(I could not locate an official web-site thing. This was the best that I could find.) Place: Jerry Remy'sSports Bar & Grill Location: 1 Harborside Drive, Logan International Airport, Terminal C, Boston, MA; phonicular contact: (617) 567-5379 Hours: ??? (your guess is as good as mine; without an official web-site thing, I have no way of knowing; it was open after 8:00am for breakfast when I had arrived there, at least) Meal: Veggie Omelet ~ fresh mushrooms, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and Vermont Cheddar (or more colloquially [or "co-locally"]: "Ched-dah") cheese, served with home fries and (wheat) toast; and a glassa orange juice with the meal; afterward, for a breakfastary dessert, a Boston Kreme doughnut and a small (12oz) cuppa Original Blend (black-no-sugar, thank you) at Dunkin'Donuts® (which was also located nearby in Terminal C) https://www.dunkindonuts.com/en/food-drinks/donuts/donuts
(I have heard that this James Vernon Taylor-person also likes Boston Kreme doughnuts. I guess they will let just about any street-busker perform from the Dugout in Fenway Park.) I have traveled through Logan International Airport, Terminal C many times before and have been meaning to try eating breakfast at Jerry Remy'sSports Bar & Grill; I finally completed that try. I was not quite sure that I would actually have time to eat a sit-down breakfast, as we had left Wareham at almost exactly 7:00am. However, due to light-to-little Sunday morning traffic (and, thankfully, the torrential rains of Summer were holding off) all the way to the airport, I was dropped off (Thanks, Kerry! Another successful "Pick-up & Drop-off" completed!) with more than ample time for breakfast (and even breakfastary dessert, too). I am not quite sure of the status of this last remaining location of the Jerry Remy'sSports Bar & Grill franchise. I do know that the two other freestanding locations ~ one in Boston (right next to Fenway Park) and one in Jerry's birth-town of Fall River ~ have closed permanently due to financial problems (the one in Boston closed back in 2016 and the one in Fall River just closed earlier this year in May). It happens to the best of them, I suppose. Even Sam "Mayday" Malone could not save the Bull & Finch Pub from going out of business. If this restaurant is still in business the next time that I am heading home through Boston, there were a couple of other ideas that I would possibly like to check out: Brioche French Toast ~ made with thick cut brioche, served with pure maple syrup ('cause that un-pure stuff just ain't worth serving), add seasonal berries for only $1.00 (which is probably the way I would go); or Florentine Benedict ~ poached eggs, tomatoes and spinach on an English muffin topped with Hollandaise sauce, served with home fries. I also noticed on their menu that they "Proudly Serve" Peet's Coffee & Tea[2]House Blend Coffee. I probably mighta went with a cuppa that if I had not already been thinking on getting me the cuppa Dunkin'Donuts®Original Blend.
I was a bit disappointed that the serving dishes were not in the shape of Home Plate (or at least Second Base, What?). Tableware notwithstanding, this was a pretty decent omelette (as far as airport food standards go), but nothing quite gather-worthy. I liked that they actually grilled the toast and that the homefries were made with red potatoes with green bell peppers and onions in them. Jerry Remy'sSports Bar & Grill offered for condimentary supplementation both Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Huy Fong Foods Inc.Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce. I just used some (well, about as much as a normal person would use ketchup) Sriracha on the homefries. D'oh! I just thought of this after-the-fact. I shoulda ordered some of their pancakes for breakfast so I coulda shouted: "BATTER'S UP!!!" Glen BaconScale Rating: Veggie Omelet ~ 6.3; Dunkin'Donuts®Original Blend ~ 6.4; Dunkin'Donuts®Boston Kreme ~ 5.9 (surprisingly, as much as I love these doughnuts, and make sure to get at least one during my trips back eastward, Clint [and this trip I actually had them three times], they are just wayyyy too sweet, but they are still iconically Boston to me); Boston Red Sox ~ 73-33 (current record; for which, I fully expect them to finish the Season at 130-33 ~ GO RED SOX!!!) ___________________
1. Gerald Peter Remy (aka "Jerry" aka "Rem Dawg") had a decent-enough 10-year MLB career as a Second Basemen. Playing his first three years with the (then still) California Ångels and his final seven years of his career with his hometown Boston Red Sox. I am not sure what he is doing now-a-days... http://m.mlb.com/player/121064/jerry-remy 2. This is how the coffeehouse chain is printed on the menu; however, they have changed their name corporately to just Peet's Coffee® now. Sadly, they are no longer a locally (as in Berkeley, CA)-owned Coffee roaster, anyway. The company had been purchased in 2012 by the same Coffee robber-barons that now own (wholly or portionally) Caribou Coffee, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, and even those Keurig Green Mountian people. So, they are not really much better now than the bastages at St*rbucks. Peet's Coffee® used to be my go-to local place for Coffee, but I have been cutting back on going-to there lately. Do not get me wrong, I do not have a problem with a company being successful due to free enterprise (ain't that what 'merica was born on on July 4th, 1776?). I just prefer to support as many smaller, local businesses as I can. https://www.jabholco.com/
(Still no official web-site thing.) Place: Riverside Cafe[1] Location: 189 Main Street, Wareham, MA; phonicular contact: (508) 295-2050 Hours: open daily at 6:00am Meal(s): (me) Veggie Breakfast Melt ~ with spinach, tomato, cheese, and egg, served with home fries, fruit, or beans (I went with the smart potatoey choice); (Bruce Ozella[2]) scrambled eggs and (whole wheat) toast; (Kerry) Florentine Omelet ~ spinach, tomatoes or mushrooms, and Mozzarella cheese, served with toast and home fries or fruit (Kerry went with the fungi and potati choices and an English muffin); (Mom) Bolo do caco (Madeiran sweet potato bread [this is basically the Portuguese version of an English muffin]; thankfully, she chose something other than raisin toast for a change) ~ and they give you the option of having this toasted or grilled (Mom went with the grilled choice); and to drink: (me) a cuppa (and one refilla) New England® CoffeeCoconutMacaroon; (Kerry & Bruce) cuppas (and refillas) whatever the standard house Coffee was; and (Mom) a cuppa some kinda tea (I really did not pay attention) https://www.newenglandcoffee.com/product/coconut-macaroon/
("Chocolate Raspberry"?! "But, Brian, that was not what you said you had." Yeah, yeah, yeah... just read along in the d*mn 'blog-thing.)
(So, what is the EweToobular juxtaselection here? Apparently, Glenn Shorrock is a fan of CoconutMacaroon Coffee [but secretly wishes he had ordered Chocolate Raspberry Coffee], too.) I have breakfastarily eaten at Riverside Cafe (see last 'blog-entry from Thursday, June 1st, 2017) several times now. I can honestly say this is the Best Breakfast Place on Main Street, Wareham. (Okay, to be fair, I think it is currently the only breakfastary joint on Main Street, Wareham, but, even so, it is still a very good place for breakfast if you are ever in Wareham ~ "the Gateway to Cape Cod" ~ and do not feel like venturing much further than their Main Street.)
What can I really say about this meal? It was a grilled cheese sandwich with scrambled eggs and spinach and tomatoes in it. I liked it. Their homefries are very good, too. For condimentary supplementation, sitting on the table right in front of me was a bottle of Burman's®OriginalHot Sauce. So I used some of it on the homefries. I was not familiar with this particular brand of hot sauce; it reminded me a lot of either Crystal®Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce or any other similar Louisiana-style hot sauce. I did also see bottles of Tapatío®Salsa PicanteHot Sauce for use on other tables, too.
(another not so very) Strange Coffee Interlude I really was hoping to try the Chocolate Raspberry Coffee which was pictured in the front window as the Coffee of the Month; however, sadly, I was told that they were already out of that flavour for this month... D*mn you, Coffee Gods! Either way, the CoconutMacaroonwas still a decent enough cuppa. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Veggie Breakfast Melt ~ 6.4; New England® CoffeeCoconutMacaroon ~ 6.5 (but I bet the Chocolate Raspberrywoulda been at least 6.7) ___________________
1. And which "River" might this be alongside? That would be the Mighty Wareham River (which is all of about two miles long ~ starting at Parker Mills Pond and ending at a Buzzards Bay estuary... or possibly the vice-a-versa; h*ck, even the Weweantic* River is about seventeen miles long). *(Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-geographical/pseudo-historical pointer of the day: "Weweantic" means "wandering stream" in the Wampanoag language. [However, my brother Nick likes to tell people that it means: "You wee-weeon your side of the river, I wee-wee on my side of the river, and nobody wee-wees in the middle." ~ after the actual place name Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.]) 2. You woulda expected him to order something with spinach in it at least. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Ozella
https://gatherandeat.com/ Place: gather Location: 35 School Street, Pembroke, MA Hours: open at 7:00am Tuesday to Saturday for breakfast Meal: (me) Green Goddess Frittata~ a classic Italian-style omelet with arugula, asparagus and Feta cheese, served with your choice of toast (I chose Ciabatta White), and a side of Chef's Home Fries; (Sean) Short Rib Breakfast Poutine[2] ~ braised short ribs, house-made (restaurant-made, whatever) mornay, fresh Mozzarella cheese curds and Chef's Home Fries with a sunny-side egg, served with your choice of toast; (Nick) Something Simple ~ 2 eggs any style (I think he went with scrambled), choice of sausage/bacon/chorizo (Nick chose bacon), served with Chef's Home Fries or a bed of fresh mixed greens and your choice of toast; (Mom) a side of raisin toast(again); and to drink: (me) a mighty fine cuppa (and one refilla) beanstockCoffee Blackfish Creek Blend; (Mom) a cuppa Earl Grey tea (I forget what Sean and Nick had to drink) https://beanstockcoffee.com/
(And, yes, there were each of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme in this planter... and some lavender, too.) "Oh, my!" (to be read in your best Hosato Takei voice) If you are ever in Pembroke (the much larger city in Massachusetts, not that [original] fake one in Wales), and you are lookin' for a great place to gather for breakfast, look no further than gather. This restaurant is owned and cheffed by the son of an old high school classmate of mine (and by "old" I mean she is old, not me), Tambrie (née Piacentini) Wilson[3]. gather has only been open since the beginning of February this year. It was about a 45-minute trip there and back from Wareham, but it was definitely worth the ride ('specially 'cause I was not doing the driving this day for a change and we did not end up circling endlessly around Pembroke ["Siri, how do you get to downtown Falmouth from Pocasset?"]).
(Photo of Chef Nicholas Wilson with some skinny ol' geezer.)
(Nick [McGowan, not Wilson], Sean, and my mother.) As we were some of the first diners there that morning, we got to usurp one of the two long bench-tables out on the front porch area. The weather was perfect that morning for dining al fresco (Chef Nick is mezzo-italiano himself, too, so he will know exactly what I mean there). I was also looking at a couple of other interesting meals on their breakfast menu (Ah! Who am I kidding? I had cheated a few weeks back and had checked out their menu on-line, and went there knowing exactly which dish I was going to order; I mean, asparagus AND Feta... those are probably my top two favourite foods): Breakfast Burrito (Veggie or Meat) ~ a flour tortilla stuffed with your choice sausage, bacon, chorizo, or veggie, fresh scrambled eggs and Chef's Home Fries, smothered in a classic mornay cheese sauce and topped with a tomato salsa or Stuffed French Toast ~ stuffed with strawberry-rhubarb compote (Oh, yeah!), mascarpone and cream cheese filling.
I was very happy to see that my frittata was chock full o' asparagus and Feta (you would be surprised how a lotta places go cheapo on both of these items); plus, the Feta was in large chunks not those measly crumblies that many places try to pass off for Feta. Needless to say (but I am needlessly saying it here, anyway), I loved this dish. Knowing that the frittata (and toast) would probably not be enough for me, I wisely ordered the side of Chef's Home Fries. I was glad that I did so as these turned out to be very good homefries, too; they were made with both standard white potatoes and sweet potatoes. I did not ask (nor see the need for) what gather might have to offer in the way of any hot sauce condimentary supplementation. However (and this was a great "however"-find), gather makes their own jams/preserves/compotes-stuff to serve with the toast. This week's homemade (gather-made, whatever) jam/preserves/compote-stuff was a blueberry-lavender (I guessed [correctly] that this jam/preserves/compote-stuff included some lavender in it and Chef Nick confirmed my suspicions; when I first tasted it, I knew there was some extra flavour that I had before, but was not exactly sure it was lavender ~ which turned out to be a nice complement to blueberry; I even suggested to Chef Nick that they oughtta make a cranberry-rosemary jam/preserves/compote-stuff ~ he humoured me and said he might try that). Now the real condimentary find here was their more-than-awesome vanilla-butter! I can not really do it justice in trying to explain it here; but, trust me, be sure to order something (toast, pancakes, French fries, etc.) that you can try some of this on if you ever eat there. (not so very) Strange Coffee Interlude Another major plus was the brand/blend of Coffee that they serve. beanstock turned out to be a very good "local" (well, if you are from the Cape Cod area) Coffee roastery out of Wellfleet. Tha's a fac', Jack! This was one of those "It just tastes better'n'better with each successive sip/gulp" kinda Coffees. In conclusion, if I lived in the Boston-to-Wareham area (Pembroke is probably as far from Boston as it was from Wareham), this little place would definitely be Breakfastary Starting Rotation-worthy. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Green Goddess Frittata~ 7.3; Chef's Home Fries ~ 7.0; beanstockBlackfish Creek Blend ~ 7.5 (and rising); Short Rib Breakfast Poutine ~ 7.5 (Sean has been schooled in the intricacies of the Glen Bacon Scale and can be trusted with his rating; Nick, on the other hand, rated everything as a "7.5"... fercryinoutloud, he just had eggs, bacon, and toast); blueberry-lavender jam/preserves/compote-stuff ~ 7.0; vanilla-butter ~ 7.5 (this was a general consensus among the table; and if they had rated it any lower, I was gonna overrule them and rate it 7.5, anyhow) ___________________
1. Where-broke?! Here-broke: https://www.pembroke-ma.gov/ 2. Tu peux répéter s'il te plait? http://mentalfloss.com/article/57508/brief-history-poutine I love poutine. What is not to love? French fries, cheese curds, and gravy?! C'est incroyable! It is just hard to find a decent stupid-vegetarian version, though. I usually have to just make it myself (See? I can "cook" when I want to.) and will use a mushroom-based gravy. The hardest part is finding real cheese curds in a local grocery store. 3. Tammy's (well, that was what I knew Tambrie as back in... well... a long time ago [Did I tell you she was really old?]) son Nicholas Wilson is the Chef-Partner in this great little (ad)venture. Nick was the runner-up on Season 1, Episode 2 of Guy's Grocery Games on the food network. https://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/closing-time-challenge-0214762
https://persysplace.com/ Place: Persy's Place Location: 3198 Cranberry Highway, East Wareham, MA Hours: open at 7:00am every day of the week Meal: (me) Harvest Benedict ~ 2 dropped eggs (or as you like) on a bed of zucchini, summer squash and tomatoes sautéed in olive oil blend on toasted English muffin topped with Hollandaise sauce; (Sean) Breakfast Crêpes ~ 3 sweet crêpes rolled and filled with scrambled eggs, ham, Swiss cheese, mushrooms & topped with Hollandaise sauce; (Nick) Portuguese Chourico Benedict ~ 2 dropped eggs (or as you like), with spicy Portuguese chourico, sautéed onions and peppers with Hollandaise sauce on toasted English muffin; (Mom) raisin toast; and to drink: (me & Sean) the Coffee Special of the month (or possibly week) ~ Chocolate Peanut-butter (I kid you not); (Nick) a glassa orange juice (I think; I forgot to write it down); (Mom) a cuppa plain ol' tea No trip to Wareham would be complete without a visit to Persy's Place (see last 'blog-entry from Wednesday, May 31st, 2017). That is not just hyperbole; it is the actual law in Wareham (Massachusetts really needs to rescind some of their stranger Blue Laws). The worst part about eating at this joint is trying to decide what to order off of their ridiculously humongous menu ~ they offer everything from Breakfast Sandwiches to Egg Basics to House Specialties to Burritos to Egg Favorites to Legendary Egg Creations to Scrumptious Scramblers to Bombs to Omelets to Crêpes to Buttermilk Pancakes to French Toast... and they also offer five different types of Belgian Waffles (and who humongous has not waffled a bit while ordering breakfast?). They even offer thirteen different ('cause thirteen of the same is not really much of a variety) Sunrise Sides from which to choose. I could list several other breakfast dishes that I was eyeing on the menu, but that could take several days and probably cost many lives. Just click on their d*mn web-site link above and check out the menu yerd*mnself!
Yeah, this was a messa gooey Hollandaise mess, but I liked it all the same. There were lots of zucchini and summer squash in the mix, and luckily I like both of them a lot. I did not notice until I was keyboarding up this 'blog-entry, but you may substitute an English crumpet for toasted English muffin. D*rn it! If I had known that, I would have done that for sure. Next time, perhaps? All Legendary Egg Creations (that would be Eggs Benedict dishes to you and me) are served with your choice of 2 Sunrise Sides. I went with baked beans and homefries (I thought about going with double-potato sides and ordering the hashbrowns, too); Nick went with homefries and cornbread. Nick's choices were great for the rest of the table as the serving of cornbread they give you is absolutely HUGE and the rest of us got to enjoy about three-quarters of what he could not finish. I am always game to try new and interesting-sounding (read: disgusting-sounding) Coffees. I thought this Coffee had more Chocolate flavour than peanut-butter, but the aroma was definitely Reese's® reminiscent. I really do not quite remember what Persy's Place might have had to offer for condimentary supplementation. I think that I used some Frank's®RedHot®Original on my homefries. (See? This is where it pays to write stuff down, kids.) Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Harvest Benedict ~ 6.6; Chocolate Peanut-butter Coffee ~ 6.5 (however, I did not poll [or Czech with] the rest of the table for their Glen Bacon Scale input for their respective meals... or toast)
Airport Breakfastary Food - Part V San Francisco International Airport (SFO) (Saturday, 07/14/2018) https://www.flysfo.com/content/potrero-grill Place: PoTRERO GRiLL Location: International Terminal, Main Hall Food Court (near Boarding Area G), SFO Hours: open daily at 6:00am Meal: Garden Omelet~ zucchini, bell peppers (red, green, & yellow), mushrooms, onions, served with toast & potatoes; and a medium cuppa Jamaica Blue Mountain from Roasting Plant Coffee https://roastingplant.com/ An army may travel best on its stomach, but I much prefer travelling in an airplane. (And what kinda silly army marches along like a worm, anyway?) As such, on my most recent trip back to Massachusetts (and Cape Cod and the like), I had to pass through San Francisco International Airport once again. My initial intent was to eat at Samovar® (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, July 1st, 2018). However, I rudely found out after heading all the way over to the International Terminal, Main Hall Food Court (via AirTrain from Terminal 2) that they do not open for breakfast until... well, according to their web-site, they may not even be open for breakfast or lunch or dinner without a reservation. A reservation for an airport food-joint? Really?! Anyway, as long as I was already in the International Terminal, Main Hall Food Court, I decided to make do with whatever else might be open before 7:00am. Luckily, that whatever else was PoTRERO GRiLL and they were open and serving breakfast... without any reservations! I had specifically gone to this food court because the choices are normally better and offer more from which to choose than at the other terminals. I even made sure to get to the airport two hours early to make sure I had enough time to get there and have a decent breakfast before the six hour non-stop plane-ride.
This turned out to be a pretty simple ~ but surprisingly good (for airport grub-fare) ~ omelette. All of the "garden" vegetables were grilled before putting them inside the omelette. I went with whole wheat as my toast choice. Once again I was mysteriously served three halves of toast. I do not know why, though. The potatoes were of the homefries variety and were also very good. These were also made with bell peppers (red, green, & yellow) and onions in them. For condimentary supplementation, PoTRERO GRiLLoffered Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and two different brands of Sriracha hot sauces: Huy Fong Foods Inc. (in squeeze-bottles) and Shing Kee® (in single use packets). I singularly used three packets of the Shing Kee® on the homefries. (not so) Strange Coffee Interlude The major discovery at the International Terminal, Main Hall Food Court was a new(-ish?) Coffee joint called Roasting Plant Coffee. Not only do they make every cuppa fresh-ground for you, they have some very excellent varieties from which to choose. For only $2.00 more per cuppa, they even offer a Jamaica Blue Mountain (and if you know how much a standard pound of this stuff goes for, $2.00 extra per cuppa is a great bargain). Now this particular blend/roast may not have been as tasty as what Bettys sells, but it was far superior to most other Coffees which you might find at your local coffeehouse (especially if your local coffeehouse starts with an "S" and ends with "ucks"). So this more than made up for not making reservations for tea... Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Garden Omelet~ 6.3 (this is factoring in their very good homefries); Roasting Plant Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain ~ 7.7
Sure, and I still have never learned how to drive a stick...
http://outerlandssf.com/ Place: Outerlands Location: 4001 Judah Street (on the corner of 45th Avenue) Hours: open Monday - Friday 9:00am for breakfast, Saturday & Sunday 9:00am for "Brunch" Meal: (the simply-enough named) quiche ~ celery root, niçois olive, ricotta salata (they like to print everything in the minuscule on their menu); a side of (again simply-enough named) potatoes ~ filipino adobo[1], aioli, scallion; and to drink with the meal, lemon ginger apple cider Outerlands (see last 'blog entry from Sunday, March 10th, 2013) is not really that far from where I live, so I have no idea why it has been over five years since my last visit. It may have been that they did not use to open until 10:0am on the weekends (for "Brunch"). However, it was an easy and quick drive over there this morning. Even with the new (well, it is "new" in the five years since I last ate there) expansion into the space next door (which used to be a little Chinese restaurant), they really did not add too many extra seats because they also extended their kitchen area into the middle of the restaurant ~ and, sadly, there is no more Winnie-the-Pooh hole (which was their office space, I believe) above the kitchen area.
I sat outside this morning ('cause I was the first idiot to arrive early enough this morning and was the first to put my name on the waiting list, and 'cause I could) in one of the tables along 45th Avenue (in front of the stupid, extra-long parklet [uggh!] there). There are three tables for two and two tables for four on the sidewalk. I had the space to myself for almost the entire time that I was eating breakfast ("Brunch", whatever). There really are not an awful lot of items from which to choose on their "Brunch" menu (be you a dead, decaying animal flesh-eater or a stupid vegetarian). A few of the other possible ideas I saw for breakfast this morning were: (another simply-enough named) chili ~ summer squash, pinto bean, tomato, scallion, goat yogurt, cornbread (if I had ordered this dish, I would probably have also ordered a sourdough peach fritter as a starter); eggs-in-jail ~ bacon (which I would have had excised), aioli, spinach, garlic sunflower kernels; or dutch pancake baked in a cast iron pan ~ sweet with strawberry and walnuts or savory with bacon, pickled onion, and parsley (house made ricotta can be added to either; this would have been a repeat of my first meal there).
This was a HUGE slice of quiche. It was extra fluffy and eggy; it had almost a soufflé quality to it. It came with a large side of some silly rabbit-greens (which mostly went uneaten to make sure that I had enough room for all the other good stuff). I was told that the side of potatoes usually can be split between two people, but it did not prove to be that big of a side-dish and I was able to finish it all myself. As best as I can figure, the preparation for these potatoes was probably deep-fried and then roasted off. These were whole small(-ish) potatoes that had been smooshed (for lack of a better culinaristic term, Emeril) a bit and allowed for some of the deep-frying to penetrate into the potatoes for maximum crispiocity (which I have been assured by Bobby Flay is an actual culinary term). These were some truly excellent homefries. The lemon ginger apple cider was also very good and really went well with the meal. It can be served either hot or iced; I went with it iced, which turned out to be the smart choice because mean Mr. Sun was beating down on me. It can also be ordered with a shot of Bourbon, Whiskey, or Gin in it; I just kept it virginal 'cause I still had to drive back home. Even so, it still looked like some kinda faux Bourbon breakfastary cocktail. I am not sure what Outerlands may or may not have had to offer in the way of any condimentary supplements; I did not ask nor need any. I used some more of my Hot Licks®SerranoHot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the potatoes and some Sunbelt Plantations Vidalia® Onion & Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce (Thanks, Greg & Cindy!) on the quiche. (another not really so) Strange Coffee Interlude Knowing that Outerlands did not open until 9:00am (which is an improvement over their old opening time of 10:00am) for "Brunch", I arrived in the neighborhood about forty-five minutes early with the specific intent of walking the four blocks over to Andytown Coffee Roasters on the corner of Lawton Street and 43rd Avenue for a decent cuppa. This location offers Wind & Sea blend as their only drip-style Coffee, and does not do any specific roasts/blends as pour-overs like they do at their other two locations in the Sunset. This was fine by me, as Wind & Sea is still a mighty fine cuppa (but it is just not their single origin Ethiopia Natural Banko Fuafuate, which was one of my favourite Coffees ~ not named Bettys Jamaica Blue Mountain ~ from 2017). http://www.andytownsf.com/purchase/wind-and-sea-blend Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Andytown Coffee RoastersWind & Sea ~ 7.2; quiche ~ 6.6; potatoes ~ 7.2 ___________________
1. I was going to do a whole "stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinaristic pointer of the day", but found this explanation already intact from our friendly friends at WikipediA: Philippine adobo (from Spanish adobar: "marinade," "sauce" or "seasoning") is a popular dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine that involves meat, seafood, or vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and black peppercorns, which is browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade. It has sometimes been considered as the unofficial national dish in the Philippines.
"Miss Otis regrets she is unable to lunch (breakfast-bagel, whatever) today, Madame... "
http://wisesonsdeli.com/location/fillmore/ Place: Wise Sons ~ Bagelry Location: 1520 Fillmore Street (between Geary Boulevard and O'Farrell Street) Hours: Monday - Friday 7:00am, Saturday & Sunday 8:00am Meal: (Kinda) Spicy Egg (Toasted Bagel Sandwich) ~ spicy harissa shmear[1], hippie greens, & scrambled egg; three rugelach[2]: Apricot, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Walnut; and a 12 oz cuppa Stumptown Coffee RoastersHouse Blend (Bagelry Blend, whatever) https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/products/house-blend
(Firstly, Mumford & Sons... Wise Sons... close enough for government work [especially with this current musically-challenged administration]. Secondly, I never need an EweToobular juxtaselection justification for Lady Ella, Madame.) Because it had been a few years since I last ate at Wise Sons (see last 'blog entry from Saturday, June 11th, 2016), I thought it time for another visit. This trip I went to their newer Bagelry on Fillmore Street, which has been opened since late-February 2016. There are several other locations that have now opened around the Bay Area (currently, in San Francisco proper there are five shops and one shop in Larkspur); and there is even a location in Tokyo now, but that is too long of a breakfastary roadtrip for me. There is not a lot of available seating (I suppose, like many a New York Jewish deli, they just want you to order your bagel "to take with" and to get you the h*ck-outta their joint in order to serve the next hungry/paying customer) with just eight stools at a counter-table in the middle of the front room, four more stools at a window-counter, and eight more stools wayyyyy in the back (which I did not discover until after I had already noshed my meal, or I woulda probably sat up there) in a second-level mezzanine overlooking the baking area. This location is used as their main bakery/bagelry facility now, which they supply to all of their other locations (well, probably not the one in Japan; even the Japanese would know a stale bagel when they bit into one). It was pretty cool being able to see the bagels being made (and the joke that most of the bagelry bakers were Mexican was not lost on this goyish gringo).
(This bagel-artwork was in their bathroom. I honestly was trying to decipher which Hebrew letters/symbols were in the middle of the circles... then it dawned on me that they were just the bagel-holes. How do you say "D'oh!" in Yiddish? [Is that possibly: "D'ough!"?]) While I liked that this location is much closer (by at least fifteen-to-twenty minutes with city-driving) than their original/main delicatessen in the Mission, there are a lot more breakfastary offerings at their Mission location. Otherwise, some of the possible breakfast ideas that I could have ordered today were: Bodega Egg & Cheese (Toasted Bagel Sandwich) ~ melted cheese, aioli, & scrambled egg (this can also be ordered with crispy pastrami ~ think Kosher bacon ~ for those of you that do partake of the dead, decaying bovine flesh, but are trying to maintain a no dead, decaying swine flesh diet); East Coast Veggie (uggelach!) (Toasted Bagel Sandwich) ~ scallion shmear, radish, cucumber, tomato, red onion, & hippie greens; or maybe just one of their (six different types of) bagels with one of their (eight different types of) shmears.
They offer a choice of six kinds of bagels for these sandwiches: Everything, Sesame (which is what I went with this morning; this is your prototypical Jewish deli bagel in my opinion... and if'n you do not like my opinion, why in the h*ck is you reading this 'blog-thing?!), Salt, Poppy, Plain, or Onion Bialy. This was a good bagel-sandwich (much better than you will ever get at any of them McDonaldberg's delicatessen places), but it was still just a bagel-sandwich. As best as I can figure, the "hippie greens" were some kinda micro-greens (including probably arugula, sprouts, etc.). If I had one minor complaint, it was that this was all a bit on the unwieldy side. With the first bite I took, half of the scrambled egg stuff (which they have formed into a roundish patty about the size of a standard burger) spilled out the other side. I ended up putting it all back together and just tried to keep it together as best as possible. I was going to order it with added tomatoes and "smashed avocado", but that would have made it even more messier, Monsieur Mark. Of the three mini-rugelach/rugelachen/rugelachs, I liked the Apricot one the best. These were all very good, though. They all were just one-to-two bites apiece.
Wise Sons offers their own homemade (deli-made, whatever) hot sauce for use as condimentary supplementation. Additionally, I saw bottles of both El Yucateco®EXXXtra Picante Salsa Kutbil-ik® de Chile Habanero and Huy Fong Foods, Inc.Sriracha Hot Chile Sauce in the upstairs mezzanine. Not really having anything else on which to try their hot sauce (and because their shmear was only "(Kinda) Spicy"), I used a good amount of it in my bagel-sandwich. It really has a nice flavour; the dill pickle juice in it really comes through (Sorry, Karl!). They even have bottles of it for sale. If I did not already have... and let's face it... wayyyyy too many bottles of other hot sauces in my refrigerator, I would definitely have pick(l)ed up a bottle for my own collection.
(not really so) Strange Coffee Interlude I have had Stumptown Coffee Roasters at a few other restaurants throughout town and have always like what they offer. This House Blend was another winner with me. The last time that I ate at their main Mission delicatessen, they were selling Intelligentsia Coffee exclusively (which they may still sell at some of their other locations); both are very good Coffees, anyway. I also bought a 12 oz bagga (Why do so many places now-a-days sell these in 12 oz sizes instead of a full 16 oz-pounda?) as a gift for your 2018 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award - Linda Miller Award for Fan Artist of the Year, Mr. David G. Hardy[3]. He stated that he would send me a print of my choosing in exchange. I explained to him that because it only came in a 12 oz bagga, he can just send me 3/4 of a picture. "In the clearing stands (lies? lays?) a bagel... and a glorified doughnut by its trade... " (Would I... lie la lie [please provide your own cymbal-crash sound effects here]... lie la la la lie lie... lie la lie [ditto above]... lie la la la la lie la la lie... to you?) Glen Bacon Scale Rating: (Kinda) Spicy Egg (Toasted Bagel Sandwich) ~ 6.4; rugelach/rugelachen/rugelachs ~ 6.9; Wise Sons "Pickle Brine Spiked" Hot Sauce ~ 6.8; Stumptown Coffee RoastersHouse Blend ~ 7.1; the esteemed artwork of Mr. David G. Hardy ~ 8.0 ___________________
1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, number oy-vay: They have this spelled as "shmear". It can also be spelled as "schmear", or according to my trusty, go-to lexicon for anything Yiddish-related (TheJoysofYiddish by Leo Rosten) as "shmeer": shmeer Pronounced as it is written; rhymes with "shear". From German: Smiere: "grease", or "bribe". 1. To paint. 2. To smear. 3. To spread. "Shmeer it on the bread." 4. A spread or paste. "With drinks, a caviar shmeer on crackers goes well." "Smoked fish, cream cheese, sour cream, and chives make a wonderful cocktail shmeer." 5. To bribe; a bribe. This is the most interesting usage, and has long been part of American slang. It is related to "greasing the palm". "Do the officials expect to be shmeered there?" "Do they take a shmeer?" There is a saying: "Az men shmeert nit, fort men nit." (If you don't bribe, you don't ride" - or, less literally, "Without bribery, you'll get nowhere.") 6. To strike or beat. "He landed a shmeer between the eyes." 2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, number two-vay: So... here we go... the word "rugelach" may or may not already be in the plural form. So, to say "I ate three rugelachs." might be incorrect. I initially assumed that the pluralised form in Yiddish might be "rugelachen" (adding a standard German plural ending of "-en"); however, it appears that in Hebrew the "-ach" ending already symbolises the plural. I even discussed this with a couple of the workers at the bagelry (read: bored the h*ck outta these polite workers). One of the guys suggested that maybe like "fish" and "sheep" it is already singular and plural. This sounds like the simplest (and probably closest to the etymological truth) answer, so I am sticking with it until proven otherwise.
