the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House

Since 1863... 
Where San Francisco begins... 
and Popovers(!) end... 
in my belly!

https://cliffhouse.com/bistro/ 


Place: the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House

Location:  1090 Point Lobos 
(at the end of the Earth/Ocean Beach)

Hours: open for breakfast Monday - Saturday at 9:00am, Sunday at 8:30am

Meal: Sautéed Vegetable[1] Scramble ~ scrambled eggs, red peppers, tomatoes, scallions, button mushrooms, melted goat cheese, served with fresh fruit and roasted potatoes; a small glassa tomato juice (I was planning on ordering a "Virgin Bloody Mary", but my astute waiter/server-person guy, Daniel, warned me that their Bloody Mary mix has clam juice already in it... ewww... now why would anyone do that to perfectly innocent tomato juice?!); and, as always (and one of the main reasons that I like to go back there a few times a year, anyway), a basket of (World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!)[2]

https://cliffhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BloodyMar-e1490546121250.jpg

(As can be seen in the above photo-link, this breakfastary cocktail is a side dish all on its ownsome.)


To finish off the early-season workout of my Breakfastary Starting Rotation, I normally like to close-it-out at the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, January 28th, 2018).

They really only offer five different breakfast dish choices that are either stupid vegetarian-friendly or can be made so with the simple omission of one or two types of dead, decaying animal flesh, so I have had each probably several times (as in probably twenty or more severals) already over the past twenty-plus years that I have been eating at the Bistro Restaurant. Well, they do have a dish called "the Johnson Omelet" ~ made with Dungeness crab[3], avocado, and sour cream ~ that I have never tried before; however, if I were ever to order it (sans the dead, decaying marine insect stuff), they would probably have to rename it "the Little Richard Omelet".

Because I was once again lucky enough to be sitting at an ocean-viewing window-table, I kept an intent watch for any migrating Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). My friendly, informative waiter/server-person guy, Daniel, also informed me that there have been many sightings recently of these Quasimodo-type great fishes (and just a little ways off Seal Rocks, too) making their Spring-break trek up North. However, I was not lucky enough to spot (or stripe) any of them this morning (h*ck, I am just lucky to be able to see as far as Seal Rocks).

There were only two (World) Famous Cliff House 
Popovers(!) in my basket this morning. That really did not matter as those proved to be the perfect amount for my appetite today (besides, if you ask, they will always bring you more at no charge... for free even).

This is one of my more favourite dishes that is available for breakfast at the Bistro Restaurant. I suppose that even if they did not already offer their (World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!), this would still be return-trip-worthy (probably just not three to four times a year, though). And if they ever added Kalamata olives to this mess, it would definitely put it "way over the top" for me. There were only two roasted potatoes (halved) as a side this morning, which was also probably enough for me, but more potatoes is always welcomed. (Should that be "more [potatoes] 
is... " or "more [potatoes] are... "? My grammar and grampar never really explained this stuff to me.)

Today's fresh fruits consisted of: strawberry (I am using the singular here as there was just one half-strawberry in the pile), cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew melon, and grape (again, singular, as in just one, but it was a whole one, not a half).

the Bistro Restaurant only has Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) for use as a condimentary supplement. Knowing this (See? I have been to more than one public performance featuring bronco-riding, calf-roping, steer-wrestling, and Brahma bull-riding at this here particular establishment.[4]), I used some of my own Palo Alto Fire Fighters 
XXX Ghost Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Brian! And, thankfully, I only have about three to four doses remaining in this particular glass bottle-soldier.) on the potatoes and some Old St. Augustine Datil Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg! There is still about three-quarters left in this bottle, though.) judiciously all over the scrambled mess and even a few drops (five or six) into the tomato juice (to kill any of the d*mn clam juice... just in case it had infected it, too).

Hollywoodland Spotlight of the Day

Today's Hollywoodland Highlight moment focuses on one Margy Reed (better-known-as Martha Raye). This autographed photograph was on the wall (about half-way up... or, if you are a pessimistic acrophobe, about half-way down) on the other side of my table. I think I probably remember Martha Raye more for her cameo-role appearances on TeeVee in the 60's and 70's than for her actual movie-starring roles. (We won't bother to mention those embarrassing Polident® commercials from the 70's and 80's that she also did.) I do know that I have seen her in both the movie "H*llzapoppin'" (1941) (which also had some guy named "Samuel Horwitz" in a supporting-role) and the Abbott-and-Costello movie "Keep 'Em Flying" (also 1941), where she played a dual-role as twin sisters (there were no wayward members of the Three Stooges moonlighting in this one, though). 

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713106/



Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Sautéed Vegetable Scramble ~ 6.7;
(World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!) ~ 8.2

___________________

1. I am particularly pleased that they have the good sense to use the full word "Vegetable" and not that ubiquitous and utterly odious moniker of "Veggies" (uggh!).

2. For those of you that are in the "uninformed" category, Popovers(!) are an American version of Yorkshire pudding and similar batter puddings made in England since the 17th century.

And if you are even in the "yet still more uninformed" category, there is this information from our friendly friends at WikipediA:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_pudding

3. Dungeness crab's common name comes from the port of Dungeness, Washington. I never knew that before, but I do not think that I have ever eaten one of these in my entire life. Even back when I still ate "meat", I was never much of a fan of any of the dead, decaying marine insects, anyway.

4. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/etymological pointer of the day:

The word "rodeo" comes directly from the Spanish word "rodeo" (See? Sometimes this cunning-linguistics stuff ain't always cirugía de cohete or ciencia del cerebro.), basically meaning "round-up". The Spanish word is derived from the verb "rodear", meaning "to surround" or "go around," used to refer to "a pen for cattle at a fair or market," derived from the Latin "rota" or "rotare", meaning "to rotate" or "go around".

Gallardo's ~ Mexican Restaurant

(No hay ninguna página web oficial. 
[They used to have one, but it no longer seems to be in effect.])


Place: Gallardo's ~ Mexican Restaurant
Location: 3248 18th Street 
(on the corner of Shotwell Street)
Hours: open every day of the week at 7:00am
Meal: Papas con huevo ~ scrambled eggs w/ potato, onion, tomato, & bell peppers, served w/ rice, beans, & tortillas; and a large glassa Jugo Mixto (1/2-orange juice and 1/2-carrot juice ~ a San Francisco Giants fan favourite)

(I have no EweToobular juxtaselectionary ratiocination for including these Lucinda Williams[1] songs today. I just feel that she thoroughly inspires an overwhelming feeling of reverence and admiration[2]. I particularly like her live rendition of the first song where she completely muffs it at the start and has the good humour to laugh at herself.)


I was planning on finally heading back to Fattoush (see previous 'blog-entry from June 28th, 2014) this weekend. Now here is where it pays to plan ahead sometimes, kids. I checked out their web-site last night to make sure when they opened in the morning and saw that they had closed recently (well, a quick Intro-Net search shows probably as far back as mid-November): "Due to smoke damage from an unfortunate event, Fattoush will be closed until further notice." ("Unfortunate event"? If it was from a fire, why not just state such?) Too bad, too, as I was looking forward to ordering the Corn Flake Crusted French Toast. 

¿Cómo se dice "back-up plan" en español? 

So, instead, I just went back to Gallardo's ~ Mexican Restaurant (see last 'blog-entry from March 15th, 2015) where I knew I would get another desayuno muy sabroso.

There are still otras buenas ideas para desayuno: Huevos a la Mexicana (scrambled eggs w/ onion, tomato, & bell pepper); Huevos Rancheros (fried eggs on a tortilla topped w/ salsa ranchera & Monterey Jack cheese); Torta de huevo (scrambled eggs w/ onion, tomato, & bell pepper cooked in a crepe style); or Nopales Omelette (filled w/ melted cheese, onion, tomato, bell pepper, & cactus [that would be the nopales]). And, possibly one of these days, when I am in a more (or very) adventurous mood: Banana Omelette (I kid you not); they have this listed as "filled w/ melted cheese & banana[3]".

(This photo does not do the orange neon colour any justice. It was truly cornea-burning; I almost had to put on my sunglasses.)

I knew that I was going to like this meal a lot right from the start. Whenever potatoes are the central figure in a breakfastary option, I know that it will be a good choice for me in earnest, Papa Hemingway. This was made with huge chunks of potatoes, tomatoes, and white onions (and that is all a good thing, unless your name happens to be Greg Kipe or you are a Golden 
Retriever). This really didn't need any extra espiciness, but I probably shoulda asked to have one jalapeño or serrano chilli added to the scrambled mess.

There were three (3, tres) warm, fresh, homemade (restaurant-made, whatever) corn tortillas provided this morning. It all made for a good amount of food with the rest of the meal, but I made sure to force myself to finish all three with the meal, anyway.

I have no idea what Gallardo's ~ Mexican Restaurant may have had to offer in the way of pre-bottled hot sauces (none were asked for and none were needed), because they have their own very good salsa fresca in jars on all the tables. I used up almost half of the jar that was on my table by adding some (well, a lot) to the frijoles refritos, rice, and scrambled pile.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: 
Papas con huevo ~ 6.6

___________________

1. If you have never seen Lucinda Williams perform live, I suggest that you do so if you ever get the chance.

http://lucindawilliams.com/?fp=true

2. I had originally typed that as "She's totally awesome!" However, in an effort to be less vernacular, Misters Howard, Fine, and Howard, I rewrote that sentence. I am also happy to note that no doibies were dropped during the rewrite.

3. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-botanical pointer of the day:

In Spanish, the word for both "banana" and "plantain" is "plátano". So, I am not sure which of those berries they use to make this omelette. (What have I said before about bananas botanically being berries? ["Bananas botanically being berries"? Try saying that ten times fast.]) This may have just been some kinda translational error on the menu... or, at least, I hope so. 

I have no idea what that might taste like. I suppose if they actually use fried plantains and not sweet bananas, it might not be half-bad (which, of course, means it's only half-good).

grindz

http://www.grindzrestaurant.com/


Place: grindz
Location: 832 Clement Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues)
Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday and Sunday at 9:00am
Meal: Apple Banana Pancakes (4 stack) ~ apples, bananas, coconut crème anglaise, crushed Macadamia nuts; a side of hashbrowns; and a cuppa (and two refillas) Bicycle Coffee co Dark Roast Guatemala (unfortunately for today's destination, these guys do not offer a Kona Coffee[1] blend; I checked)

http://bicyclecoffeeco.com/

(They are usually playing Reggae music first thing in the morning on the house stereo. This cover of an old Doo-Wop song was one of the songs that was playing. I recognized it immediately because I actually have a Reggae compilation CD that has this specific version on it.

I am not so sure just what the connection between Jamaica and Hawai'i are, though. They both are islands and produce great Coffee, perhaps?)


I had DFA'd grindz (see last 'blog-entry from September 19th, 2015) earlier this year, but not because their food wasn't any good. I had been going with a Breakfastary Starting Rotation of six restaurants for the last few years and decided to cut it back to a standard five for this year. So, it's always nice to check in with the kids in AAA once in a while (plus, this place is very local for me and actually within walking distance ~ if that walking distance happens to be about twenty-three blocks both ways).

There really aren't that many items for stupid vegetarians on their "Brunch" menu and I have had most of them several times over now. Otherwise, a few items that I would like to check out one of these days are: Puka[2] French Toast (brioche, pina-berry compote, vanilla chantilly; which I would have also ordered with a side of hashbrowns); Li Hing[3] Pineapples (ripe pineapples dusted with Li Hing powder [ground dried plum skin]; again, I would have ordered a side of hashbrowns to top this off); or Breakfast Sandwich (brioche, sage breakfast sausage, egg, Cheddar, potatoes; of course, I would have 86-ed the grounded-up porky bits and substituted avocado instead).

I have had this dish a few times now. There was the perfect amount of coconut crème anglaise on the pancakes this morning. A few times in the past they went a little light with the good stuff. Someone a few tables over had also ordered this dish and asked for more of the coconut crème anglaise, which they brought out with no problem; I wish I had thought to ask for more my last few visits.

I was warned by the waiter-server guy that they no longer had Plantation Potatoes (which were made with celery slices, red bell peppers, and white onions) as a side dish, but are offering hashbrowns now. I liked the new hashbrowns, but their old Plantation Potatoes were way much better.

Bicycle Coffee co is always a great cuppa Coffee (or Kope) and I especially like that they deliver all their Coffee (or Kope) via bicycles. 

Knowing that grindz makes their own (exceptionally tasty, too, I might add [well, not "might add", I just did add]) Hawai'ian (spicy tomato) Ketchup as a condimentary supplement, I didn't bother to schlep[4] any of my own hot sauces with me this morning. I am pleased to see that they are now offering bottles of this for sale, too. I ended up using a very good amount on the hashbrowns (see stupid "Smiley-Face" in above photo). I determined that the coconut crème anglaise on the pancakes really didn't need any messing with on my part (even if Moe insists that pancakes are good with ketchup).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: 
Apple Banana Pancakes ~ 6.6 
(coconut crème anglaise by itself ~ 7.6);
Hawai'ian (spicy tomato) Ketchup ~ 6.8; 
Bicycle Coffee co Dark Roast Guatemala ~ 7.2 
(cool delivery concept ~ 8.2)

___________________

1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinaristic pointer of the day, helu hookahi:

The word for "Coffee" in Hawai'ian is "Kope". It is a loanword (and a lone word) of probably Indonesian, Malaysian, or Filipino origin. 

I would also just like to point out that Google Translate is now not only providing translations for Hawai'ian, but also Maori and (finally) Armenian.

Sub-sequential stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinaristic pointers of the day:

The word for "Coffee" in Maori is "Kawhe" (I am not sure of the pronunciation, as they do not have an aural link for Maori on Google Translate) and in Armenian it is "Սուրճ" (pronounced pretty much like it looks).

2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinaristic pointer of the day, helu elua:

The word "puka" means "hole" in Hawai'ian. How this pertains to French toast, I do not know. (Now if they had used the adjective "puka" to describe Hawai'ian doughnuts, I would completely understand, Duncan.)

3. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinaristic pointer of the day, 第三:

"旅行梅 (Li hing mui)" is Chinese for "traveling plum". It is preserved salted plums.

Additionally, as it pertains to Hawai'ian foods (this explanation borrowed from WikipediA):

"Li hing (red powder) is found in Hawai'i. The red powder called li hing powder consists of ground-up plum skin that has previously been pickled in a combination of licorice, sometimes, but not always aspartame, food coloring, salt, and sugar. Li hing powder is sold separately and can be used as a flavoring usually sprinkled on candy and other fruits notably pineapples and apples. In the United States, Li hing mui powder can be found in Hawai'i, where local children like to put li hing powder on sour gummy bears, sour gummy worms, sour watermelon candy, sour patch kids, shave ice, sour apple candy, rock candy, popcorn, and arare (also known as kakimochi and mochi crunch)."

4. Sorry, as much as I looked for it, there does not seem to be a current Yinglish-to-Hawai'ian aid on Google Translate. Let's just say "schlep" in Hawai'ian would be "schlep, bra'".

grindz

(Sorry, there is no accompanying photo of grindz this morning. It seems that someone forgot to pack a camera this morning. I will not point any fingers or name any names.)

http://www.grindzrestaurant.com/


Place: grindz
Location: 832 Clement Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues)
Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday & Sunday at 9:00am
Meal: The Big Island ~ 2 eggs, 2 apple banana pancakes, Plantation Potatoes, & choice of: Portuguese sausage, SPAM®, Kalua pig, or bacon; and a cuppa (and three refillas) Bicycle Coffee co (I have no idea which roast/blend they serve, though; when asked, the Nepali [or Nepalese; take your pick, apparently both are correct] waiter-server guy said that he didn't know)

http://bicyclecoffeeco.com/

(Today's EweToobular juxtaselections should be easily figured out; it's common knowledge that Johnette Napolitano is one of Hawai'i's biggest native sons [or daughters] stars ~ right after Don Ho and Bruddah Iz, of course.

Nah. It's just that September 22nd happens to be Johnette's birthday and I felt like dedicating the song portion of this weekend's 'blog-entries to her music. Of course, "her music" here happens to be a coupla cover songs, but, whatever.)


Continuing along with my end of the season (that would be Regular MLB Season) workout of my Breakfastary Starting Rotation, I headed on over to grindz (see previous 'blog-entry from April 25th, 2015) for breakfast today. 

(Again, sorry, there is no photo of my breakfast this morning. Cut me some slack. I have only been doing this for five years now.)

This was the first time that I had ever ordered The Big Island before. I have had all of their other stupid vegetarian-friendly (or, at least, those that can be made stupid vegetarian-friendly) items from the menu a few times over now. I had my eggs prepared "over medium" this morning. This was a simple enough meal, but I did like that there were plenty of chopped (which they call "crushed") Macadamia nuts on top of the pancakes and coconut Crème Anglaise (as can be seen in the above photo... oh, wait...). 

I asked the Nepali (or Nepalese) waiter-server guy if I could get extra Plantation Potatoes in place of any of the dead, decaying meaty choices and they did supply me with a good amount of them. These were very good again, with lots of chopped celery, (white) onions, and red bell pepper pieces in them (the last visit there they had forgotten these extra ingredients).

As in the past, grindz has on all the tables their own Hawai'ian Spicy Ketchup for condimentary
supplementation. They also have their own bottles of chilli-vinegar, too. Because I have had it in the past and know it to be very tasty, I used a good amount of their homemade (restaurant-made, whatever) Hawai'ian Spicy Ketchup on the Plantation Potatoes. I also supplemented their supplementation with a little (and by "a little" I mean just the amount that would cover the end of a toothpick; this ended up being the perfect amount to add a bit o' heat, but not the uncomfort; and, at this rate, I may be able to finish off this bottle by the year 2525... if man is still alive, of course) of my own One Stop Hot Shop "Son of Smart Arse" Sauce (Thanks a lot, Cindy & Greg! [enter "sarcasm" emoji here] Luckily, no Korean [or Nepali (or Nepalese)] waiter-server guys were injured with this hot sauce this morning.). I also used some of my own Florida Gold Premium Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Kerry! [no "sarcasm" emoji needed here]) on top of both of the eggs. In my opinion, the pancakes didn't really necessitate any supplementary heat. (Sure, I may have forgotten my camera, but I didn't forget to bring any of my own hot sauces with me. A man has got to know his limitations, Detective Callahan.)

While I was sitting there waiting for my breakfast, one of the other waiter-server guys (I am pretty sure he was an actual Hawai'ian [or Hawai'ianese] waiter-server guy) opened up the transom over the front door. This prompted the following dialogue with the Nepali (or Nepalese) waiter-server guy.[1]

Me: How do you say "transom" in Nepali?
Nepali (or Nepalese) waiter-server guy: What is a "transom"?

(Here is where I had to point to it and explain it to him as best as I could in my broken English. Apparently 
the Three Stooges weren't very big in Kathmandu when he was growing up.)

Nepali (or Nepalese) w-sg: Oh. Maybe "djalay". (I have no idea how that might actually appear in Nepali characters/letters.)

I did also ask him how to say "Thank you!" in Nepali, which is "धन्यवाद" and is pronounced much like it looks. I suppose that I should have asked the Nepali waiter-server guy what his name was, but I am sure that it would have been something unpronounceable, anyway.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: The Big Island ~ 6.7; Bicycle Coffee co ~ 7.2


___________________

1. To understand that particular completely à propos o' nuthin' request, see this previous 'blog-entry:

http://breakfastatepiphany.blogspot.com/2010/05/curbside-cafe.html

Baker Street Bistro

"No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose that they are like himself." ~ John Steinbeck, from The Winter of Our Discontent

http://www.bakerstreetbistro.com/


Place: Baker Street Bistro
Location: 2953 Baker Street (between Lombard and Greenwich Streets)
Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday & Sunday at 9:00am
Meal: Pain Perdu (A brunch favorite!) ~ French toast, fresh fruit, strawberry coulis & crème fraîche; a side of homefries; a large glass of orange juice (which had the extra-added bonus of coming with a bendy-straw, which is always fun); and, afterward, a cuppa Peet's Coffee & Tea® Anniversary Blend

http://www.peets.com/

(Because Earth Day 2015 is coming up later this week, I figured who better to sing about 'merica than a Canadianlander.)


In continuing with my early season workout of my Breakfastary Starting Rotation, I went back to Baker Street Bistro (see last 'blog-entry from January 3rd, 2015). Unfortunately, it was way too chilly (no, really) and overcast to sit outside in their sidewalk patio-café area this morning.

What else can I say about cette version ultime de Pain Perdu that I haven't already said many times over? It's simply the best French toast that I have ever tasted… yada, yada, yada…

So, in lieu of any additional, superfluous laudatory remarks, I just figured that I would include the word(s) for "Pain Perdu" in a few other languages. However, this proved to be a bit more challenging than I figured, as you can't just type in (or "computer in" even) "French Toast" on Google Translate and get the correct phrases. The best that I could come up with, though, was only a few different versions: "Eggy Bread" (Great Britainish; I think it is funny how they have all these different words from us Americans ~ someone really oughtta teach them Brits the Queen's English... and so is the King); "Tostada Frances" (Español); as long as I lived in Greece, I don't think that I ever learned how to say it in Greek; and I am pretty sure that in Deutschland they just refer to it as "Gebratene Verdammt Schweinehund Brot", though.

(You can consider those your stupid, useless cunning linguist pointers of the day.)

I did discover a new taste treat this morning, too. I would normally take the fresh mint leaves/sprig that are/is used as a garnish on top of the Pain Perdu and add them to my cuppa Coffee (it's always fun to freak out Chantal or one of the Mexican busboy-waiter guys when they come by to refill my cuppa), but I had skipped any Coffee with breakfast ("Brunch", whatever) and didn't figure mint and orange would go that great together. Instead, I just added them to my pile of homefries; now this actually worked out rather nicely with all of the other dried herbs and spices that were on them.

Fruits du jour: grapes, oranges, apples, pineapple, watermelon, and cantaloupe.

For condimentary supplements, Baker Street Bistro only has the Original Red Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce. I just used some of my own The Wiltshire Chilli Farm Hell Mouth on the potatoes and a skoshi Winter chilli sauce on just one slice of the Pain Perdu ~ consider this a nod to the "sweet and savoury" trend now-a-days ~ and don't knock it until you have tried it (which I doubt anyone will ever be stupid enough to do, even if they had access to any The Wiltshire Chilli Farm hot sauces). This reminded me of that old the Three Stooges routine where Moe has a huge stack of pancakes in front of him and he states emphatically, "If I only had some ketchup!” (and, for the record, I have also tried ketchup on my pancakes in the past; this discovery of hot sauce and maple syrup on my Pain Perdu was actually a much better flavour combination).

I had skipped any Coffee with breakfast ("Brunch", whatever) because I was planning on heading over to the Peet's Coffe & Tea® on Chestnut Street afterward. This is considered their new "flagship" (Hey, that is their actual term for it, not mine.) coffeeshop in the Marina. This place is a lot nicer inside than many places that I usually go to eat breakfast even. I should probably point out that this place offers four different kinds of Coffee daily; in addition to the one I had (which they list as a Dark Roast), there were: Light Roast ~ Colombia Luminosa; Medium Roast ~ Cafe Domingo®; and Decaf ~ House Blend.

(This is a photo of some kinda vertical horticultural thingy inside the joint, high up on the back wall. "You can lead a horticulture, but you can't keep her horizontal."?!)


the Wild Parrots of San Francisco Interlude

I had parked my car over by the Lombard Gate of the Presidio again and saw (well, mostly heard) a large pandemonium of the Wild Parrots of San Francisco ~ at least twenty to thirty of them (and possibly as many as one hundred; it's very hard to tell when they are all making such a raucous caterwauling ~ somewhat a "Symphony of Squawking, in E Minor") in the tall Eucalyptus ("Eucalypti"?) there.

Just remember that breakfast (or "Brunch" ou petit déjeuner) should never be a Pain (whether it be lost or found)…


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Pain Perdu ~ 8.2; Peet's® Anniversary Blend ~ 6.9; the Wild Parrots of San Francisco ~ 8.5

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

"Never let a gift horse in the house." 
~ Leo Rosten

(No official web-site.)


Place: Breakfast at Tiffany's
Location: 2499 San Bruno Avenue (at Thornton Avenue); phonicular contact: (415) 468-8805
Hours: open Monday - Friday at 7:00am; Saturday and Sunday at 8:00am
Meal: Veggie Tater-Tot Skillet ~ kale, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, bells [sic], black olives, avocado, and Jack; with two over-medium eggs laid on top of the pile; and a cuppa America's Best Coffee Roasting Company (and a coupla refillas; they don't specify which roast/blend they serve, though)

http://www.ambestcoffee.com/

(There is really no EweToobular juxtaselection for today's video/songs; at least, I don't think these songs reference either "Tiffany's" or "Breakfast" or even "Audrey Hepburn" in any way. Once again, I just came across this new-ish Swedish singer last weekend while quarrying over on EweToob. I really liked her cover of Lucinda Williams' "Big Red Sun Blues".)


I have been looking forward to checking out the newly reopened Breakfast at Tiffany's (see last 'blog-entry from February 12th, 2012) and I finally got around to eating there. They had closed back in October 2013 and recently reopened under new ownership in November 2014. From what I could see, it looks like the new owners are a Mexican family. The place has been remodeled a bit with new tables, newly painted walls, etc. One noticeable difference is that they now do all the cooking in a back kitchen (which used to be a backroom storage area, I believe) and have removed the diner-grill from behind the counter. Plus, there are no longer any photos or paintings of "the delicate Belgian flower" herself on any of the walls.

The seating is still at a minimum. There are currently ten diner-counter seats, six tables for two, four or five tables for four, and one large table for eight. I was seated right away when I arrived (just a little after 8:00am); however, by 8:30am there was already a small line to get in and people had to do the sign-in sheet waiting list.

I was happy to see that the old menu remained mostly intact (with a few new additions, but generally the same as before) and, more specifically, that they still offer both Hash Browns de la Casa (Cheddar cheese, sour cream) and Hash Browns Stella (green chile, tomatoes, Cheddar and Jack, sour cream); this old dish was a big hit with me in the past and one of the reasons I went back again. They also have a good amount of omelettes from which to choose; both San Bruno Ave (spinach, mushrooms, Jack) and Veggie (kale, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, bells, black olives, avocado, and Jack; which were all of the same ingredients in the Tater-Tot Skillet that I got this morning) appealed to me. They also offer five different versions of Eggs Benedict dishes. It was nice to see that they even kept the "Good Morning, San Francisco" chalk/blackboard with ten additional specials on the wall (it's been moved from over the diner-grill to the back wall by the kitchen now).

This was an absolute HUGE pile o' tater tots (but it came in a bowl, not in a cast iron skillet like I was hoping) and made with lots of fresh "veggies" (I really do hate that nomenclature. How hard is it to just write "vegetables" instead? Do they get charged by the letter?), which is always a plus. My one minor complaint (uno quibblito) is that I really would have liked a bit more kale (there was hardly any noticeable amount of it; I guess you could say that they "went lightly, Holly" with the kale), and it was listed as the first ingredient, after all. Plus, they forgot the black olives completely (which is forgivable, as they probably just use the standard, tasteless canned kind, anyway). It took me a while to figure out that by "bells", they actually meant "bell peppers". I was expecting some kinda tintinnabulation while swallowing. The "bells" were of the red, green, and yellow variety.

For condimentary supplements, Breakfast at Tiffany's has the Standard San Francisco Triumvirate of Hot Sauces: Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (the standard red), Cholula® Hot Sauce Original, and Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce; and I also noticed some Huy Fong Foods, Inc. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. I just used some of my own The Wiltshire Chilli Farm Hell Mouth and Winter chilli sauce on separate halves of the mess (Thanks for both, Cindy & Greg!). (Like the Chipotle from yesterday, I am making a decent dent in the bottle of Winter, too; that is, if one could actually dent a glass bottle without breaking it.)

While this new place lacks the old school "Mom & Pop"-ish charm of the original joint (this is like comparing the latter version of the Three Stooges ~ with Joe Besser or "Curly" Joe DeRita ~ to the classic version ~ with either Shemp Howard or Curly Howard), I am sure that in thirty to forty years loyal customers will be lamenting the closure of this "Mamacita y Papacito" place, too.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Veggie Tater-Tot Skillet ~ 6.5 (this would probably have been a 6.6 with more discernable kalocity to it)

Rigalo Café

You don't necessarily have to call me "Maurice" (and I have absolutely no idea what a "Pompatus of Love" is).

http://rigolocafe.com/

(I have it under good authority that the second song is going to be used as Mitt Romney's victory song if he wins the Presidential Election this year.)


Je suis returné à Rigalo un petit Café amusant[1] (see previous 'blog-entry from May 1st, 2011).  They are located in the Laurel Village strip mall on California Street. I like that they open up pretty early (7:30am every day); however, they don't have "hot breakfasts" available until 8:00am. It's a pretty simple ordering process; you order at the counter and pay first, and then the counter persons/servers will bring the food to you when it is ready.

I was wrong the last time when I said the counter persons/servers wore shirts that resembled the old-style convict uniforms that you see in the Three Stooges shorts, those were vertical stripes. The shirts worn by the staff are actually thick, horizontal, black-and-white stripes, more like you would have seen worn by the stereotypical burglar in the old silent films (just sans any black eye-masks, Tonto). And did those old convicts really need to look slimmer?

Rigalo Café's petit déjeuner menu offers several Oeufs Bénédictines, omelettes or scrambles, and a few French Crusty Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. I went back this morning mainly to check out their version of Pain Perdu ~ thick-sliced organic brioche bread soaked in egg custard and butter griddled, served with sweet fresh berries and fresh whipped cream. I also ordered a side of Herb-Roasted Potatoes and a very decent (good and strong) cuppa Equator Coffee (I am not sure if it was a French Roast or not).

This was a good version of Pain Perdu; however, it was not Baker Street Bistro, not that I was expecting it to be as good. This was served as two thick slices of (what I assume was) fresh-baked brioche bread. The sweet, fresh berries included strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. I liked the fresh whipped cream, too. My one minor complaint was that it was a rather smallish side portion of potatoes, but it was still enough to fill me up with the large serving of Pain Perdu.

Rigalo Café ont seulement pour condimentary supplementation Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (the standard rouge). I remembered this from my last visit (or rather, I reread what I had written last year) and used some of my own CaJohns Fiery Foods Oaxacan Hot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the potatoes.

I hope everyone has a ton of rigolade this weekend… Midnight toking[2] or not!


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Pain Perdu ~ 6.4


[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer du jour:

Do I really need to translate "amusant" from French? Well, it simply means "funny", "entertaining", "humourous", "enjoyable", and one other amusing word that escapes me at the moment.

[2] Now this is très amusant. The Spell-check Nazis at Microsoft® do not seem to recognize this word. You just know that those stoned bastages are sitting around right now and enjoying a little doobage* of their own.

*(And they also pretend to not know this word or its alternate spelling "dubage".)