https://www.ellassanfrancisco.com/ Place: Ella's American Kitchen Location: 500 Presidio Avenue (on the corner of California Street) Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday & Sunday at 7:00am (supposably) Meal: Avocado Omelet~ avocado, Cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, country potatoes, toast (today, I went with sourdough-rye for a change); and a glassa Ginger Orange Juice Punch to drink
(Lady Ella and ol' Satchel-mouth hisself?! What could be better on a pastoral autumnal Sunday morn?) So, I went back to Ella's American Kitchen (see last 'blog-entry from Saturday, September 28th, 2019 ~ basically, yesterday) for breakfast (well, "Brunch", whatever) again this morning.
While avocado and Cheddar is a decent enough combination, I think that Monterey Jack[1] or queso fresco woulda been a mucho bettero estilo mexicano match-up. Thankfully, unlike yesterday's omelette, this one was more of a "right propa" omelette, Mr. Wensleydale, with the avocado (thickly) sliced up inside; plus, it had lots and lots of avocado in it ~ there musta been an entire avocado berry in it. Same as yesterday... as for any condimentary supplementation, Ella's American Kitchen has both Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Tapatío®Salsa PicanteHot Sauce on the tables. This morning, I used some of my own H*ll's KitchenGhost Pepper Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on top of the omelette (I only used about seven to eight drops of this, but even that ended up being about four to five drops too many... oooops!) and some Dat'l Do-it®Scorching Habanero Hot Sauce (Also, thanks, Mom!) on the potatoes (now this hot sauce was not nearly as hot as the first one and I did go a little [well, a lot] heavier-handed with it). Additionally, all over both the omelette and potatoes I used several grinds from my The Spice & Tea Exchange® Italian Street Fair Spice Blend (Thanks, Cindy!). Sadly, all good things must come to an end. After about twenty years of being in my Breakfastary Starting Rotation, I think that this will probably be my last visit to Ella's American Kitchen as a member of that elite group. (I mean, even that Tim Bradley guy has to retire someday from those New Englander Patriotic Guys.) Since they changed ownership (about two years ago now?), the menu has just become much less eclectic for my tastes (and I like tasting eclecticity). Plus, they no longer do all their own baking of breads and pastries; this is a big MINUS in my book (or even in my 'blog-thing). I am sure that I will still get back there at least once a year, though. Come next year, I will probably be replacing it with another restaurant (and I am thinking that I am probably gonna call-up Home Plate). Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Avocado Omelet~ 6.6 ___________________ 1. https://www.cheese.com/monterey-jack/ As for that Cheddar stuff: "Well, I'm afraid we don't get much call for it around these parts."
https://www.ellassanfrancisco.com/ Place: Ella's American Kitchen Location: 500 Presidio Avenue (on the corner of California Street) Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday & Sunday at 7:00am (wellll... that is what is printed on their menus; however, according to their web-site, they either open at 7:30am [under "Locations"] or 8:30am [under "Menu"]; I just know that they were already open for business ~ with several other tables already having been served ~ at 8:15am when I arrived this morning) Meal: Mushroom Swiss Omelet~ sautéed mushrooms, Swiss, country potatoes, toast (I chose honey-oat); and a glassa Ginger Orange Juice Punch to drink
(Yes, I know it is a bit of a strange transition from the dulcet, soothing tones of Lady Ella to the raucous cacophony of those Aero-boyos, but keep reading and you will get the reason for the second EweToobular video. Maybe...) I went back to Ella's American Kitchen (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, May 12th, 2019) for breakfast (well, "Brunch", whatever). It looks like Ella's Polk Street location has now (very recently) closed ~ circa September 24th or so. It had not been open for very long; it had only opened back in August 2018. I had only visited that spot once; this Presidio Avenue location is a lot closer and easier for me to get to, anyway (I actually found a legal parking spot right in front of the restaurant today).
In my opinion, Swiss cheese and mushrooms are always a good combination (well, that is, if you are not either lactose- or fungi-intolerant). This was a decent enough breakfast ("Brunch"... whatever) and there were a few pluses and a few minuses to it. Pluses: it had a whole lotta good, melty Swiss cheese inside; and there was a HUGE mess o' homefries on the plate. Minuses: the mushrooms were incorporated into the egg-mixture and not inside the omelette itself; and they no longer seem to be making their own breads (this is a major pity), and it was now just some plain ol' pre-made, sliced honey-oat bread. For condimentary supplementation, Ella's American Kitchen has both Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Tapatío®Salsa PicanteHot Sauce on the tables. I used some of my own Old St. AugustineDatil Pepper Sauce (Thanks,Greg & Cindy!) on top of the omelette and some Dragon's LairExtra HotCayenne & HabaneroHot Sauce (Thanks,Mom!) all over the potatoes. Additionally, all over both the omelette and potatoes I used several grinds of The Spice & Tea Exchange®Florida Sunshine Spice Blend (Thanks, Cindy!). (not really such a) Strange Coffee Interlude (Now here is where the above seemingly unjuxtaselectioned video comes into play.) Before even heading out the door for breakfast this morning, I made myself a single cuppa (prepared via the pour-over drip-method) Joey Kramer Rockin' & Roastin'® Coffee - Guatemala Medium Roast (Thanks, Kerry!). They have this labeled as a "Medium Roast", but it seemed almost like a pretty d*rn good Dark Roast to me. Needless to say, I liked this cuppa even more than the music of that noisy group from Massachusetts. ♪ "The Coffee kept a-pourin' all night long... " ♫ https://www.rockinandroastin.com/coffee Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Mushroom Swiss Omelet ~ 6.4; Joey Kramer Rockin' & Roastin'® Coffee - Guatemala Medium Roast ~ 7.3
I hope that I never become superstitious. Knock on wood.
http://dottiestruebluesf.com/ Place: Dottie's True blue café Location: 28 6th Street (on the corner of Stevenson Street) Hours: open 7:30am (well, still not quite; at least they opened up earlier this morning than they did yesterday... if only five minutes earlier) Thursday through Tuesday Meal: Three Egg Omelet - Feta, Kalamata Olives, & Spinach~ with home fries and toast (where I went with their own fresh-baked buttermilk dill bread); and a glassa orange juice to drink I figured I would just make it into a Breakfastary Starting Rotation Double-Header and simply headed right on back to Dottie's True blue café (see last 'blog-entry from Saturday, September 14th, 2019) this morning. Once again, I sat at "Seat #1" at the dining-counter overlooking their kitchen area. There was a guy from München[1] sitting at the next stool over from me and we got to talking about Deutschland (von München nach Berlin), Biere, and Frühstück in general.[2]
There was nothing really special about this omelette; it was just a good omelette with the ingredients of my choosing. I did like that it was made with lots of Feta and even more-so spinach, both of which I like in abundance (just not in any Chocolate desserts, Sharon). As always, their homefries were exemplary and also overloading my plate. Dottie's True blue café condimentary supplements did not change any since yesterday's visit. I used some of my own (just a few dashes... and dots, Samuel) Old St. AugustineDatil Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Greg & Cindy!) on top of the omelette, some (a little more; about your standard ketchup-portion) H*ll's KitchenChipotle Chocolate Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) all over the potatoes, and The Spice & Tea Exchange®Earthly Delight Spice Blend (Thanks, Cindy!) (several grinds-worth) all over everything. (not really such a) Strange Coffee Interlude I purposely skipped any Coffee at breakfast this morning as I was planning on utilising one of the newest Coffees in my arsenal (well, in my refrigerator), TLC Coffee Roasters - John Wayne (Thanks,Cindy & Greg!). When I got home, I prepared me a single cuppa via the pour-over drip-method. I must say that it was not a bad cuppa at all, Pilgrim! I even enjoyed it outta my "retro" (from their original Jones Street location) Dottie's True blue café mug, too. https://www.tlccoffeeroasters.com/product-page/john-wayne the Wild Parrots of San Francisco Interlude After breakfast, while heading to catch my bus back home, I heard several Wild Parrots in the Union Square area. However, I only saw a solitary pair ("a solitary pair"?) flying overhead at the corner of Powell and O'Farrell Streets (they were probably waiting to hop on one of them "Fr'isco Trolley Cars" that I have heard so much about). Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Three Egg Omelet~ 6.5; TLC Coffee Roasters - John Wayne~ 7.2; the Wild Parrotsof San Francisco ~ 8.5 ___________________ 1. And, no, contrary to popular belief, people from München are not called "Munchkins", Dorothy. 2. I am sure that I impressed die H*lle outta him with both of the useless German phrases that I could remember: "Ich glaube ihre Ente hat die Tollwut." and "Brennt meine Nase?" (If you would like a stupid, useless cunning linguist translation of either of those phrases. You can blame... er... ask one Lowell Skelton. He was the genius that taught both of them to me over thirty-five years ago in some verd*mmte Kneipe off the Kurfürstendamm.)
How come no one ever complains about Saturday the 14th being unlucky?
http://dottiestruebluesf.com/ Place: Dottie's True blue café Location: 28 6th Street (on the corner of Stevenson Street) Hours: open 7:30am (welllll... they actually opened a bit later this morning for some reason and did not unchain the front gate doors until about 7:45am) Thursday through Tuesday Meal: Mushroom, Goat Cheese, Roasted Tomato Tart, cooked in Champagne, eggs any style (where I went with "over-medium" style) + fruit; and a cuppa (and one-and-a-half refillas) Coffee (whatever the house roast/blend might have been)
(In spite of what you may think, Bessie and Lavay are not related in any way.) As we (sadly) near the end of the Regular Baseball Season (Okay, there are those faithless pundits that say that the Boston RED SOX season was over back in late August, but I say it ain't over until Adele buys her ticket to Logan Airport and sings at the Way of the Fens!), I figured it only fitting to make one last run-through of my Breakfastary Starting Rotation. And what better way to start than returning to Dottie's True blue café (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, May 5th, 2019)?! I happened to be the first idiot waiting in line around 7:10am, and ended up being the only one standing there until another ten minutes or so. After that, the line started forming a bit more quickly. Even so, they did not fill up immediately (even after having opened up fifteen minutes late) and everyone in the first wave got seated. I had nothing really in mind to order this morning. I was just planning on ordering something from their specials blackboard menu if there was a decent st*pid vegetarian option. Otherwise, I was gonna create an omelette of my choosing from their list of good omelette filling choices off their standard printed menu. I was very surprised to see that there were no Zucchini Cakes on this morning's/weekend's specials blackboard menu. It has been a staple on the specials blackboard menu for so long now, I just assumed that they would someday be adding it to their everyday printed menu... someday.
"Oh, my!" (to be read in your best George Takei voice) As soon as I saw the tart special that was being offered for this morning/weekend, I knew exactly what I was going to order. This was a brand-new item (confirmed by one of the friendly waitresses/server-ladies) to be offered. At first look, I did not think it was going to be a sufficient amount of food (even for my meager breakfastary appetite), but it was rather deceptive and proved to be very filling after all. I initially thought about asking to substitute some of their excellent homefries for the small bowl of fruit-stuff; luckily, I did not, as that would probably have "exceeded the limit" for me. Now, this dish may not equal their most awesome and original Zucchini Cakes, but it is definitely return-worthy all on its ownsome. However, this one was definitely not for the fungi-faint of heart as it was truly chock-fulla sliced mushrooms. Today's side o' fruits: watermelon, green grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and cantaloupe. As for condimentary supplementation, Dottie's True blue café has their "the usual suspects". I used some of my own Pepper PalaceGatorBite Hot Sauce (Thanks, Greg & Cindy!) on both of the eggs and several grinds of The Spice & Tea Exchange®Pirate's Bite (Thanks, Cindy!) on the eggs and tart-thing. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Mushroom, Goat Cheese,Roasted Tomato Tart ~ 7.3
(No official-type web-site.) Place: the Art Bistro Location: 2960 Clement Street (on the corner of 31st Avenue); phonicular contact: (415) 379-7119 Hours: open Monday to Friday at 7:00am; open at 8:30am every other day of the week (well, supposably)[1] Meal: All Seeded[ sic ] Bagel with Cream Cheese and Tomatoes; and a small cuppa Organic French Roast Coffee (whichever brand it might have been)[2]
(I just figured that the first Bruddah Iz song would be the perfect EweToobular juxtaselection to welcome a new/old business back to the 'hood. Besides, Bruddah Iz iz always cool to listen to on a placid Sunday morn, anyway, be you haole or native Hawai'ianese.) the Art Bistro (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, July 26th, 2015) just recently reopened on August 19th at their new location on Clement Street. They had closed their old Geary Boulevard location (my guess is that the rent was just too d*rn high) about two months ago now. I was greeted this morning by (whom I can only assume is) the owner/manager-lady that was always at the old location. I had always thought that she was Korean, but she informed me that she and most of the workers are Thai. Not knowing many Thai words or phrases, I had to ask her how to say "Thank you!"; she told me it is "ขอบคุณ!", which sounds something like "Kapoon!" (to my untrained Siamese cat-ears). They have moved only three blocks away into the space that used to house Saltroot Café (insert frowny-face emoji here)[3]. The good news is that the Art Bistro will still now be selling their (very good) Brazilian Cheese Popups (Gorgonzola and Guava are my two favourite flavours, but they are all very tasty) in frozen boxes of ten each. This is a much smaller space than they used to occupy (by about one-third, I would guess) and a bit more off the beaten path (and Geary Boulevard is a well-worn, beaten path) than the previous location. One nice thing about their new location is that I got to sit outside at one of the two small round two-seater tables along the Clement Street sidewalk. The old Geary Boulevard location did not have any space to offer any outside seating. Fortunately, the Sun was out this morning and shining brightly, but it was still a little breezy and I had to keep rescuing my errant napkins. I thought it was kinda funny that they still have the old ★Intelligentsia Coffee sign up on a back wall in the kitchen area. Apparently, when the painters had repainted the walls during the recent renovation, they painted around the sign instead of removing it. So now if the coffeeshop were ever to remove the sign, there will be an off-colour spot on the wall. (Hmmm?! Maybe the Art Bistro could start selling ★Intelligentsia Coffee instead of "Some Guy Coffee"... ) I had gotten there too early this morning and they were all outta eggs. The owner/manager-lady told me that she had sent someone to a nearby grocery store to pick up some for the day, but she had not returned yet. Otherwise, there is not really a whole lotta choices for breakfastary items (or food in general). I was actually planning on getting a bagel or croissant sandwich with eggs (they only prepare the eggs one way: nuked-scrambled), cheese, tomatoes, and onions. Oh, well, maybe next time...
There was nothing special about this meal, but I did not really expect anything more, anyway. I mean, it was just a toasted bagel (all-seeded and such; which, as best as I can tell, include: sesame and poppy [Sorry, Elaine.] seeds, at least) with cream cheese schmeared on it and some sliced tomatoes. As for the Coffee (it is a coffeehouse, after all), it was pretty good. However, I did not discern any l'orange or ส้ม in the French Roast... They change the blend/roast that is offered over the counter as their standard drip Coffee every so often. I think that I liked the Colombian Coffee that I had there last week a little more, though. I have no idea what they might have had to offer in the way of any condimentary supplementation (it is just a coffeehouse, not a restaurant, after all). I had come prepared and used some of my brand-spanking (If it is unbranded, does it not need corporal punishment?) new Sassy Mama Cuisine Fire Roasted Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Kerry!) and a coupla good twists from my The Spice & Tea Exchange®Italian Street Fair Spice Blend (Thanks, Cindy!) grinder-thing on the inside of the bagel. This was my first time trying out this hot sauce (on anything other than a spoon when I had first opened it to test it out a few weeks back). I liked it a lot; it was not overly espicy, but had a decent roasted habanero flavour. https://www.sassymamacuisine.com/ https://www.spiceandtea.com/seasonings-blends-rubs/italian-street-fair-spice-blend.html Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Bagel with etc. ~ 6.0; Coffee ~ 6.8; Bruddah Iz ~ 7.9 (on the Glen Bacon Scale... but fuggedaboudit on a standard weight-scale, it just don't go that high; you would need a truck-scale to do that) ___________________ 1. I had stopped by there last Monday (as in Labor Day), and they had not opened yet for the morning at around 8:50am; no biggie, I figured I would just check them out on another day... as it is only three blocks away. "But, Brian, maybe they were closed to observe the labourious 'merican holiday?!" Nah, sorry. I had just stopped by there on the Saturday before and the owner/manager-lady told me they would be open at 8:30am on Sunday and Monday. 2. I asked the owner/manager-lady where they got their Coffee. Her reply: "Some guy." Of course, now knowing that she is Thai, she mighta been saying that they get their Coffee from a roaster named "Orange Chicken"*... *(Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer/joke-explainer of the day: Unfortunately, my "knowledge" of the Thai language is limited to only those few items that I have seen on menus at local restaurants. There is a Thai restaurant in my neighborhood [very good, by the way] that is named "Bai Som" ["ใบ ส้ม" in Thai], which the best that I can figure means "orange leaf"[?]. I was also aware that the Thai word for "chicken" is "gai/kai" ["ไก่"] [this word is very similar in Chinese, Lao, and Vietnamese, too]. So, I jokingly added the two words together which sound somewhat like "Some Guy" in 'merican-speak.) http://www.baisomthaisf.com/ 3. Luckily, I stopped by Saltroot Café (see previous 'blog-entry from Monday, February 20th, 2017) just a few weeks before they had closed-up their retail-storefront operation for good. Thankfully, I was informed by one of the owners that they are not out-of-business, they are now only selling their (very good) Brazilian Cheese Popups at a few local organic markets in town.
(No official-type web-site.) Place: Cranberry Cottage Location: 246 Marion Road, Wareham, MA; phonicular contact: (774) 678-4593 Hours: open at 7:00am every day of the week Meal: (me) Great HillOmelette ~ Great Hill Blue[1] cheese, bacon (which was 86-ed, of course) and sliced apples, served with homefries and toast (I went with cinnamon-raisin); and, to drink, a cuppa (and two refillas) New England Coffee® (I did not ask which specific roast/blend, though) (Once again, I did not write down what either Kerry or Sean ordered that morning. I seem to remember that they both liked whatever it was that they had to eat.) https://www.newenglandcoffee.com/
(I do not know what Charlie Marie thinks about the combination of blue cheese and apples in an omelette, but she is a new local singer outta the Providence, RI area [yes, a Country-and/or-Western singer from the Island of Rhode, New England] and I always like to promote good new talent. The second song is my sister Sharon's favourite of Charlie's.)[2] It has been a few years since I last ate at Cranberry Cottage (see last 'blog-entry from Saturday, September 17th, 2016). They had closed due to a fire back on September 1st, 2017 (which, if my Common Core Math is any good, is 'zackly two years ago today) and had just recently reopened in June of this year. The entire restaurant had to be rebuilt. It looks like it can seat about the same amount of customers as it had in the past (possibly a few tables less, but there are now many more booths all along one back curved wall). The nice thing about this restaurant is that it is just about a mile down the street (and then around the corner) from my mother's house in Wareham. It was my mother's favourite breakfast place in town. If I lived in Wareham, I can see it being Breakfastary Starting Rotation-worthy, but I still like Persy's Place and the Riverside Cafe a bit more. In spite of the vehement protestations from both my cousins Cindy and Carmie, we had to check out this new-old restaurant. Cindy had warned us during breakfast just the day before that the noise-level and service were terrible. We decided to be the judges of our own breakfast fates, though. Their menu looks to be about the same as it was in the past (I know this by comparing my last few 'blog-entries from there with their newly printed menus). This is another great little local place that offers many decent choices both for st*pid vegetarians and those that partake of the dead, decaying animal and fish flesh. They offer about twenty different omelettes ('cause twenty of the same omelettes really ain't much of a choice, nu?!)[3]. Here are a few that looked interesting: Florentine ~ Swiss cheese, spinach and onion; Irish ~ Cheddarcheese (I just hope it is an actual IrishCheddar; we do not want to have the United Nations coming here to break up the omelette) and corned beef hash; Portuguese ~ cheese, linguiça, onion and tomato; or Philly Cheese Steak ~ cheese (they do not specify if this is Cheez Wiz or not), sliced beef, onion and pepper. They also offer six different Eggs Benedict choices. I think that I might have talked either Sean or Kerry into ordering the New England Benedict (homemade [well, Cottage-made] fish cakes, English muffins, 2 poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce & homefries). There is another menu-section called Cottage Favorites that has a number of other interesting selections: Chili Skillet ~ homemade (again, Cottage-made) chili, scrambled eggs, Cheddar cheese over homefries and toast; Fireman's Toast~ Texas toast topped with scrambled eggs, bacon, chili, beans and Cheddar cheese w/ homefries; or New England Breakfast ~ 2 homemade (ditto on the Cottage-made), fishcakes, 2 eggs, baked beans, homefries and toast. Additionally, they offer two different versions of a Stuffed French Toast with either an apple compote or a cranberry relish (which is what I had on a previous visit and really enjoyed). And the best thing is that you can get them to do a combo with two halves of both apple and cranberry.
Now, I know what you are thinking (and you really should be ashamed of yourself!): "But... blue cheese and apples... in an omelette?!" Well, I did not concoct this mess and it all works very nicely (if you like both blue cheese and apples, that is). The blue cheese melts extra creamy inside the omelette and the apples (I think they used Granny Smith) give it a nice crispy tartness. Their homefries were very good, too (I just wish I had a bit more of them on my plate). I do not really remember exactly what they had to offer in the way of condimentary supplementation. I think that they had both Tabasaco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Frank's®RedHot®Original. I think I used some of the Frank's® on my potatoes and left the omelette unsupplementated. I do not care what my cousin Cindy says, I highly recommend this place to anyone that might be down-the-Cape (or just down-the-Gateway-to-the-Cape) for a vacation. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Great HillOmelette ~ 6.7; New England Coffee® ~ 6.8 ___________________ 1. Great Hill Blue is manufactured just the next town westward from Wareham in the town of Marion (just follow the same road, Marion Road [Funny how that works out, huh?], that the restaurant is on). https://www.greathillblue.com/ 2. I saw Charlie Marie perform live one night last week while I was in the area. She was playing at a local country (but not western) club in Bellingham. She performed many of her own original songs as well as some famous covers (of note: Noel Yang's "Heart of Gold" [probably my favourite one from the ol' grunge-master] and a couple of old Fleetwood Mac songs, "Rhiannon" and another one that I have since forgotten). http://charliemariemusic.com/ 3. I think they were once thinking of calling the restaurant "International House of Many Omelettes", but someone from the local Republican Party Chapter pointed out that the initials would not be a very good idea in case Massachusetts ever becomes a Red State.
