the Blarney Stone

Breakfast on Geary (redux) ~ Part 33

(No official-type web-site. It is just a neighborhood pub, what der'ya expect?!)


Place: the Blarney Stone

Location:  5625 Geary Boulevard (between 20th and 21st Avenues); phonicular contact: (415) 386-9914

Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday and Sunday at 10:00am(-ish; just like yesterday morning, I had arrived there just a little after their "official" opening time, and I was informed by the beer-keep that the kitchen staff [or in this case, the one cook for the kitchen/pub-grub] had just arrived and the stove would take about fifteen minutes to warm up/prepare; however, unlike yesterday morning, I had already had a cuppa Coffee earlier, so I just ordered a Beer to sip on while waiting to place my order)

Meal: "Veggie" (uggh!) Omelet ~ (I am not exactly sure as there is no official-type web-site to check with, but it included) mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and Cheddar cheese (at least; there may have been another "veggie" [uggh!] or two involved, but I do not remember now), served with either steak fries (which is what I went with) or tater tots and choice of toast (I had sourdough); to drink with (and before) the meal a pinta Guinness® Stout; and prior to heading to breakfast, a cuppa (well, more like a small bowla, really) Rose Latte at home (which was just two blocks from where I had breakfast, anyway)

http://homecoffeesf.com/menu/

(I do not know if Sir George Ivan is a fan of 'merican Baseball or not, but I am sure that if he were, he would support the Boston Red Sox.)


I felt like keeping it very local for breakfast (well, "Brunch") this morning and headed over to 
the Blarney Stone (which is within walking distance of my apartment ~ just twelve blocks straight down Geary Boulevard [and it was all downhill on the way there, too]). I am sure that I had eaten there before for breakfast ("Brunch", whatever), but it had been several years ago (at least before 2010, when I started keeping tabs with this silly little 'blog-thing).

They do not really offer a lot of items from which to choose on their "Brunch" menu. I think there was only one or two other choices available for stupid vegetarian-types. It is really just a pub with a small kitchen, after all.

(This is the real Caife na hÉireann, boyos!)


I overheard the publican say to another customer that there were "free refills" on his diet cola-drink. Unfortunately, when I asked if I got "free refills" with my Beer, I was shot down immediately (buncha cheap bastages!).

This omelette was okay, and much better than I could ever make, but that is not really much of a compliment. It was good enough for pub/bar standards, but I highly doubt that it will ever make me add the pub to my Breakfastary Starting Rotation. Vegans and stupid vegetarian alike, do not worry, the "steak" fries were actually made outta potatoes (aka "chips"/"chippers"). There was a good portion of them, too. I had almost thought about ordering a side of fried pickles, but it probably woulda been overkill for my appetite.

(Again, I am blaming the poor lighting on this blurry photo.)


I liked how their salt and pepper shakers were made out of little (airline-size) bottles of Bushmills™ (salt shakers) and Jameson® (pepper shakers). Otherwise, I only saw Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce on the tables for use as a condimentary supplement. I used some of my own Punch Drunk™ Chocolate Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce (Thanks, Sean!) on the chips and some Charlie's Chili Stuff (Thanks, Sha!) sprinkled all over the top of the omelette. Strangely enough, I did not see any malt vinegar for use with the chips anywhere; I would assume that the Irish used that, too.

(not really another) Strange Coffee Interlude

To give the Boston Red Sox some more mojo-aucity for tonight's World Series Game, I wanted to order some kinda Coffee drink with some variation of "Red" in its name (I looked, but, thankfully, did not see any "Dirty Sox Latte" on their menu). I suppose I mighta coulda went with their Red Velvet Latte, which I have had before and liked, but the Rose Latte is just so much better and more unique.


Go Red Sox!!!


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
"Veggie" (uggh!) Omelet ~ 5.9 (and this is being generous because I liked the chips and the amount given);
Guinness® Stout ~ 7.6 (there was a time when I would rate this as high as 8.0; however, I think their quality has gone down immensely in the past twenty years since becoming part of a HUGE International Beer conglomerate);
Rose Latte ~ 7.3

Overtime Sports Bar & Restaurant

Breakfast on Geary (redux), Part 31b

"... Now my sense of humor needs a break(fast)... "

https://www.overtimesf.com/

Place: Overtime Sports Bar & Restaurant

Location:  4134 Geary Boulevard (between 5th and 6th Avenues)

Hours: open for "Weekend Brunch" Saturday at 9:00am(-ish; I had arrived there this morning about 9:07am and one of the waiter-server-person guys told me that the kitchen staff had not arrived yet for the morning and to come back in about fifteen minutes or so) and Sunday at 9:30am 

Meal: Morning Tots ~ 2 eggs your way (my way this morning was "over-medium"), Cheddar cheese, house salsa, served over tots, and I went with the ADD avocado option; to drink with the meal, a glassa (well, it was really a little pewter steina/Beer-kega kinda thing) Skinny Ginger Peach ~ diet Ginger Beer, peach, lime, bitters; and, aforehand (seeing as I had to kill fifteen minutes or so until the kitchen staff decided to finally show up for the morning), a cuppa pour-over-style Snowbird Coffee Guatemala Single Origin Huehuetenango at ★ the ★ Richfield 

http://snowbirdcoffee.com/

(There is no good/d*mn [EweToobular juxtaselectionary] reason I should have to post this Dixie Chicks cover of a Maria McKee[1] song, other than I am a little bummed over the outcome of last night's Marathon World Series Game with the Red Sox losing to some Minor League team from the Anaheim, California suburbs area. Dog help me, I am sure I am not the only one that has ever felt this way.)

To give the Boston Red Sox (aka "the Good Guys") a little extra mojo-tional support for today's World Series Game, I went back to Overtime Sports Bar & Restaurant (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, April 9th, 2017). When they had first opened for business back in January 2017, they were primarily a San Francisco/Bay Area Sports Bar. A few weeks ago, I noticed that they are now flying both the Good Guys and New England Patriots flags outside. So, what's up with all the Boston Sports stuff now?! I asked my waiter-server-person guy why this is, and he told me that the current manager-person is supposably from Boston.

It turned out to be kinda fortunate that the kitchen staff showed up late this morning, as there was really only one other table of six idiots in the place that were stupid enough to get up that early in the morning, too. We had the place to ourselves the entire time we were eating.

There really are not a lot of choices on the "Weekend Brunch" menu, but a few other ideas I was looking at were:

Veggie (uggh!) Eggs Benedict ~ spinach, tomato, & avocado, served on English muffin w/ side of hashbrowns;

Overtime French Toast ~ thick cut toast, powdered sugar, whipped cream, maple syrup;

Breakfast Burrito ~ chorizo (which I would have omitted), scrambled eggs, black beans, Cheddar cheese, house chipotle sauce, served w/ tots or potatoes;

or 

an adventurous variety of item choices for making an omelette (served w/ tots or potatoes).

Additionally, they offer a number of breakfast ("Brunch", whatever) cocktails ~ both of the alcoholic variety and the Mormon-party-animal variety (which is what I opted for this morning). However, if I had been in the mood for a tipple-taste, the one that caught my eye the most was the Belichick ~ zesty cilantro-jalapeno infused Titos, tomato juice, extra salty rim (this sounded like a more spicy version of a Bloody Mary). I actually asked them to make my drink as a "Fat" Ginger Peach and have it made with regular/non-sugar-free Ginger Beer. 

(Yeah, so maybe this photo is a bit on the blurry side. I will blame that on the poor lighting in the joint. Yeah, that was it. It was just a bowl of tater tots with a couple of eggs on top, anyway, Napoleon.)

This was quite an awful lotta tots! There was nothing really special about them, though, they were just of your store-bought variety (at least, I do not think that they make their own homemade [Sports Bar & Restaurant-made, whatever] tater tots like some places do these days). I did like that it included a whole halfa avocado. Their house salsa was good, but it was just a standard pico de gallo. I also woulda liked to have seen the Cheddar cheese melted a bit more; the cheese was just melted with the radiant heat from the tater tots and eggs. I bet this would have been much better if they had used a salamander to melt the Cheddar (à la nachos or such).

(This is not a salamander. This is the emblem that was on my table-top this morning. I guess that southern San Francisco, down by the State University, is covered with swamps and bayous.)

After I had already placed my order, I thought that I probably shoulda gotten this with two poached eggs on top instead of the over-medium eggs. That way, it coulda been considered some sorta "Anthony Quinn Benedict" (see, Antonio Rodolfo Quiñones Oaxaca was part-Irish and mostly-Mexican... get it? potatoes and salsa... whatever). When I mentioned this to the young-ish waiter-server-person guy, he had abso-lutely no idea who Anthony Quinn was. What the h*ck are they teaching these kids in school now-a-days, Ζορμπά?!

I also like that they offer several different potato options: the titular "Tots" in my meal, hashbrowns, roasted potatoes, and French fries (while this one is not on their "Brunch" menu, I bet you could get them to substitute some... if the kitchen staff has the time, that is).

For condimentary supplementation, Overtime offers both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce. 

I just used some more of my own Chelsea Fire Wicked. Hot. Sauce.® (Thanks, Sha!) on top of one of the eggs. I also used several (well, many several) grinds from my grains of paradise grinder all over the pile.

(not really such a) Strange Coffee Interlude

I was planning on heading over to ★ the ★ Richfield, anyway, after breakfast for a decent cuppa, as they are located only two-and-a-half blocks away. So, I just ended up going "before" instead of "after". As strange as this may sound, I rate this particular blend/roast higher on the Glen Bacon Scale than their Zatara blend/roast; however, I think that I actually prefer the Zatara a bit more. ("Whaaat?!" Don't ask me. I am still trying to figure out just what the h*ck human-males need nipples for.) Both are quite excellent on their ownsome.

Moral of the story: When the kitchen staff comes in late and hands you lemons, go get you a decent cuppa Coffee nearby.

Go Red Sox!!!

Glen Bacon Scale Rating:

Morning Tots ~ 6.3;

Snowbird Coffee Guatemala Single Origin 
Huehuetenango ~ 7.5;

the Good Guys ~ 108-54

___________________

1. Here is an original live version by the talented Miss McKee herd*mnself, just for good "measures" (see ya at the "Bar"):

Han's Coffee Shop

... a great little place for breakfast, 
even if you are dining Solo

(No official web-site thing.)


Place: Han's Coffee Shop

Location:  900 Sutter Street 
(on the corner of Leavenworth Street); 
phonicular contact: (415) 800-8792

Hours: (luckily for me) open for breakfast every day of the week at 7:00am

Meal: Bi-Bim-Bob[ sic ][1] ~ mixed vegetable, beef (which I had 여든 여섯-ed) over rice & hot sauce (that would be the very tasty Korean gochujang, of course); and a cuppa (and one-and-a-half refillas) their house Coffee (I can not be sure if they actually serve America's Best Coffee Roasting Company, as I did not really ask, but that was what the Coffee-pots had printed on them)

Well, it was "Back-up-Plan-City" once again because café bean was not yet open at 7:30am (I even checked this morning and it is printed on their door that they open at 6:00am every day, but I think that has not been updated in years). From the same mishap back in March, I knew that a good alternative was just a block westward along Sutter Street and simply returned to Han's Coffee Shop (see previous 'blog-entry from Saturday, March 10th, 2018).

There are not many items from which to choose for stupid vegetarian-types, but a couple of the other items that I might have ordered were:

Vegetarian (and, thankfully, not that ubiquitously and odiously-named "Veggie") Omelette ~ avocado, bell pepper, mushroom, onion, tomato, & cheese;

or

Q's Favorite Omelette ~ grilled chicken (which would not cross the road for me), bell pepper, onion & cheese and mushroom.

Unfortunately, I was informed the last (first) time that I ate there that their kimchi is made with fish-sauce in it or I would probably have gone with Kimchi Omelette (kimchi, bell pepper, onion, cheese, ham [which I would also have 여든 여섯-ed], & rice ) this morning.

"Just what the h*ck kinda breakfastary slop is that there, Brian?" Consider this dish "Eggs Benedict with 'Seoul'"...

It is not stated on the menu, but like most standard bibimbaps, this is served with a fried (or sometimes raw) egg laid (placed, whatever) on top. The whole point is to mix up all of the ingredients with the base of rice on the bottom of the bowl. Oh, and, of course, to smother the entire thing with some tasty gochujang. The vegetables included in this were: julienned carrots, spinach, mushrooms (which were marinated in some kinda soy-based sauce and grilled), onions, and cabbage. Many places that I have had bibimbap also include julienned cucumbers and/or zucchini, daikon radish, and soybean sprouts.

This was a very interesting twist for me. In all the years I have been eating bibimbap (at least twenty to twenty-five years now), I had never eaten bibimbap (or even "Bi-Bim-Bob") with a fork and knife before. At first, I tried using my fork and knife like chopsticks, but that proved to be a bit unwieldy. It really did seem foreign eating this dish with a fork and not chopsticks.

I initially thought about ordering a side order of hashbrowns, but I am glad that I did not. It definitely would have been way too much food for me to finish.

Han's Coffee Shop had Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce), Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce, and Frank's® RedHot® 
(Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce) for condimentary supplementation. None of those (or any of my own bottles of hot sauces that I had brought with me) were used/needed as I went very heavily with the gochujang that was provided in a plastic squeeze bottle; I seriously used about half of the bottle on my breakfast. Additionally, I also went with several grinds from my grains of paradise grinder.

There was an interesting "little" discovery after breakfast. I needed to use the restroom (well, I did drink two-and-a-half cuppas), so I headed up their back stairs to the public restroom (which is on a landing that looked to be used mainly for storage). This turned out to be a lilliputian bathroom; I kid you not, the ceiling was not even 5' high. I would not recommend it for the claustrophobic at heart, Lemuel.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Bi-Bim-little Robert ~ 6.2

___________________

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

They have this listed on their menu as "Bi-Bim-Bob". Now, I am no expert on transliteration from Korean-to-English, but I have never seen that particular spelling before. Normally, the Korean word "비빔밥" (which basically translates as "mixed rice") is transliterated as "bibimbap", "bi bim bap", or "bi bim bop", Robert.

Suppenküche

♪ "... the best part of waking up...
is Rauchbier in your cup... " ?!? ♫ 

https://www.suppenkuche.com/


Place: Suppenküche

Location:  525 Laguna Street 
(on the corner of Hayes Street)

Hours: "Brunch"[1] is served on Sundays from 
10:00am - 2:30pm

Meal: Bauernfrühstück[2] mit Gewürzgurken ~ farmers scramble with potatoes, bacon, cheese, served with pickles & pork sausage (natürlich, I sechsundachtzig-ed any of die totes verrottetes Schweinefleisch); to drink with the meal, a .5-liter Schlenkerla Märzen; and beforehand a cuppa 
Ritual Coffee - El Guamo, Colombia

https://www.schlenkerla.de/rauchbier/sorten/sortene.html#

https://www.ritualroasters.com/

(Ja, I know that I have used this song before [and twice in just the past few weeks, even], but this is a different version, and the song makes a perfect juxtaselection mit heute Frühstück.)


Ich bin heute Morgen zum Frühstück in Suppenküche zurückgekommen (see previous 'blog-entry from Sonntag, 9. März, 2014). I like that this place is set up in Bayerische Bierhalle-style dining, where you may find yourself eating at a table with complete strangers (incomplete strangers are even worse). However, I got there early enough that I had an entire six-seater wooden table-bench to myself, anyway.

Unfortunately, there are really not a whole lotta other choices for dämliche Vegetarier. The only other "Brunch" item that I might have gone with was Gebratener Semmeknödel mit Eier und Bratwurst (sautéed bread dumplings with two eggs and sausages ~ I am not sure how that is made or if it could even be made vegetarian-friendly). Otherwise, I was just going to go simplistisch with an order of Reibekuchen mit hausgemachtem Apfelmus (potato pancakes with homemade applesauce, sour cream & chives) and Zwei pochierte Eier mit geröstetes Brot (two poached eggs with toast).  This (plus not opening until 10:00am) might be one of the reasons it had taken me four years to make a return visit... but die Biere is always worth a go.

One of the breakfastary ("Brunch"-ary, whatever) pluses is getting a complimentary (and complementary) basket of Brötchen. There were three types in the basket this morning: poppy seed, sesame seed, and caraway seed[3], which I made sure to enjoy with the provided Butter and some Aprikosenmarmelade that was on the table.

There was nothing really special about this dish. It was just scrambled eggs with potatoes and cheese, but it was still good enough for me. The pickles were just your typical gherkin-style pickles. Near the end of the meal, I dumped the remaining chopped pickles into the scrambled mess.

Now, the Rauchbier was almost as good as a cuppa Coffee at breakfast with its smokey and roasted malty flavour. So, if you happen to be a Mormon and do not partake of any of the caffeinated drinks, I would highly recommend this as a substitute...

For condimentary supplementation use, I only saw some bottles of Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce 
(Original Red Sauce) on the bar-area. I just used some of my own Punch Drunk™ Chocolate Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce (Thanks, Sean!) on the scrambled egg mess along with several grinds from my grains of paradise grinder.

(another not so) Strange Coffee Interlude

Knowing full-well (which is the only way a pessimist will make a wish) that the joint I was planning on eating at did not open up until 10:00am for "Brunch", I made sure to get a decent cuppa beforehand at the Ritual Coffee Quonset hut-kinda shop across the street from Patricia's Green park[4]. I had about another half-hour to kill, so I enjoyed it while watching a variety of pupsters frolicking in the park with their human pets. 
I preferred yesterday's Kenya blend a little better than today's Colombia blend (I did not smell any artichokes this morning, though).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Bauernfrühstück mit Gewürzgurken ~ 6.0 (and this is factoring in the basket of Brötchen);
Schlenkerla Märzen ~ 7.2; 
Ritual Coffee - El Guamo, Colombia ~ 6.8

___________________

1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, nummer eins:

The German word for "Brunch" is simply the English cognate "Brunch". Na, und?!

I do not know why they do not just call it "Frütagessen" and get it over with. 

(Hopefully, one does not necessarily have to be a Herm Op to get that stupid joke.)

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

Like so many other words auf Deutsch, this is a combination of two word: "Bauer" (meaning "farmer/peasant") and "Frühstück" (meaning "breakfast").

(See, sometimes you do not have to be another Alfred Einstein to figure out this cunning linguist stuff.)

3. Stupid, useless botanical pointer of the day:

As strange as this might sound, caraway "seeds" are not really seeds. They are actually the dried fruits of the plant.

4. http://sfrecpark.org/destination/patricias-green-in-hayes-valley/

Chava's Mexican Restaurant

Would you bring anthracite with you when visiting that Geordie city upon Tyne?

(No hay sitio-web oficial.)


Place: Chava's[1] Mexican Restaurant

Location:  2839 Mission Street (between 24th and 25th Streets); phonicular contact: (415) 282-0283

Hours: open every day of the week at 8:00am

Meal: Chilaquiles[2] ~ 3 (tres) huevos revuellos, cebolla, tomate, chile verde[3], queso, y tortilla chips; a glassa mango agua fresca to drink with the meal; and, beforehand, a cuppa Ritual Coffee - Gicherori AA, Kenya

https://www.ritualroasters.com/


I am glad that I am finally revisiting some places that I have not been to in quite a while. Today's visit is a major oversight (I think that will be Captain Obvious's new name when he gets that well-deserved promotion). I can not believe that it had been over three years since I last ate at Chava's Mexican Restaurant (see previous 'blog-entry from Domingo, 5 de Abril, 2015). 

At one time, Chava's was a mainstay in my Breakfastary Starting Rotation for several years (circa 2002-2007). They also used to open much earlier during the week (at least 6:00am, possibly earlier), as I used to stop by there once in a while for un desayuno abundante before work when I was working nearby (well, a few blocks away at the bottom of Potrero Hill ~ the corner of 17th and Connecticut Streets to be exact) for many years. That was when they were still at their original location on 18th Street (on the corner of Shotwell Street), this is where Gallardo's ~ Mexican Restaurant in presently located. Chava's closed their original location way back in 2002 due to a fire (ironically, just one block down the street [that would be Shotwell] is the San Francisco Fire Department training facility) and moved to their current location along Mission Street later that year.

As always, any meal there starts with being presented with a bowl/basket of corn tortilla chips and salsa. Sometimes they bring out two different types of salsas (e.g. pico de gallo and salsa roja). Today there was just a salsa roja (but it was very tasty all the same), and I ended up using the entire ramekin between the chips and all over my plate of food.

No fooling, Chava's is truly my "Touchstone" for Chilaquiles, as it has been for twenty-five-plus years of going there now and eating their wonderful Chilaquiles for twenty-five-plus years, too. The first time that I ever had the great dish of Chilaquiles was there (possibly as early as 1990 or 1991). I had made a special trip over there once to try it and have not been disappointed since. In my opinion (and that is really the only opinion that matters here), theirs is still one of the best versions in the City.

(Today's meal was very good as always. Please do not let the above fotografía fool you. While this may not be very pretty to look at, unlike them snotty-*ssed "chefs" over on food network, I eat with my "mouth" [and stomach], not with my "eyes"!)

Another great thing about eating weekend breakfasts at Chava's is that they also offer you hot and fresh-off-the-grill corn tortillas. I was asked how many I would like, and knowing the size of their portions, I asked for sólo dos, which turned out to be a very smart decision. (The waitress/server lady-person was doubling today as la tortillarera. Normally, during a busy morning, they will have another person making the hot, fresh tortillas, as it can be a full-time job.)

"Buttered toasts?! We don' need no stinkin' buttered toasts!"

I am not sure what Chava's might have had to offer in the way of bottled hot sauces (normally, most places en la Misión will carry either Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce or Cholula® Hot Sauce - Original or both). However, with their own hecho-en-casa salsa muy sabrosa, do you really need anything else?! I did not even bother packing any from my own collection this morning (hence the titular query above).

(another not so) Strange Coffee Interlude

I purposefully arrived in the Mission about an half-hour before I knew when Chava's would be opening so that I could get a decent cuppa at the Ritual Coffee shop on Valencia Street. I was hoping that they might have an Ethiopian available this morning... but, unfortunately, the barista-lady turned out to only be Eritrean. (hahaha!) Of the three different roasts/blends that they were offering as single-cuppa pour-overs, the Kenya one I went with sounded the best (not that all of their Coffees are not usually top-notch, anyway). While they were doing the pouring-over/dripping down of my single cuppa, I asked to smell it (the aroma-therapy of fresh-brewing Coffee can not be matched). I swear it smelled just like artichokes (but, luckily, it tasted nothing of the sort). The barista-lady even agreed with me about my take on the initial aroma (probably just to amuse a doddering old customer, I assume). I doubt even those b*stages at St*rbucks would ever try and pander off a Coffee tasting of artichokes, Stymie.

(yet still another) d*mn p*rklets mini-rant

Every other block along Valencia Street seems to have one (or more) of those st*pid, ubiquitous parking obstructions (which the City has the audacity to euphemistically call "p*rklets"). There was one smack-dab (and I would like to smack-dab some of the City Council members that had ever approved of these) in front of Ritual Coffee. At least this one was a kinda cool-looking, ship-wrecked version d*mn p*rklet, Mr. Gilbert Egan[4].


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Chilaquiles ~ 7.3;
hecho-en-casa salsa ~ 7.0; 
hecho-en-casa corn tortillas ~ 7.5
Ritual Coffee - Gicherori AA, Kenya ~ 7.0

___________________

1. Not really a stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, but more of a stupid, useless etymological pointer of the day:

The name "Chava" is the Spanish nickname for anyone that is named "Salvador". This is not meant to be a feminine slight in any way.

(However, in Hebrew, the word/name "Chava" means "life/to give life", and it is the biblical given-name for that "Eve" lady-person.)

2. ¿Qué? 

Para los desinformados:

http://breakfastatepiphany.blogspot.com/2013/12/chilaquiles.html

3. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer del día:

They have this listed as "chile verde" on their menus, where they have it translated into inglés as "bell peppers". These were not meant to be espicy jalapeños or serranos. I think a better translation en español might be "pimientos dulces", but I really ain't no espeaker nativo de español.

(Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer del día, la segunda parte:

From many years of ordering it as an agua fresca, I know that the word for "cantaloupe" is "melón" [or "cantalupo"] en español. One time at a local taqueria, I asked the guy behind the counter what is the Spanish word for "honeydew melon". He told me they simply call it "melón verde" ["green melon"]. However, I think the actual Spanish word[s] may be "melón dulce" ["sweet melon"]. That works for me, too.)

4. Let us see how many people can get that perfectly ambiguous joke.

(You do not have to be a professor and/or Mary Ann to decypher it, though.)

Stacks

"My pathway led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now."
~ little Robbie Zimmerman, 
"My Back Pages" (1964)

https://www.stacksrestaurant.com/


Place: Stacks - Comfortable Food

Location:  501 Hayes Street 
(on the corner of Octavia Street, just a block before it becomes a full-blown "Boulevard", Mr. Browne[1])

Hours: open Monday - Sunday 7:00am

Meal: Blueberry Wheat Germ Pancakes (Short Stack [2]); a side of potatoes (which is how they simply have it listed on the menu); and a cuppa (and 1-1/2 refillas; they leave a Thermos®-carafe-thing on the table for you) Peerless Coffe & Tea® "Organic" (where they have actually quotation marked the word on the menu, and apparently it is "Fair Trade", too) French Roast

http://www.peerlesscoffee.com/product/all-coffee/fair-trade-french-organic/

(So, what is the EweToobular juxtaselection for today? There is none of which I am aware. For all I know, little Robbie may love blueberry pancakes [and hashbrowns-hybrids], too. 

[That back-up band he has there are pretty d*rn good; however, they will never cut it as solo singers themselves, trust me. It is nice to see little Robbie letting his useless Wilbury family have some gainful employment, too.]

The second cover version is just because little Stevie Earle was in town yesterday performing [and more than likely railing at the Blue Angels] at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2018[2] once again this year.)


I can not believe that it has been over six years since I last visited Stacks - Comfortable Food (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, July 1st, 2012). There are currently three restaurants under the same ownership in the Bay Area: Burlingame (their original location), San Francisco (in Hayes Valley), and (the newest one) Menlo Park. There are also two additional "sister" locations in Redwood City and Campbell that are franchised, operating under separate ownership. 

It looks as if they have dropped the superfluous "' " from the end of their name since my last visit, too. They no longer reference it on their printed menus, nor on their web-site. However, I did still see it on some of the window-stencils.

(Speaking of "return visits", La Boulangerie de San Francisco ~ directly across the street ~ probably needs one, too.)

Even though their name implies that they may be a "National House of Pancakes" (or possibly "National House of Burgers", even), they offer many items other than just pancakes (they really only have eight from which to choose, anyway):

Feta Omelet ~ 3-egg omelet with Feta cheese, spinach, green onion and tomato (which woulda been my first choice this morning if I had not gone there planning on getting pancakes);

Mexican Frittata ~ chorizo (¡no, gracias!), onion, green chiles, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, chives and guacamole; 

Italian Frittata ~ spicy Italian sausage (which I would ottantasei, of course), mushrooms, onions, green pepper, black olives, topped with Marinara sauce and Mozzarella cheese;

or maybe

Green Chiles, Onions and Salsa Skillet ~ start with our (well, their) great potatoes, topped with Cheddar-Jack cheese, served with your choice of two eggs and a bagel (this would have been my second choice, but Feta always trumps green chiles and salsa).

I really liked that these two (plate-sized) pancakes came with a small ramekin of blueberry compote on the side. The wheat germ seemed to be incorporated not in the pancake batter, but just on the outside. I suppose they pour the pancake batter, then add the blueberries and wheat germ onto them, then flip 'em like that. 

Their (simply-named) potatoes are sort of a combination between hashbrowns and homefries. Instead of being made from shredded potatoes, they used shaved potatoes, which makes for a nice textural component. These were very good all on their ownsome, too.

Now, these were two HUGE pancakes. I could not finish it all (well... technically, I only finished about one whole pancake). With the side of potatoes (which I made sure to finish all of... and just barely, Yogi), it was way too much food for my appetite this morning.

"Lunches?! We don' need no stinkin' lunches!"

The Coffee was tasty enough that I finished two-and-a-half cuppas. Unfortunately, that left no room for me to get another cuppa at the Ritual Coffee Roasters 
Quonset hut across the street (which I was planning on doing before breakfast).

Stacks - Comfortable Food only offers Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce and Green Jalapeño Sauce) for condimentary supplementation... well... and warm maple syrup for the pancakes, where not much was really necessary due to the flavourful blueberry compote (which I did use in entirety on the top pancake). I simply used some of my own Pepper Palace Gator Bite Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the (simply-named) potatoes. I also used several grinds o' grains of paradise all over the potatoes... and a few more on top of the pancakes (yes, I did).

"Ah, but I was so much fuller then,
I'm hungrier than that now... "


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Blueberry Wheat Germ Pancakes ~ 6.7 (this is factoring in the blueberry compote);
side of (simply-named) potatoes ~ 6.8

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1. Ah, what the h*ck... here is yet one more version of "My Back Pages":

2. http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2018/