(Yeah, so there is no cover photo of the restaurant this morning. There was a construction scaffolding blocking the entire front of the building.) Place: Joe's Coffee Shop Location: 6134 Geary Blvd (between 25th and 26th Avenues); phonicular contact: (415) 668-9382 Hours: open 7:00am Sunday to Saturday Meal: Vegetable and Cheese Omelet~ tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper, and spinach, served with hash browns and toast (where I went with sourdough again today); and a large glassa orange juice to drink
(Now I kinda wish I had ordered a side o' beans with my breakfast... [actually they do not offer these as a side on their menu, but still...]) I went back to Joe's Coffee Shop (see last 'blog-entry from just Saturday, February 2nd, 2019) this morning. This was actually my back-up "Plan B from Outer Space", Mr. Wood. I originally was planning on going back to Lincoln Park (Golf Course) Restaurant; however, they were not open at 8:15am when I had walked "all-the-way-over-there" (it is a full two blocks away, after all). They are supposably open on Saturdays and Sundays at 8:00am for breakfast now. Just-in-case they were not open, I had it in mind to simply head down to Joe's Coffee Shop (which was a whole 'nother nine blocks away, fercryin'outloud!). Once again, I sat at their diner-counter, and, once again, there was Premier League Football (which looked a lot like Soccer, if you ask me) on the telly: M(anchester)UN(ited) v. CHE(lsea). I did not stay until the end of the match, but ManU was the first to draw blood (Goooooal!) with a Penalty Kick-thing while I was eating breakfast.
There was nuthin' fancy-shmancy about this meal. It was just your basic, good ol' diner-fare kinda omelette. I am not sure which type of cheese was in it, but it was a decent, melty kind ~ probably Monterey Jack (it was definitely not any tasteless, useless 'merican "cheese", which was what I was fully expecting). The hashbrowns were very good ~ crispy-crunchy ~ just the way I like 'em. For condimentary supplementation, Joe's Coffee Shop offers Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce), Crystal®Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce, and Huy Fong Foods Inc.Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce on the counter top and tables. I used a little of my own Old St. AugustineDatil Pepper Sauce (Thanks,Greg & Cindy!) on the omelette and H*ll's KitchenSmoky Bourbon Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on the hashbrowns. I also made sure to use a good amount of my new The Spice & Tea Exchange® Florida Sunshine Spice Blend (Thanks, Cindy!) all over both the omelette and potatoes. https://www.spiceandtea.com/seasonings-blends-rubs/grinder-blends/florida-sunshine-spice-blend.html Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Vegetable and Cheese Omelet ~ 6.0
(No official web-site, and I am pretty sure that they will never bother themselves to get one, anyway.) Place: Joe's Coffee Shop Location: 6134 Geary Blvd (between 25th and 26th Avenues); phonicular contact: (415) 668-9382 Hours: open 7:00am Sunday to Saturday Meal: Avocado and Cheese Omelet (with fresh salsa) ~ served with hash browns and toast; and a large glassa orange juice to drink
(Ol' Deckie MacManus must be a d*mn ManU fan!) After what ended up being one h*ckova long hiatus, I finally made a return visit to Joe's Coffee Shop (see last 'blog-entry from Monday, May 7th, 2012[1]). It is not as if this place were so very close (it is well over six blocks away from my apartment building... well, seven to be exact) that I could just stop by whenever I felt like it. Actually, I had been planning on checking them out again for breakfast (I only ride past the d*rn place twice a day, to and from work) again soon, anyway. The "again soon" just happened to be "again today" because my first plan-of-breakfastary-attack was to go back to Royal Ground Coffee (see 'blog-entry from Saturday, August 18th, 2018). However, when I had arrived there just after 8:00am, I was informed that the kitchen help (I think it is just one guy) had not arrived yet this morning (they open at 6:30am and, normally, are supposed to start serving meals by 7:00am). So, luckily, I did have a back-up option (and only a few blocks away to boot [... or not to boot? Is that really a question, Wild Bill?]). I sat at their diner-counter once again because I felt like it. Plus, there are really only a few tables in this small place and I wanted to keep those available for "real" customers. One cool thing was that I got to watch a little Football (of the Britishlander-type; better know to all youse as "Le Soccér") ~ CHE(lsea) v. HUD(dersfield) ~ on the telly behind the counter (which was directly in front of me, anyway). Because they are an olde-timey family-owned diner-type kinda joint, they offer a pretty decent and varied breakfast menu, off which, I suppose, I could have also ordered: Vegetable and Cheese Omelet(tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper, and spinach); Mushroom and Cheese Omelet(they did not list the ingredients for this one on their menu for some reason); Three blueberry pancakes with whipped cream;
or Waffle with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Additionally, there is also Joe's Scramble(ground beef, mushrooms, onions, and spinach). However, I got in trouble the last time that I had ordered this dish (which was on my very first visit there for breakfast way back in 2011), because someone (whose name shall remain "Brian") forgot to ask the waitress/server-lady/(probably owner-lady, too) person to omit the dead, decaying grinded-up bovine flesh and they had to remake it all over again from scratch (scratch always tastes much better than dead, decaying grinded-up bovine flesh, anyway). Ooops!
Now here is where if I had known ahead of time that I was going to return to Joe's Coffee Shop, I woulda checked to see what I had ordered on my previous visit and probably have ordered something different this time. Saul Goode! It was almost seven years since I had this omelette and an exact repeat every seven years would not even bother Tom Ewell, I bet. There was really nothing special about this meal. It was just your typical good ol' diner-style omelette made with lots of fresh avocado dices throughout. I am not exactly sure what kinda "cheese" was used in the dish this morning. I think it must have been some queso fresco (it was white and in chunks and did not taste like Feta to me). The last time that I had ordered this omelette, it came with that plain ol' yellow-orange (faux Cheddar-stuff) cheese in it. I think I prefer the u/i white cheesy comestible from today a bit more. For condimentary supplementation, Joe's Coffee Shop had just Crystal®Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce and Huy Fong Foods Inc.Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce on the counter top and tables. I used some (a goodly amount, 'cause this one is only about as hot as your standard Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce - Original Red Sauce) of my own Dragon BreathGarlic Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) mixed in with the hashbrowns and some (a lot less, 'cause'n this one has both Cayenne Chillies and Habanero Chillies in its ingredients) Pepper PalaceGator Bite Hot Sauce (Thanks, Greg & Cindy!) on top of the omelette. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Avocado and Cheese Omelet~ 5.9 Chelsea v. Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger & McCormick ~ (a crushing) 5-Nil[2] ___________________
1. Hmmm??? I am not quite sure why I "took" a sick-day off on a Monday at the beginning of May that year. I think it might have been because I had some friends in town (Hey, Wayne-o and Donna!) and did not feel like "wasting" a day of vacation on the likes of them. (Pffft! It is not like they are really "good friends" of mine; I mean, I had only known them both as a couple for twenty years or so at that time [well, okay, maybe I had also known Wayne-o all on his ownsome for possibly another fourteen-and-a-half years prior, but still... ]). 2. This is not really that surprising. Poor ol' Huddersfield Town are currently the doormat of the Premier League with only two Wins in twenty-five Games thus far. They are kinda like that MLB Team that plays in da Bronx and everyone always seems to steamroll. https://www.premierleague.com/home
Legal Note: Once again, no Korean waiter/busboy-type persons were maimed or killed during the eating of this breakfast this morning.
(No official web-site available.) Place: Eddie's Cafe Location: 800 Divisadero Street (on the corner of Fulton Street); phonicular contact: (415) 563-9780
Hours: open Monday through Saturday at 7:30am; open Sunday at 8:30am (they must have changed their hours since I had eaten there last year, which I only found out this morning the hard way) Meal: Cheddar Cheese, Onion, & Avocado Omelett[ sic ] ~ served with hashbrowns and (2) homemade (diner-made, whatever) biscuits; and a mugga (and a half-refilla) their house Coffee ~ served in a (your 2017-2018 NBA Champion... well, unless you happen to be from Cleveland or are a big cry-baby named "LeBron") Golden State Warriors mug
(In case you were wondering just what the h*ck the EweToobular juxtaselection is here, it is a well-known fact that meatloaf is a very popular breakfast dish in Korea.) So, like an eedjit, I arrived at Eddie's Cafe (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, January 7th, 2018) forty-five minutes early and had to sit in my car waiting for them to open. I had it planned so that I would arrive just around the time that I thought they were supposed to open. If it had not been raining (again) this morning, I could have walked over to Alamo Square to kill the time. Luckily, at that un-gawdly hour on a Sunday morning, parking in the neighborhood is pretty easy and I was able to park right across the street.
Once again, there was nothing really special about this omelett[ sic ], it was just your basic friendly, neighborhood Korean family-owned diner fare. It did have a good amount of diced-up avocado in it, which is nice, but I bet with some fresh-sliced jalapeños added to it, it would have been even better. I do like that they offer a choice of (plain ol') toast or (fresh-made) biscuits and a choice of either hashbrowns or greets. Of course, I opted for the fresh-baked biscuits; I can always cook my own toast at home. I stuck with hashbrowns this morning because I had brought along two different bottles of my own hot sauces and figured that one would go better with potatoes than with greets. As far as their own condimentary supplements goes, Eddie's Cafe had just Louisiana's Pure Crystal®Hot Sauce at the booths and on the diner-counter, but they do also have some good Korean gochujang (available upon request). I used the second new bottle that I had received as a Christmas gift, Peaks of Otter Peppers ~ Inca GoldHot Sauce (Thanks, Greg & Cindy!) on top of the omelett[ sic ] and used some Pepper Palace™Chocolate Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg! [Who are no relation what-so-ever to the above two gifters.]) on the potatoes. The Inca Gold (Ingredients: Mango, pineapple, Red Habanero chile peppers, vinegar, salt & sugar) turned out to be only of medium heat (well, medium for me) and added a nice sweet-heat fruitiness to the omelett[ sic ]. https://www.peaksofotterpeppers.com/
On this visit, I gifted (making sure to pay for my meal first; they have this terrible tradition of comping a meal to anyone that brings in a gift mug; nice try!) them a mug from Tarpon Springs[1] (the one in Floridia, not the much more famous village in Ελλάδα) that was adorned with some swimming manatees (well, they coulda been womanatees, I could not really tell from the cartoon pictures). We had lunch one day last month in Tarpon Springs while I was vacationing in Disneylandia, and I had picked it up at one of the gift shops in town. I did spy my gifted St. Augustine mug from last year; however, I could not locate either the mug from Vien (gifted in January 2012) or the Liverpudlian mug (gifted in January 2011) among the hundreds of other gifted mugs on their shelves. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Cheddar Cheese, Onion, & Avocado Omelett[ sic ] ~ 6.0 ___________________
https://sandyscafe.business.site/ Place: Sandy's Café Location: 6120 Monterey Street, Gilroy, CA Hours: open every day at 6:00am Meal: (me) Sandy'sSkillet Special ~ prepared with country (of unspecified ethnicity) potatoes, onion, ham (which I mad sure to have them excise), Cheddar cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, and green (bell) peppers, topped with (2) eggs any style (where my "style" was "over-medium" this morning), and a choice of toast (my toasty choice was sourdough); (Dave) Steve's Country Benedict ~ two poached eggs on a buttermilk biscuit and country sausage (I am not sure if the country from which this sausage originated is the same as the potatoes' native land), topped with country gravy, served with hash browns or country potatoes (Dave smartly went with the hashbrown-choice, which I agreed with 100%); to drink: both Dave and I had cuppas the house Coffee (and a refilla or two apiece)
(There are no EweToobular juxtaselections with today's songs. I am just "thankful" for the music of Sir George Ivan. Okay, maybe Shana ain't that Welshman-like-person, Sir Thomas John Woodward, but ol' Tom Jones would not look half as good in that dress.) As has become a (new-ish) tradition for me, after being stuffed with a large Thanksgiving dinner at my friend Dave's house in Gilroy, I will usually spend the night in lieu of the hour-and-a-half drive all the way home back to San Francicopolis (you would be surprised at the amount of tryptophan that is in sweet potatoes). The next morning (for some reason, the morning after Thanksgiving fell on a Friday this year) we will head out to a local breakfast joint in the Greater Gilroy Area (of which there are less choices than you might imagine). We simply headed back to Sandy's Café (see last 'blog-entry from November 24th, 2017) ~ which really ain't a bad choice, no way, anyway. If I lived in the Greater Gilroy Area, I am pretty sure this great little local place would be a fixture in my Breakfastary Starting Rotation. Not only have I never had a bad meal there, they offer a lotta other good choices (even for stupid vegetarian-types) for breakfast. There are twenty (20) different omelettes from which to choose. Their omelettes are absolutely HUGE, too; they are made with four (4) eggs and served with hashbrowns or fruit and choice of toast or one (1) pancake. Additionally, they offer daily/weekendly specials. Today's special was a Banana Waffle. I almost went with this choice, and most definitely would have if they made it with the banana slices in the waffle batter. I asked, and was told that they serve this as a large Belgian waffle with the bananas just on top with whipped cream. That did sound good, but I would have liked my idea better. Strangely enough, they do not list any sort of Huevos Rancheros dish on their menu. If they had, I was definitely gonna go with that as my meal this morning instead.
It really did not matter if I waffled on them not having any Mexican egg dishes, as my choice turned out to be extremely tasty, all the same. It was pretty simple in construction, but I felt that they did a great job of the ratio of potatoes (as the base of the dish) to mushrooms/tomatoes/green (bell) peppers/ onions. Our waitress/server-lady person forgot my side of sourdough toast; however, this was not missed (or needed) in any way due to the large portion of the meal. I think that Dave's meal was basically the same one that he had ordered last year. It looks like they have just renamed it the much more cool-sounding "Steve's Country Benedict" now. This was the first dish that caught my eye and I told Dave that he had to get it. (Hey, I might be a long-time stupid vegetarian, but that does not mean that I can not live vicariously through my carnivorous friends). It really did not matter, as Dave had also seen it right away and was already planning on ordering it, too. I really liked that they had the buttermilk biscuit (halved) as the base for the dish (fresh buttermilk biscuits beat crummy ol' Mr. Thomas' faux crumpets any day). The only thing that I saw available on the tables as condimentary supplementation was Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce), Tapatío®Salsa PicanteHot Sauce, and A.1.OriginalSauce®. I initially used some Tapatío® on top of both of the eggs. After eating about half of the pile of food, I added some A.1.® to it for extra measure. When we were paying for the meal at the front counter, I noticed two other hot sauces in their display case under the cash register: The Pepper Plant®Original California Style Hot Pepper Sauce and one other u/i hot sauce. I wish I had know that those were also available, as I would probably have tried one or both on my meal. I have never cried while eating any humble pie at Thanksgiving, but I have found that, when necessary, humble pie tastes best with a large dollop of self-righteous whipped cream on top. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Sandy'sSkillet Special ~ 6.5; Steve's Country Benedict ~ 6.8 (even though I did not actually bother quizzing Dave for his GBS Rating input, from the way that he seemed to enjoy his meal, I am going with this rating; besides, I am always impressed with any different take on boring ol' Eggs Benedict dishes)
https://melsdrive-in.com/vannessavenue Place: Mel's Kitchen Location: 1050 Van Ness Avenue (on the corner of Geary Street) Hours: (new hours for this location only) open at 7:00am every d*mn day of the d*mn week (well, I added the emphatic "d*mns" there for no d*mn reason) Meal: Portobello & Brussel[ sic ] sprout Hash ~ served with two eggs any style (where I stylized these as over-mediums); and a glassa "fresh-squeezed" apple (How do ya like them "squeezed" apples, Mr. Hunting?!) juice to drink This morning for breakfast, I went back to Mel's drive-in (see last 'blog-entry from Saturday, April 7th, 2018) for some good ol' 'merican dineresque fare. However, their location on Van Ness Avenue has undergone some major upscalery. They have nixed the "drive-in" moniker for the much more sophisticated "Kitchen" now. They re-opened as Mel's Kitchen just a little over a month ago and this was my first time getting back there. I ride past there almost every day on my way home from work and had noticed that they were closed for several months (apparently while remodeling to the max). Initially I thought that they probably had lost their lease and just closed that particular joint. To what (up)scale have they made changes? They now use cloth napkins on all of the tables! Talk about your "concentric layers of calcium carbonate produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk placed before domesticated large, even-toed ungulates"! They have even upscaled all the booths and diner-counter seats. Sadly, it looks like they have down-scaled the iconic 50's jukebox, though, and it has been removed entirely (I made sure to look for it when I pretended to have to use the loo). Thankfully, they did not decide to up-label their early morning meal as "Brunch". Their new menu has also seen some changes, Alice, where they are offering such breakfastary items as: Huevos Rancheros ~ two eggs, corn tortillas, Jack cheese, topped with green tomatillo sauce; Eggs Benedict (Saturday & Sundays[ sic; for some reason they felt the need to pluralize the first day of the week, but leave the Sabbath in its singularity ~ sounds kinda antisemitic to me ] only) ~ two poached eggs & ham (no, thanks!) on toasted brioche (which sounds like a nice alternative to Mr. Thomas' faux crumpet-things) topped with Hollandaise - hash browns; or Breakfast Burrito ~ scrambled eggs, Molinari chorizo (¡no, gracias!), Cheddar cheese, rolled in a flour tortilla, topped with ancho salsa and crème fraiche (now why they felt the need to correctly accent grave the "è", but leave the "î" un-circumflexed is beyond me; it may be another antisemite jab from that N*zi Herr Sharples).
I liked this dish a lot. It was pretty sublime (whereas, I normally prefer over-lemon) in its simplicity. It only included grilled Brussels (see, now is where these Jew-hatin' bastages shoulda added the superfluous "s" from "Sundays" above) sprouts and cubes of Portobello mushrooms. With its title of "Hash", I was actually expecting some sorta potatoes to be included in this dish. However, as we are all well-aware, a "salade de tomates" in France will generally include just a sliced tomato or deux. I particularly liked that the mushrooms were cubed in about quarter-inch bite-sizes. In my opinion (and I only listen to my opinion... well, sometimes), this is the perfect way to prepare these. It was almost like little vegetarian sausage bits. I bet even some fungo-phobes might try these and like them (probably not, though). Even the side of toast was a bit upscaley, too. It was some kinda multi-grain rye, perhaps. I did not bother to ask what they might have had to offer in the way of any hot sauce condimentary supplementation. Once again, I went with some of my own Punch Drunk™Chocolate Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce (Thanks, Sean!) on top of one egg and some Great WallWasabiHot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on top of the other egg. I am pretty sure that Mel's new menu would probably have Florence Jean Castleberry exclaiming: "Kiss my polenta!" Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Portobello & Brussel[ sic ] sprout Hash ~ 6.5
"Hey, baby... we forgot all about the... Bi Bim Bop Veggie Omelete[ sic ]... "
(No official web-site-type-thing.) Place: Art's Cafe Location: 747 Irving Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues); phonicular contact: (415) 665-7440 Hours: open at 7:00am Tuesday through Saturday; open at 7:30am on Sunday (??? ~ this is where an official web-site-type-thing would be helpful) Meal: Bi Bim Bop Veggie (uggh!) Omelete[ sic ] ~ with spinach, zucchini, bean sprout, carrot, and Swiss cheese, served with hashbrowns or rice (you would be surprised how many people go with this choice instead of Art'sstellar hashbrowns) and toast; (to drink with the meal) a large glassa orange juice; (afterwards, for a breakfastary dessert) a cuppa Snowbird CoffeeZatarra (via pour-over/drip-method) and a corn-cherry scone at Arizmendi Bakery http://snowbirdcoffee.com/ https://www.arizmendibakery.com/
(What's the EweToobular juxtaselection here today? Simples! Ol' Davie-boy Alvin [Theodore and Simon were not available for comments] is a big gochujang fan, too.) I wanted to go to a (somewhat close/accessible) place for breakfast that opened early (or hopefully was even open on the 4th of July) and because it had been a while since I last ate at Art's Cafe (see last 'blog entry from Sunday, November 6th, 2016), anyway, that was where I ended up going this morning. Once again, I simply parked in Golden Gate Park (directly across from the entrance to San Francisco Botanical Garden), where there is normally ample (and free) parking that early in the morning. (The extra-added bonus was that after breakfast I strolled through San Francisco Botanical Garden to work off some of those breakfastary calories.) I arrived at the restaurant around 7:15am and had the entire counter-space to myself for a while. There were two take-away customers ahead of me. But, otherwise, only two other customers came in to eat the entire time that I was having breakfast.
(Again, their entire diner-counter-top is covered with postcards from customers sent from all over the World ~ which are under some Plexiglas to keep the spillage from crudding up the pictures. To my left this morning, I could see London [the one in Englandia, not the much more popular town in Arkansas], Hong Kong, and some far-away place called "Wis-Con-Sin", which I believe used to be a province in that old Czechoslovakia place.) I have been going to Art's Cafe since some time in 2010 now. Surprisingly enough, there are still a couple of other items on their menu that I need to get back to try: Hashbrown Melt (Sandwich) ~ served with melted Cheddar cheese on hashbrowns, two eggs, and toast; or Four Cheese Omelete[ sic ] ~ American (so, technically, this should be called a "Three Cheese Omelete[ sic ] with some other kinda faux cheese-like product-stuff"), Cheddar, Jack, and Swiss cheese, served with hashbrowns or rice and toast. Additionally, for you meatetarian types, they offer the interesting sounding Samurai Omelete[ sic ; and if you are getting [ sic ]k of seeing me type "[ sic ]" every time I have to mispel "Omelette", just think of how [ sic ]k I am of typing it, too ] ~ beef teriyaki, onions, and cheese, served with hashbrowns or rice and toast. Now if they only offered a Hashbrown Bi Bim Bop Veggie (uggh!) (Sandwich)...
(This was exactly how it was presented to me. Really. [Yeah, and today is Cinco de Mayo.]) I have had this same dish once before (I think it was the very first meal that I ever tried there) and knew that I was going to like it (again). Sure, the ingredients may all sound kinda strange for inside an omelete[ sic ], but if you have ever had the Korean dish Bibimbap, you know it has most of the same items in it (well, less the Swiss cheese) and usually includes either a raw egg or fried egg on top. These guys (well, Art, at least) are truly "Masters of the Hashbrowns". Trust me, I am a Potato Doctor; I even have a PhD to prove it (well, if "PhD" stood for "Potato-h*ckova-Doctor"). Why anyone would choose plain ol' white rice over these crispy golden-brown delights is beyond me. For condimentary supplementation, Art's Cafe has both Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Crystal®Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce along the counter-top. In my opinion (trust me, I also minored in Hot Sauce at Doctoring School), both of which are superfluously redundant when they have a great gochujang sauce/paste for use instead. As can be seen in the above photo, that is exactly what I used on both the omelete[ sic ] and hashbrowns. (not so) Strange Coffee and Pastry Interlude As has been my habit lately whenever eating breakfast in that area of the Sunset, I headed around the corner after the meal for a mighty fine cuppa at Snowbird Coffee. And because I still had a little room left, I also got a fresh-baked good at Arizmendi Bakery[1], too. The scone was a little bit on the dry side (I am just chalking that up to the use of cornmeal), but it was still very good; it had lots and lots of whole dried cherries in it. I bet a savoury-sweet scone made with cornmeal, cherries, and jalapeños would be excellent, too. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Bi Bim Bop Veggie (uggh!) Omelete[ sic ] ~ 6.5; hashbrowns (on their ownsome) ~ 7.0; Snowbird CoffeeZatarra ~ 7.1; corn-cherry scone ~ 6.8 ___________________
1. Normally, I avoid this bakery like the plague because they are supporters of a very large (three car-space-length) p*rklet in front of their building. (Need I point out that this is only a block-and-a-d*mn-half away from Golden Gate Park?!) I decided that because it was the 4th of July today, I would do like George Washington did on this very day in 1776 and emancipate the slaves... that's the Spirit, Brian! (Besides, when was the last time you heard of a plague outbreak in the Sunset District, anyway?!)
http://sfgrubstake.com/ Place: Grubstake[1] Location: 1525 Pine Street (Bewteen Polk and Van Ness Streets) Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday and Sunday at 8:00am Meal: Build Your Own Omelet (but, thankfully, not Cook Your Own Omelette) ~ 3 large eggs + your choice of one: cheese, mushrooms, ham, bacon, sour cream, spinach, avocado, or sausage (where my choices were Cheddar and spinach), served with made-to-order home fries & your choice of toast: whole wheat, rye, or San Francisco sourdough; a cuppa (and 1-1/2 refillas; whatever their house Coffee roast/blend may have been) LavAzza; and then afterward, for a breakfastary dessert[2], a Strawberry PeachRye Scone at batter bakery https://www.lavazza.us/en_US.html http://www.batterbakery.com/
(There is no particular EweToobular juxtaselection for today's video/song. Perhaps both Mick and Joe are/were fans of Strawberry PeachRye Scones.) Grubstake has only been open as a diner since 1927 ~ in an old converted railcar that was once used for travel between Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco ~ and this was my first ever visit (for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late-night snack) there. Of course, it may very well also be my last ever visit there. They are soon to be closed/demolished to make way for a new condo-building planned for that neighborhood. So much for San Francisco history... I sat at one of the two-seater tables in the front of the railcar-diner portion of the restaurant ~ where there are only three two-seater tables, one four-seater table, and nine diner-stools at the bar/counter area. There are several more tables and booths in a second larger dining area right next door. Plus, there are three two-seater tables on the outside/street side elevated porch area. I thought about sitting outside (it was more than nice enough this morning), but I wanted to experience the old-timey railcar dining area (which was kinda my whole point in trekking all the way over to Polk-Gulch on a Sunday morning, anyway). There really are not a whole lotta things (not to be confused with those "half-lotta" things) from which to choose on their breakfast menu for stupid vegetarian types. Otherwise, I was looking at either the Grubstake Benedict (sourdough toast, guacamole, chopped bacon [which I would have 86-ed, natch'] & Hollandaise sauce – summer perfection!) or Huevos Rancheros for Real (corn tortillas topped with beans, ham [once again, ochenta-y-seis-ciudad] and two fried, runny eggs), both of which are listed on a separate "Get Brunched!" menu.
This was a good omelette/meal. I liked it and it filled me up. I found out that they only offer Cheddar (but it was "real" cheese, at least) as their choice of cheese; I would have gone with Swiss cheese, otherwise. It was also made with lots of fresh, sautéed spinach. I chose sourdough as my toast choice; it came as three half-slices of toast. Three halves of toast?! I have seen this anomaly at other restaurants, too, and I always have to wonder if I am getting someone else's half-slice, or if someone else is enjoying my missing half-slice. Grubstake truly excels in the condimentary supplement department in that they offer their own homemade (diner-made, whatever) hot sauce: Verde Fire Sauce. It is available for use in plastic squeeze bottles on all of the tables. It is made with a jalapeño base (I asked) and is not really that picante (well, I suppose it might be considered estupido gringo espicy), but it has mucho sabor; I ended up using a lot of it on the potatoes. I also used some more (about eight splashes/drops) of my own Hot Licks®Serrano Hot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the omelette. After breakfast, because I still had a little more room in my appetite and because it is right next-door, I stopped in to batter bakery to sample some of their wares. I knew I was going to get one of their fresh-baked scones, but there were several other excellent choices from which to decide: Ginger Cranberry, Lemon Currant, Orange Chocolate Chip, or Walnut Fig(buckwheat). I went with the choice that I did because this was their seasonal choice and may only be available for a short time longer ("short time longer"?); plus, I was intrigued by a scone made with rye flour. It was a very good choice, and it was made with lots of large slices (not just small bits and pieces like some places might do) of both peaches and strawberries. Sadly, I did not see any actual breakfastary dishes that included steaks made from grubs. I may have to get back there for lunch or dinner to try one of those... if they are still open then, of course. (Apparently, calling yourself "World Famous" just don't count for much these days.) Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Build Your Own Omelet ~ 6.4; Verde Fire Sauce ~ 6.8; Strawberry PeachRye Scone ~ 7.0; cool, historic San Francisco atmosphere ~ 7.8 ___________________
1. So, sorry, the name really has nothing to do with either beetle larvae or sliced-up dead, decaying bovine flesh. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grubstake 2. I have still yet to come up with a decent portmanteau for a snack-treat after the early morning meal. If anyone out there wants to give it your best Charles Lutwidge Dodgson try, please let me know.
♪ "Between the Omelette and the Deep Blue Sea... " ♫ ???
http://louissf.com/index.html/ Place: Louis' Location: 902 Point Lobos Avenue (somewhere between 48th Avenue and the Great Highway-ish) Hours: open 6:30am everyday[ sic ] Meal: "Build Your Own" Omelette (with Feta, spinach, and tomatoes) ~ three cage free eggs served with potatoes and English muffin; and a cuppa (and one refilla) Peerless Coffee & Tea® (I did not ask which blend/roast they serve, though) http://www.peerlesscoffee.com/
(What's with today's EweToobular juxtaselections? Simples! I have it under good authority [How come you never hear about anyone having it "under bad authority"?] that ol' Satchelmouth himself was a big Feta and spinach fan.) With today's running of another Bay-to-Beer "race" (since 1912) gumming-up my neighborhood streets, I thought it best to keep my breakfastary sojourn as local as possible, so I took a 38-Local all the way down the street (it beat walking the seventeen blocks to-and-fro; plus, it was pretty d*rn windy and chilly this morning to boot ~ which is usually the weather-norm for Bay-to-Beer "race"-days) to Louis' (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, October 2nd, 2011). https://www.baytobreakers.com/
As close as this place is to where I live, I do not think that I have eaten there but a handful of times in the 30-plus years that I have lived in San Francisco; and, probably, just two or three of those visits have been breakfastarily. This is no fault of the diner/restaurant-joint itself; there really is just not that much from which to choose on the menu for stupid vegetarians is all. This morning I sat at the mini/three-seater diner-counter area. I was offered any of the empty booths right along the window, but I didn't want to "steal" a booth if a larger group came in and needed/wanted one. However, as it turned out, I was in and out so early this morning there remained three booths still empty the entire time that I was there, so I could have had an entire booth to myself... oh, well. Usually by 9:00am, the (rather smallish) place will be full and there will be a line ~ out the door onto the sidewalk ~ waiting to get in.
Even if I did not have these views from where I was sitting, I only had to turn around or get up and go over to one of the windows to see the views. And there is never an extra charge for these Million Dollar Views. I even saw one whale ~ either a California Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)[1] or a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)[2] ~ unfortunatley, it breeched too quickly for me to really see which it might have been (like I could really tell the difference even if they were swimming side-by-each). It was just off the coast (less than a hundred yards really) past Seal Rocks[3]/Lands End[4]/Sutro Baths[5]. Strange Memory/Mind-losing Interlude This morning when I got up and before I was preparing to go out for breakfast, I could not locate some of my notes that I keep on these silly little breakfast visits. (Yes, I do actually keep notes on actual paper. I still refuse to go back to the future into the 21st Century and get me one of them new-fangled mobular devices with which to keep notes/information.) It took me about an hour (and, sadly, that is not an exaggeration) to finally discover where I had put them yesterday. I found them inside one of the reference books (and, yes, I do still use actual printed materials for reference sources; not everything can be found so quickly on these-here World Wild Webs-things) that I used yesterday to look up the information on "sheriff"[6]. While searching manically, I almost swore that I was the victim of a Little Green Men abduction (it is a well-known fact that those sneaky little bastages love a good omelette or crêpes) or an NSA subversive plot (you would be surprised at just how far our government is willing to go trying to keep us from enjoying our early-morning repasts).
As for the actual omelette-review part of this 'blog-thing, it was a simple-enough rendition and much better'n I could ever manage (luckily this was not a "Make Your Own" Omelette... ). It included lotsa spinach in it, but I felt that it coulda used a bit more Feta (this is my standard complaint with most places, anyway). Louis' has only Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce ~ Original Red Sauce for use as a condimentary supplement. No biggie, as I finally got to use up the last drops of my Palo Alto Firefighters XXX Ghost Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the potatoes. (Now I am down to only thirty bottles of hot sauces on my refrigerator door shelves.) Additionally, I used a little of my own Great WallWasabi Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on half of the omelette. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: "BYO" Omelette ~ 6.0; Million Dollar Views ~ 8.2 (with tax and tip included) ___________________
