Mission Rock Resort

Pay It Forward Weekend… or bugger off! 
~ Part IV[1]

http://missionrockresort.com/


Place: Mission Rock Resort
Location: 817 Terry Francois Boulevard (Between Illinois and 16th Streets)
Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday & Sunday 10:00am
Meal: Eggs Florentine[2] ~ spinach & tomato, served with Hollandaise sauce & crispy breakfast potatoes (well, crispy "Brunch" potatoes); and a cuppa (and a coupla refillas) Mr. Espresso® Coffee 

(Okay, so I couldn't really figure in any good "Pay", "Forward", or "Bugger Off" EweToob juxtaselections[3].)


I had breakfast (well, they call it "Brunch" ~ "you say 'crispy breakfast potatoes', I say 'crispy Brunch potahtoes'…") this morning at Mission Rock Resort. It is located right along the "scenic" San Francisco Bay, which came in very handy this morning as there was a respite in this week's rains and the Sun was actually out. Mission Rock Resort isn't really a "resort", it's just a restaurant/bar & grill. It is now a part of Golden Bear Restaurant Group (which also includes MoMo's, Pedro's Cantina, and Pete's Tavern; all of these other three restaurants are directly across the street from AT&T Park ~ Home of Your San Francisco Giants).

http://goldenbearrestaurants.com/

There was plenty of street parking early in the morning, and, for some reason, it is all free on the opposite side of the street (where I parked), but there is metered parking on the same side as the restaurant. Mission Rock Resort is a two-story building, with the bar area downstairs and the main restaurant seating upstairs. I actually sat outside on the upper, open-air pier deck (I was the only idiot out there for most of my meal; I was joined by two other hardy idiots about half-way through) as the weather actually turned out to be very nice (it had rained most of the early morning); however, I still kept my jacket on, anyway. It is a very large deck area with about twenty to twenty-four unfinished wooden tables that seat four people each (or, in my case, one idiot each). 

♪ "On a clear day, you can see… Oakland forever…" ♪

There is a pretty minimalistic "Brunch" menu. The only other breakfastary ideas that sounded somewhat interesting to me were: Huevos Rancheros or Breakfast Biscuit Sandwich (Cheddar biscuit, scrambled eggs, sausage patty ~ which I would have foregone, Cheddar cheese; also served with crispy breakfast potatoes ~ well, crispy "Brunch" potatoes). 

This was a decent enough rendition of Eggs Florentine (and much better than I would ever be able to make ~ there is no way I am ever going to attempt a Hollandaise sauce, let alone poach any eggs). I also liked that this had both tomato slices and lots of spinach in it. There was this very interesting (and tasty) green pesto-stuff on top of the crispy breakfast potatoes (well, crispy "Brunch" potatoes). The cuppa(s) Mr. Espresso® was (were) prepared excellently. The server-waitress-lady, Meghan (or Megan… or maybe even Meggan, this is San Francisco, after all), told me that sometimes when they make the Coffee it can be either a bit too weak or too strong (no such thing), but she knew her stuff and it was perfect this morning.

For condimentary supplementation, Mission Rock Resort only offers: Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (both the standard red and green jalapeño) and Tapatío®. As normal, I had come prepared with some of my own and used a good amount of Born to Hula presents Devon Allman's All Natural Hot Sauce Chipotle Blues (Thanks, Kerry!) on the crispy breakfast potatoes (crispy "Brunch" potatoes, whatever) and some Serious Food… Silly Prices Chunky Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on top of the eggs, mixed in with the Hollandaise sauce. I was glad to see that Meghan (or Megan, or Meggan) seemed to know her hot sauces, too, as she asked me about both of my bottles.

"Today you, tamales me…"


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Eggs Florentine ~ 6.3


1. In case you are wondering just what the heck this whole "Pay It Forward Weekend" is all about, please read the following article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/magazine/06lives-t.html?_r=2&

And if you would like even more explanations, see previous 'blog-entries from March 2nd, 2013; March 3rd, 2012; and March 5th, 2011.

Now this doesn't necessarily have to be only strangers that you are nice to this weekend. You can actually surprise your friends and family and  be nice to them for a change, too. 

So, pay it forward, before it's too late… it's never too late to "Bugger off!", though.

2. Have you ever wondered just what the history of Eggs Benedict was? Well, even if you haven't, the friendly people at Wikipedia have this explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict

3. Okay, so this is just another made up portmanteau (as opposed to those actual existing portmanteaus), where I have combined "juxtaposition" with "selection". Deal with it, Mr. Dodgson.

the Ramp

Is a semaphore equal to a pair of flags? 

http://www.theramprestaurant.com/


Place: the Ramp
Location: 855 Terry Francois Street (at the end of Mariposa Street)
Hours: open for "Brunch" on Saturdays & Sundays at 9:30am
Meal: Sam's Scram (a vegetarian scramble; served w/ homefries and a hearty slice of 9-grain toast); and a cuppa (well, and two refillas) America's Best Coffee 

(The first EweToob link is just a cover of the second classic. I like the backup singers in the first video, but that lead singer really needs some work.)


This was the perfect November Saturday morning to go to the Ramp for a breakfastary (well, "Brunchiary") repast; the Sun was out and shining brightly, and there was just a slight breeze off the Bay. The Ramp is technically right on the border of the Mission Bay and Dogpatch neighborhoods (Mariposa Street being the bordering decision); however, less than twenty years ago, this would just have been called Potrero Hill or Central Basin. I got there a few minutes before they opened this morning, so I walked along the public shore to get the best out of the day.

(Just to let you know that the eponymous name of the restaurant isn't superfluous, here is an actual photo of the boat ramp that runs next to the place.)

The majority of the seating is outside in the fresh air on the huge patio (probably 30-40 tables for two to four people) with a great view of Oakland, Alameda, and the Bay. The Ramp has live music on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons/evenings. They even have an outdoor "Tiki Bar" with a corrugated tin roof (but I don't know if the drinks are all free or not).

(This was the view from my table.)

They really don't have that extensive of a "Brunch" menu, but there were a few other items that sounded interesting: Daniela's Scram (Chorizo, Jack cheese, green chillies, & green onions) or Molly's Brioche French Toast (topped with nutella® and strawberries).

My scramble was okay, but nothing really special. It was just tomatoes and mushrooms (the standard button/small crimini/immature Portobello ~ take your pick ~ variety). I really would liked to have seen a few other vegetables in it at least; maybe some bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, or something (anything) else. I know they have green chillies and green onions as they are available in the Daniela's Scram ~ vegetarianism doesn't mean tastelessness. Luckily the homefries were very good ~ made with lots of caramelized (white) onions, which I ended up mixing into the scramble to subsidize the lack of items in it.

For condimentary supplementation the Ramp offers both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce and Cholula® Hot Sauce (two-thirds of the San Francisco Restaurant Hot Sauce Triumvirate). I ended up using some of my own Nando's® Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce (Thanks, Kerry!) with the Scram and some Serious Food… Silly Prices Mango Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cynthia Ann and Gregory Alan!) on the potatoes.

I wonder if Mr. Redding ever ate breakfast (or "Brunch") while watching the ships roll in and then watch 'em roll away again, yeah…

Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Sam's Scram ~ 5.9 (this is figuring in the homefries); Million $$$ Views & Atmosphere ~ 8.5 (Mother Nature had something to do with today's beautiful weather, so I will begrudge her a few GBS points)

Panera Bread®

"Do not go where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (the original "Where's Waldo?", by the way)

http://www.panerabread.com/

(There really is no connection between today's EweToob link and either "bread" or "Ralph Waldo", I just like it.)


For my birthday last month, I received a gift certificate card to Panera[1] Bread® from my sister Sharon (Thanks, Sharon!). There is just one local San Francisco location. I like that they open up bright and early every morning at 7:00am; this always makes it easy for me to drive over there and find a legal parking spot. I have eaten there a few times in the past for lunch or dinner before San Francisco Giants (your 2012 World Champions) games as they are just a block away from AT&T Park on the corner of 4th and King Streets. Now you can call this area of town either "SoMa" or "Mission Bay" ~ take your pick, they are both stupid names for a neighborhood if you ask me (even if you don't ask me, they are still stupid names).

Panera Bread® doesn't really offer that many true breakfastary items. Of course, they have a great selection of baked goods, but they do have have four different Baked Egg Soufflés[2] and ten types of Breakfast Sandwiches. I went with the Spinach & Artichoke Baked Egg Soufflé ~ "Spinach, Romano cheese, red peppers and artichoke hearts, lightly flavored with a hint of garlic & a dash of Tabasco®". As they don't have any potato-ey side dishes, I also got an Apple Crunch Muffin ~ "A sweet muffin, filled with chunks of apple and cinnamon (well, the cinnamon was actually the powered type, not chunky) then finished with our cinnamon and sugar topping“. I also got a cuppa their Dark Roast coffee (they have four different roasts/blend from which to choose).

I liked the soufflé thingy, and it had two of my favourite ingredients in it. It's not something that I normally have for breakfast. I don't think I have ever had too many in my life and it's not something that I would even attempt to make if I did cook (or bake). There was lots of (powdered) cinnamon and apple chunks in the muffin. The coffee was pretty good and the refills were free. I suppose that I could have waited and gotten a cuppa at Philz™, which is just a block away, but the coffee was "free" with the gift certificate, after all.

Even though there was already a "dash of Tabasco®" in the soufflé, I added some of my own Serious Food… Silly Prices Mango Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) to it; I left the muffin as it was and unfettered, though.

The best part is that I still have plenty left over on the gift card to get about two more meals out of it… now if Sharon had just sent me some tickets to a Giants game, too.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Spinach & Artichoke Soufflé ~ 6.0; Apple Crunch Muffin ~ 6.3


1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer del día, número uno:

The word "panera" in Spanish means "breadbasket". I have no idea what they call "below the belt" in Spanish, though.

2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer du jour, numéro deux:

"Soufflé" is the noun use of the past participle of the French verb "souffler", which means "to blow" or "to puff", it comes from Latin "sufflāre" meaning "to breathe on" or "to blow on".