 'Boy, the food at this place is really terrible.' The other one says, 'Yeah, I know; and such small portions.' Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly.” (Just replace "life" with "free P®ancakes" in that quote... minus the "full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness", of course.) It had been (almost exactly ~ give or take a few days) two years since I last had one of these b®irthday freeb®ies at IHOP® (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, June 19th, 2016) and that was when the closest local location was at their restaurant on Lombard Street (which has now been closed since earlier this year, I believe). My newest closet location was already HOP®ping (or, possibly, "HOb®bing") even at 7:10am this morning. This is mainly due to their close proximity (Have you ever heard anyone state a "faraway proximity"?) to Fisherman's Wharf. This restaurant is just one block south of Jefferson Street (bka "Main Street Fisherman's Wharf"). However, this newer building has no style to it what-so-ever; I much preferred their older restaurant on Lombard Street, at least it had their iconic A-frame look to it. What's all the hub®-b®ub® ab®out, b®ub®? I am sure that many of you are well-aware of the recent (most likely temporary and completely publicity-seeking) name-change that has occurred at this (Inter)national restaurant chain. However, just exactly how "International" is a choice of only seven (ham)b®urgers from which to choose? ( I highly doubt that even J. Wellington himself would bother gladly paying you Tuesday for one of these [ham]b®urgers today.) The only Internationality I could surmise in any of these were "Swiss" cheese on one (ham)b®urger and "jalapeños" on another (ham)b®urger. Plus, they offer just as many different types of crêpes on their menu. Maybe next year they will change their name once again to IHOC® to drum up some business from that snooty French crowd...
No adult should ever have to shamedly utter the words: "I will have the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity®, please." with a straight face... so, I ordered this with a crooked smile on my face. As far as P®ancakes go/went, these were fair-to-decent (and, again, free), but that should be expected from the (old) name of the franchise. I almost asked if I could have half peach topping and half raspberry topping to make these sorta like Peach Melba[2]P®ancakes. The Tropical Island Twist was made with Le Sirop de Monin®mango syrup and Mist Twist soda (you know, PepsiCo's lemon-lime rip-off version of Coca-Cola's lemon-lime rip-off version of 7-up®). As expected, it was overly sweet, but so was the rest of the meal mostly, anyway. https://www.monin.com/us/mango-syrup.html I did not really bother to ask what they may (or may not) have had to offer in the way of any hot sauce condimentary supplementation. Of course they do offer four different types of syrups on all the tables: Old Fashioned, Blueberry, Butter Pecan, and Strawberry. (Maybe now with their new name, they will also start offering four different types of ketchup?) I did use a little of the Old Fashioned (which, as best as I can tell, is just your typical faux maple syrup stuff, but I am sure that it is made with 100% artificial maple syrup flavouring from Vermont... not the State in New England, the city in Lower Slobbovia) and some Butter Pecanon different parts of the stack-o', Mr. Lee. "Why would you put extra syrup on the already sweet pancakes?" Do not mock me for my tastes, Miss Jean Louise Finch! I also used some of my own Hot Licks®SerranoHot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the hashbrowns. (I actually used a whole lotta it on the potatoes, but it still did not make much of a dent [or break] in the bottle.) Do not worry, just because this meal was a freebie, I still tipped on what the full meal would have cost before the freebie-discount (listed at $10.89 on the bill). Even so, I still paid over $10 (which would include the hashbrowns, drink, and tip) in all for breakfast this morning. This ended up being almost too much food for me to finish. I probably did not really need to order the side of hashbrowns, but, you know what they say, "Man does not live on P®ancakes (or b®urgers, apparently) alone." Glen b®acon Scale Rating: Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity® ~ 6.2 (and that is giving the meal an extra 0.2 Gb®S points for the freeness of the meal) ___________________
1. Initially, I was thinking about reP®lacing all the of "P®"s in this 'b®log-entry with "b®"s, b®ut I figured that would get P®retty annoying P®retty quickly. 2. In 1892, operatic soprano Nellie Melba was performing in Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin at Covent Garden. The Duke of Orléans gave a dinner party to celebrate her triumph. For the occasion, Auguste Escoffier (French chef at the Savoy Hotel, London) created a new dessert, and to display it, he used an ice sculpture of a swan, which is featured in the opera. The swan carried peaches which rested on a bed of vanilla Ice Cream and which were topped with spun sugar. In 1900, Escoffier created a new version of the dessert. For the occasion of the opening of the Carlton Hotel, where he was head chef, Escoffier omitted the ice swan and topped the peaches with raspberry purée.
http://roccoscafe.com/ Place: Rocco'sCcaffè Location: 1131 Folsom Street (between 7th and 8th Streets) Hours: open Monday - Friday at 7:00am, Saturday & Sunday at 8:00am Meal: 3 Eggs Poached in a Sweet Tomato, Basil Marinara Sauce ~ w/ Italian sausage & warm Italian French [ sic ] bread, and served with Rocco'sBreakfast Potatoes (of course, I had them ottantasei the sausage-stuff); to drink with breakfast, a large glassa grapefruit juice; and, beforehand, I stopped at Sight/Glass Coffee and got a single-cuppa/pour-over EthiopiaYetatebe, Shakisso https://sightglasscoffee.com/products/yetatebe-shakisso The last time I ate at Rocco'sCcaffè(see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, November 22nd, 2015) was about two years after I had first eaten there. At this rate, I suppose I will not make another return visit until 2022 (but I hope I get back sooner than that). And why another Sunday visit? It is just much easier to find ample and legal parking on a Sunday (and in this case, that early on a Sunday morning, I was able to find a spot just around the corner on a virtually empty 7th Street). One of the reasons I do want to get back again is that they offer a very nice breakfast fare (both off their everyday Breakfast menu and off their Breakfast Weekend & Holiday Specials). Some other possible ideas that I was perusing: Grilled Homemade Polenta ~ topped with cheese & Marinara sauce w/ eggs any style (Hmmm?! I wonder if I could ask for "ItalianFrench" eggs.) (and I would possibly order this with a side of Rocco's Breakfast Potatoes ~ if my appetite would allow for it); Fresh Vegetable Frittata w/3 Cheeses (they do not specify which three cheeses, but I would guess Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Provolone) ~ served with Rocco's Breakfast Potatoes & toast/sourdough, rye, wheat or English muffin; Mushroom, Onion, Basil, & Parmesan Cheese Frittata ~ served with Rocco's Breakfast Potatoes & toast/sourdough, rye, wheat or English muffin; Fresh Spinach, Mushroom & Provolone Cheese Omelette ~ served with Rocco's Breakfast Potatoes & toast/sourdough, rye, wheat or English muffin; or Avocado, Tomato, & Provolone Cheese Omelette ~ served with Rocco's Breakfast Potatoes & toast/ sourdough, rye, wheat or English muffin.
(Please ignore the horrible quality [I am claiming "poor lighting"] of this photo. The food was so much tastier than it appears here.) This meal was ordered off the Breakfast Weekend & Holiday Specials section of their menu. It was basically una ShakshukaItaliana(or possibly una Shakshuka Margherita). Once again, these were extremely good homefries; there was a lot of fresh basil leaves and onions mixed in with the quartered small red potatoes. The potatoes were not listed anywhere on the menu as an addition to this dish. I almost ordered a side of these to go with the meal, but was not sure how much food (two eggs is usually good for me) would be on the plate. I still have not figured out exactly what "Italian French bread" is supposed to mean; perhaps the bakery is located in the Alps. (The bread did come in very handy, though, to clean up the remainder of the sweet Marinara sauce.) For condimentary supplementation, Rocco'sCcaffè offers Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (both Original Red Sauce and Green Jalapeño Sauce) and Tapatío®Salsa PicanteHot Sauce. In what is becoming quite the futile effort to get rid of some of my hot sauce collection, I used some more of my own Hot Licks®SerranoHot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the potatoes.
(not really a) Strange Coffee Interlude I had a pre-breakfastary cuppa at Sight/Glass Coffee (their flagship shop ~ where they do all their roasting ~ on 7th Street and just around the corner from where I had breakfast, anyway). This was a very good cuppa Ethiopian Coffee; however, I did not think it was quite as spectacular as what Andytown Coffee Roasters makes/serves. This place must be one of the largest coffeeshops in the city; it takes up the entire space of an old (built in 1914) warehouse (they told me that it used to be a neon-sign shop previously). It has a great open space with a two-floor high ceiling. Plus, there is even an Affogato Bar located on the mezzanine level (it was way too early in the morning for Ice Cream... well, not for me, but it was not open yet or I might have gotten that before breakfast, too). Sight/Glass Coffee has four other local San Francisco shops/locations (however, good luck trying to locate them on their web-site; it took me ten minutes to finally find them). Glen BaconScale Rating: Sight/Glass CoffeeEthiopiaYetatebe, Shakisso ~ 7.2; Shakshuka Margherita ~ 6.5
https://www.lokmasf.com/ Place: lokma[1] Location: 1801 Clement Street (on the corner of 19th Avenue) Hours: open Tuesday - Sunday at 9:00am for "Brunch" Meal: Türlü[2]Omelet ~ Turkish ratatouille, Cacik (cucumber, yogurt, & fresh dill [simply put, Turkish Tzatziki]), and house potatoes; to drink with the meal a demi-cuppa Turkish Coffee; and, beforehand, I stopped at home again (because it is only two blocks down Clement Street from this restaurant) for a cuppa (this time) CoconutVanillaLatte http://home-cafe.cafes-city.com/
(What is the EweToobular juxtaselection here? Simples!The Tallest Man on Earth[3] is a big fan of ratatouille and Tzatziki. [Nah, not really ~ well, he may be, but I do not know that ~ they were playing one of his songs on the house-stereo and I thought that I recognized the singer right away. One of the waitress/server-lady persons confirmed this information for me; she is a fan of his music, too.]) I had dinner last week across the street from this brand-new (only open since February of this year) restaurant and liked what I saw on their (even if they call it) "Brunch" menu. So I made a mental missive to check out lokma some time in the future... and today must be the future, Marty. The seating area is medium-sized (well, for a little corner neighborhood joint) with five window-bar seats (along the 19th Avenue side), four two-seater tables, two three-seater (well, kinda; there were three chairs at smaller tables that looked like they might only seat two comfortably) tables, and six four-seater tables. It looked spacious enough inside that if they ever needed to add a few more tables, it would still seem comfortable and not crowded. There are a few other ideas (even for stupid vegetarian-types) that I will probably be returning to try: Menemem ~ Turkish egg scramble, tomatoes, sweet peppers, Feta cheese, oranges[ sic ] slices & warm pita (I have had this same dish a few times at other restaurants and already knew that I liked it, so I went with the choice that I did today to try something different, which turned out to be an excellent move); Breakfast Sandwich ~ toasted bun, two fried eggs, Feta, arugula, tomato, aioli, & house potatoes; Traditional Turkish Breakfast (this is only offered as a meal for two, so I would have to make sure to share this with someone) ~ sujuk (Turkish sausage), pastirma[4] (air dried cured beef), over-easy eggs, Feta, seasonal hummus, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, kaymak (clotted cream) & honey, herbs & pita (of course, I would have both the sujuk and pastirma junk seksen-altı-ed); or, if I am in a sweet kinda mood, Greek Yogurt Pancakes ~ seasonal fruit, honey, blueberry compote, almonds.
This was really a very good choice. A ratatouille omelette? What is not to like? Not only was an omelette made with ratatouille inside it an interesting dish, this had a tasty Cacik on top of it, too. Plus, their house potatoes were very nice and crispy-crunchy (probably deep-fried-then-baked style); I bet a side order of their Cacik would have been great poured over the potatoes, too. I am not sure what they may have had to offer in the way of any bottled condimentary supplements; I did not ask. I just used some of my own Dat'l Do-it®Zesty Chipotle Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom! And that successfully kills another bottled soldier finally. I am now down to only 29 hot sauces in my refrigerator... only.) on the potatoes.
(not necessarily such a) Strange Coffee Interlude The CoconutVanillaLatte at home was good, but just not quite as exciting as either their Lavender Latte, Rose Latte, or Cookie Monster (Latte, too) that I had previously tried. It did not have quite enough coconut flavour in my opinion; I probably shoulda had them make it with coconutmilk (if they had any; I noticed that they did have almondmilk as a cow-milk substitute). Not that I really needed the extra caffeination with breakfast, but I saw that lokma offered Andytown Coffee Roasters as their house Coffee (and it was an Ethiopian one ~ not sure which roast/blend, though) in addition to standard Turkish Coffee. I went with the Turkish Coffee over the Andytown Ethiopia because I figured "... when in Istanbul, do as the Istanbullers do... " http://www.andytownsf.com/ Good house-music! Andytown Coffee!! (which, in my opinion, is one of the best local roasteries) A unique Turkish ratatouille omelette!!! Location... location... location... !!!! Yeah, I will definitely be returning (for breakfast and probably dinner sometime, too)!!!!! This has been a very good weekend for me for new breakfastary finds. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: CoconutVanillaLatte~ 6.7; Türlü Omelet ~ 7.0 ___________________
1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, bölüm bir: The Turkish words "lokma" and "lokum" are derived from the Arabic word "luqma(t)" and its plural "luqūm" meaning "morsel" and "mouthful" and the alternative Ottoman Turkish name, "rahat-ul hulküm", was an Arabic formulation, "rāḥat al-hulqūm", meaning "comfort of the throat", which remains the name in formal Arabic. 2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, bölüm iki: "Türlü" in Turkish means "hodge-podge", but in this case it means "mixed vegetables" (as in ratatouille). 3. Kristian Matsson is kinda like the "Swedish Robbie Zimmerman". If you have never heard his music, check it out. Very nice stuff. http://thetallestmanonearth.com/ 4. Yeah, I coulda written another stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer, but seeing as the friendly folks at WikipediA have already stolen... er... posted this information, I just stole... er... borrowed it for use here myself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastrami
http://griddlefreshsf.com/ (Supposably this is their "official-type" web-site; however, whenever I click on the link to check out the menu or any other information it brings me to an EAT24 site. So you will just have to take my word for their offered food-stuff.) PlacePlace: GriddleGriddle FreshFresh LocationLocation: 40074007 24th24th StreetStreet (between NoeNoe and CastroCastro Streets); phonicular contact: (415) 647-7037 HoursHours: open dailydaily 8:00am8:00am MealMeal: Savory Reggiano ~ one egg sunny side up, arugula, Parmasan [ sic ], bacon sprinkled (which I 86-sprinkled), honey, basil, strawberry coulis; a side-order of Crispy Wedges; and to drink (which I had picked up about fifteen minutes before the restaurant opened and drank some while walking up and down 24th Street window-shopping ~ I ended up buying a nice oriel and jalousie) a small (12 oz) cuppa the House Coffee at Bernie's ~ a local coffee shop, where they exclusively serve La CoppaCoffee[2] https://www.lacoppacoffee.com/
(There is absolutely no EweToobular juxtaselection for this song/video[3]. It just came to mind and I felt like sharing it here. For all I know, ol' Bob himself was a big fan of basil, honey, and strawberry [see what I did there with the colour progression of those ingredients?] on his French toast, too.) It had been a while since I last ate at GriddleGriddle FreshFresh (see previous 'blog'blog-entryentry from SaturdaySaturday, JuneJune 29th29th, 20132013) or its sister-shop, MyMyCoffeeCoffeeShopShop (see last 'blog'blog-entryentry from SundaySunday, AugustAugust 21st21st, 20162016), so I figured it was time for another visit. I chose their location in Noe Valley because it had also been some time since I last galumphed along 24th Street (aka "Main Street Noe Valley"). There were some very other tempting ideas for breakfast this morning (however, I really can not imagine any of these as being better than the choice I did choose): Gooey Boule (French toast) ~ vanilla curd, crunch granola, berry coulis (I have no idea what this might look like, but this will definitely need to be tasted/tested on a future visit); Tiramisu (French toast) ~ brioche bread, mascapone [ sic, also ~ something tells me that these guys are not of Italiano-descent ] sweet cream, cinnamon, Espresso (this is another one that truly needs a taste); Parma Flavor (Eggs Benedict) ~ prosciutto (Hey, whadyaknow? They spelded this one kerrekt. Of course, I would have to ottantasei that dead, decaying porcine junk, too.), fresh Mozzarella (That makes due per due in this ingredient list!), Roma tomato, Grana Padano (Woo-HOO! Can you say tre per tre?!), chive Hollandaise; and off their "Specials" insert Matcha Mochi Pancake (that is just fun to say, anyway) ~ berries, sweet cream, condensed milk; or Brioche French Toast ~ Granny Smith apple sauce, sweet cream, toasted almond (they have this in the singular on the printed menu, but I am sure they actually include at least two almonds), baked cinnamon apple (this was going to be my initial pick, but I can not imagine it being better than what I had ordered either). Additional, for those of you that are of the animaletarian-ilk, off their "Specials" insert, there was this rather ominous-sounding dish (sadly, which I do not think could viably be made vegetarian-friendly): Chorizo Tater Tot ~ chorizo, sour cream, pico de gallo, avocado, roasted jalapeño (where they excluded the tilde over the "ñ", but that is a common omission in many non-Mexican/Spanish joints), olive, onion, Cheddar, black bean, chipotle aioli.
I just have one word to describe this "new find": Omagawd!!! I was not sure how this dish was going to be presented. I pictured the egg laid (well, placed) on top of the French toast slices (à la some kinda take on a Croque Madame). The flavour combination of strawberry, basil, honey, and "Parmasan" (or Parmesan if you are keeping grammar-score [and this would be where the "Reggiano" portion of the dish's name would come from; I was sorta expecting it to be served by Hall of Famer "Mr. Straw-that-stirs-the-drink" hisd*mnself]) was unexpectedly a great one. I even added some of the arugula to a few bites and that worked very nicely, too. (I bet this also would be great with some rosemary, baby!) The strawberries on top were more of the stewed version, not really a "coulis". Technically (or culinarily, I suppose), a "coulis" should be a thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. But what do I know? I am no Anthony Bourdain (and, sadly, he can not complain or comment on this any longer himself ~ R.I.P. Chef Bourdain). Even though it is less than half-way (Am I being optimistic or pessimistic in my calculation there?) through 2018, I am claiming this as "My Favourite New French Toast Dish of 2018 Not Named Pain Perdu at Baker Street Bistro"!!! The Crispy Wedges were very good, too. It made for a large meal for me, but I was glad I tried their take on deep-fried-homefries. For condimentary supplementation, GriddleGriddle FreshFresh just has Cholula®Hot Sauce (Original) on the tables. I came prepared with a few bottles from my own hot sauce collection (not knowing if I was gonna go "sweet" or "savoury" for breakfast this morning; whereas, my entrée was actually both) and used some Hot Licks®SerranoHot Sauce (Thanks, Brian! This is the next bottle that I am going to try to force-use up to free-up some more space on my refrigerator door-shelves.) generously ('cause I am just that kinda guy) all over the potatoes and a few drops of Old St. AugustineDatil Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Greg & Cindy!) on top of the egg. GlenGlen BaconBacon ScaleScale RatingRating: Savory Reggiano ~ 7.7; Crispy Wedges ~ 7.0; Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier" ~ 7.5 ___________________
1. I t'ink dis is jus' Jamaican Patois for: "Verrrry tasty French toast, Jah!" (That is not really to be considered as a stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer, though.) 2. Okay, if you really must have a stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer: "La coppa" is Italiano for "the cup". Simples! (See? Sometimes this cunning linguist stuff ain't really scienza del cervello or chirurgia a razzo even.) 3. Years ago (and by "years ago", I mean that it must have been at least twelve to fifteen years ago now), my brother Kerry had made me a cuts-CD with a buncha Bob Marley cover-songs. This particular song was included on it along with many other great Bob-songs.
