The Bistro Restaurant @ Cliff House

Breakfast on Geary, finally Finale

http://www.cliffhouse.com/bistro/lunch.html

(I really wanted to finish up this series with a local version of "On The Street Where You Live", but, try as I might, I still could not find a version of the song on EweToob sung by a true San Franciscan… like Tony Bennett or Frank Sinatra.)


With today's 'blog-entry, I conclude my "Breakfast on Geary" series. While the Bistro Restaurant @ Cliff House (see last 'blog-entry from January 2nd, 2012) is not technically on Geary, if you followed the logical progression of Geary Street/Boulevard westward all the way to Ocean Beach, this is where you would finally end up. Surprisingly, this was only my 15th stop along the way; I was really expecting about twice that amount of places to eat breakfast, or at least into the twenties.

I wouldn't normally walk all the way to the Bistro Restaurant (it's about twenty blocks away), but it was a gorgeous sunny morning and I first walked to Golden Gate Park to catch some of the craziness known as Bay-to-Beer! (see photos below). I figure if 100,000 idiots and weirdos (in all manners of costume, and sometimes none at all) can run 12K on a Sunday morning, I am good for a two mile walk (round trip) for breakfast.

The Bistro Restaurant's breakfastary menu really isn't that extensive and I have already had most of the items a few times over. This morning I once again had Sautéed Vegetable Scramble ~ Scrambled Eggs, Red Peppers, Tomatoes, Scallions, Button Mushrooms, & Melted Goat Cheese; served with roasted potatoes and, of course, Popovers(!). I also had a large glass of orange juice with the meal. On my way to Golden Gate Park, I had stopped at Simple Pleasures Cafe and picked up a decent cuppa coffee to drink while watching the festivities pass me by; so I really didn't need to order another at the restaurant.

http://www.simplepleasurescoffee.com/

This was the same meal I had ordered the last time I was there, so you can re-read that 'blog-entry if you want. Today's fresh fruits were: cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew melon, strawberries, and grapes.

Knowing full well that the Bistro Restaurant just has Tabasco® (the standard red) for condimentary supplements, I came prepared and used a little of my own Oaxacan Hot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the scramble and a little Cholula® (Thanks again, me!) on the potatoes.

As I sat (or was seated) in one of the booths this morning (and not along the window-side overlooking the Pacific), I didn't have a wall of Hollywoodland photos above my table. So, I walked around the corner and took these pictures of local San Francisco Bay Area Sports and Rock-and/or-Roll figures:

(Picture 1, top to bottom)

Art Howe, Oakland AAA's; Greg Norman (okay, he's not a San Franciscan, but I was told he is a friend of the owner's; besides, isn't Australia just a little west of San Francisco?)
Ronnie Lott, San Francisco 49ers; Bill Walsh, San Francisco 49ers
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants; (from the 1961 MLB All-Star Game: back row, left to right) Harmon Killebrew, Minnesota Twins; Jim Gentile, Bal'more Orioles; Norm Cash and Rocky Colavito, Detroit Tigers; (front row) two of the bat-boys for the game

(Picture 2, top to bottom)

Grace Slick; Herb Caen
Carlos Santana (from the 1988 Haight Street Fair?)

As always the food was fine. Heck, they could serve me S.O.S. and as long as I get my helping of Popovers(!), I would never complain and still keep coming back for more.

101st Annual Bay-to-Beer!

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: If you saw this horde of crazies coming at you, would you stand still?

(Of course, the chicken had to wait for over two hours for a break in the traffic to do so… and by then the egg had already beaten her to the other side.)


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Sautéed Vegetable Scramble ~ 6.7; Simple Pleasures Coffee ~ 7.0; Popovers(!) ~ 8.2; Bay-to-Beer! ~ 7.9

The Crepe House

I may be a Crêêp, but I ain't no Wêirdo!

http://www.thecrepehouse.com/

(Sure it's a Radiohead song originally, but I just like Chrissie Hynde better than Thom Yorke... it's so f*cking special this way.)


My breakfastary destination this morning was The Crepe[1] House (and like a lot of local crêperies, they spell "crêpe/crêpes" sans the little hat thingy ~ which, as I have pointed out before, is technically called an "e-circumflex", I just prefer "little hat thingy" better). The Crepe House is a mini-chain crêpe joint in San Francisco; they have three locations throughout the City: Nob Hill, Hayes Valley, and the Mission. I went to the one on Gough Street in Hayes Valley today; I have been here a few times in the past (as well as their Nob Hill spot), but this was my first visit back in a couple of years.

I found out today that they are closing/leasing this specific location. I am not sure if the entire chain is going out of business or just this one shop in Hayes Valley. There is a "FOR LEASE Restaurant" sign on the side of the building. Anyone want to start a new business venture with an existing location?

(June 26th, 2012 Update:
I was in Hayes Valley this afternoon for lunch and stopped by to see if they were still open. They were completely closed and looked like they had been for a few weeks now. They have a sign on the door stating that their other two locations ~ 1755 Polk Street/at Washington Street and 1132 Valencia Street/at 22nd Street ~ are still open for business.)

Tomorrow is the 101st running of San Francisco's very own elite and completely idiotic Bay-to-Beer! (officially known as Bay-to-Breakers, unofficially knows as Bay-to-Buffalo, and alternatively life-styled known as Gay-to-Breakers ~ see previous 'blog-entries from May 15th, 2011 and May 16th, 2010 for more information). I only mention this as it will pass by just a block away from this crêperie, up and over the infamous Hayes Street Hill.

Not only do they have a large and varied selection of savoury crêpes, but they also offer a decent selection of omelettes, Belgian waffles, Huevos Rancheros, and Eggs Benedict/Florentine (for breakfast); sandwiches, pastas, and salads (for lunch/dinner); and dessert crêpes (for anytime). Their ordering procedure is like most crêperies and coffee shops: you order at the counter, pay for the meal first, they give you a number to take back to your table, and then they bring the food out to you when it's done (which makes it very hard to "chêw-and-scrêw" at these places). I chose the Mediterranean ~ Cheddar cheese, onions, tomatoes, black olives, Feta, roasted red peppers, avocado, artichokes (hearts), & pesto sauce; served with rosemary potatoes and baby mixed greens; I also had a cuppa coffee with the meal (and it was pretty decent, just no freebie refills).

I liked it all well enough. It was chock full o' stuff. Pluses: there were lots of avocado, roasted red pepper strips, and most of the other ingredients in it. Minuses: the artichoke hearts were the marinated kind ~ I feel this would have been better with the brined style; and the black olives were just the standard sliced, canned variety ~ as always, this would have been so much better with real Kalamata olives. Now this was a decent enough crêpe (and I never even attempt to make pancakes, let alone crêpes); however, my main minor quibble here (une quibble mineure ici) was the amount (or lack thereof) of Feta inside; they were pretty stingy with this one ingredient, and it is one of my favourites.

The rosemary potatoes were excellent, Mr. Parsleysagethyme ~ nice and crispy/crunchy slices. I skipped the stupid "baby mixed greens", baby. I can make that myself ~ open up a bag of pre-washed, mixed lettuces/greens, put on plate… et violins! A fresh-made salad! Big deal.

The Crepe House only has condimentary supplementation of Tabasco®, two flavours: the standard red and green Jalapeño. So I used a little of my own Cherry Republic® KaBOB's Kick'en Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy!) on the potatoes and a little Big Papi En Fuego Hot Sauce ~ Original Medium (Thanks, Kerry! That now kills that bottle, too; the remaining two bottles of Off The Wall Triple Hot and Grand Slam XXXtra Hot! will last me a few years more, I am sure.) on the crêpe.

The Crepe House has an interesting collection of teapots over the counter and along the back wall. (Greg, don't worry, Cindy's collection outnumbers theirs by twofold at least.)

Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Mediterranean Crêpe ~ 6.4[2]


[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-epicurean pointer of the day, numéro un:
 
The French word "crêpe/crêpes" comes from Old French "crespe", which comes from Latin "crispa", the feminine of "crispus", meaning "curled, uneven, wrinkled".
 
As best as I can discern, this is the same word root used for the fabric made of silk, cotton, or other fiber. It is also the same word root for "crepe paper". (You can consider that an extra-added, at no charge, stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-haberdasherial pointer of the day.) 
 
However, the anglicized spelling of this word is just pure "crape".
 
[2] Now I am not being hypercritical (or hypocritical… or even Harpocritical) with my GBS Rating of today's meal. 6.4 is actually a very decent score.
 
Here is a quick GBS refresher:
 
6.5-7.0, worth a return trip ~ the equivalent in terms of females:  Marisa Tomei and Lindsay Lohan (back before she went crack-head, bat-shit crazy, of course);
7.1-7.5, definitely worth at least a few more return trips ~ think: Salma Hayek, Scarlett Johansson, and Natalie Portman;
7.6-8.5, please invite me along ~ think: Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, and Marilyn Monroe;
8.6-10.0, say "Hi!" to Saint Peter for me, 'cause you must be dead and in Heaven
 
It is all highly scientific, of course.

Lefty O’Doul’s Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge

Breakfast on Geary, Part 14

http://www.leftyodouls.biz/

(The first two EweToob video links should be self-explanatory from the title; the last one is just in honor of Mother's Day ~ sung by a mother and daughter duet even.

I am including two versions of the same song, as the Willie and Merle version is the most famous one and kind of a fun mini-movie; but Emmylou actually recorded her version before these two old geezers, and any chance to highlight a young, long-haired, still-brunette Emmylou is fine by me. Stupid, useless Cliff Clavin "little-known-fact" pointer of the day: that is Townes Van Zandt, the writer of the song, in the Willie and Merle video; he has two cameos, as one of the Federales and also as the guitar player in the diner.

"Happy Mother's Day!" to those of you who are. The rest of you can have a "Happy Pancho & Lefty Day!" for all I care.)


In extending my "Breakfast on Geary" series a little bit longer, I backtracked to the beginning of Geary Street and went back to Lefty O'Doul's Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge (and alternately: & Piano Bar) (see last 'blog-entry from April 18th, 2010). Lefty O'Doul's is the first real place that you come to along Geary Street/Boulevard that serves breakfast (not counting The Cheesecake Factory® that is at the top of Macy's® in the previous block, across the street from Union Square; 1) The Cheesecake Factory only opens at 10:00am or 11:00am, and 2) they "do Brunch"). This is a nice olde-timey Hofbrauhaus kinda place; the walls are festooned with lots of old Baseball photos and memorabilia (as well as several photos of Marilyn Monroe, one of her husbands was a Baseball player I think).

Francis Joseph "Lefty"[1] O'Doul was the original "kid from San Francisco" that made it big in Major League Baseball. Lefty was not only born in San Francisco, but he also died there; unlike some skinny, young local Italiano kid named Giuseppe DiMaggio, who was actually born in Martinez, CA and died in Hollywood (and the one in Florida, at that). (For those Boston Red Sox fans out there, "Joe" was Dom's less talented older brother; I have heard that he also may have played MLB for a while, these rumours can not be substantiated by any of my findings, though. Coincidentally, this "Joe" kid played for the San Francisco Seals when Lefty was the Manager of that team; so we know where "Joe" stole all of his talent from.)

Lefty had a decent enough MLB career. He started out as a Relief Pitcher for some team in New York City (possibly Minor League), known as the Y*nkees, but was traded to a real MLB team, the Red Sox, in 1923. After developing a sore arm, Lefty was converted to an Outfielder where he had much better success as a hitter; batting as high as .398 in 1929 (1st in the National League) and .368 in 1932 (again 1st in NL). Not only did he play for the Red Sox and the Phillies, he is one of the few players to have played for the New York Giants, da bums from Brooklyn, and that other team from the Bronx. In honour of which, I wore my New York Giants cap and a pair of Boston Red Sox socks especially for the occasion this morning.

Lefty still holds the #3 spot (tied with Bill Terry) in MLB for number of Hits in one Season with 254 Hits (and is only behind George Sisler at #2 with 257 Hits, and some kid from Japan at #1 with 262 Hits). For some reason, Lefty is not in the MLB Hall of Fame; however, he is a member of the Japanese Hall of Fame. (But what do the Japanese really know about Baseball? They know less about Baseball than they do tea or rice.)

Lefty has the distinction of having a bridge named after him in San Francisco: the Lefty O'Doul Bridge. This is in keeping with honouring other Baseball figures: Willie Mays Plaza; (Willie) McCovey Cove (which passes under the Lefty O'Doul Bridge); and, of course, the Barry Bonds Federal Courtroom…

Now back to the breakfastary portion of this 'blog (it's supposed to be a 'blog about breakfasts, after all). Lefty O'Doul's offers a pretty basic breakfast menu. I was leaning towards the Apple Flapjacks (traditional flapjacks topped with apple chutney and a single side of apple-maple sausage); but I would have had to get it without the dead, decaying porky product, and probably have ordered a side of the home style potatoes. They also have on the menu a Plain Omelette. (What the heck is a “Plain Omelette”? Isn't that just scrambled eggs?) I ended up ordering the Spanish Omelette, served with home style potatoes and toast (I went with sourdough, another San Francisco original).

The omelette was really nothing much special (all the ingredients were piled on top, not inside of a "Plain Omelette" apparently); but none of that really matters, as how often can you have breakfast with a little (Baseball) history.

After ordering my cuppa, and already drinking some of it, I happened to notice a sign by the bar that stated: "We Proudly Brew St*rbucks Coffee" ~ which is not really all that laudable, as I am sure the motto of 1930's Deutschland was "We are proud to be members of Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei!" (Yes, I did just compare St*rbucks to Nazi Germany… and, for that, I really must apologize to any surviving members of the Nazi Party. [Would you R.S.V.P. an invite to that party? And what kinda wine would you bring? Definitely not Manischewitz®.]) Of course, if I had seen the sign before ordering, I would just have stuck with a glass of orange juice instead. It's okay, though, I have been subjected to this Devil brew in the past and have lived to tell about it (nothing a little mouth-wash of Holy Water can't fix).

Lefty O'Doul's has as condimentary supplements Miranda's Hot Sauce, two flavours: Jalapeño Verde and Garlic Rojo. These hot sauces weren't too bad; the Verde added some spice/flavour to the Spanish sauce and the Rojo went well with the potatoes; I also used a little of my own Big Papi En Fuego Hot Sauce ~ Original Medium (Thanks, Kerry!) on the potatoes (as a Red Sox complementary thing).

I wonder if Lefty ever had a teammate named "Pancho"…


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Spanish Omelette ~ 5.8; Lefty O'Doul Career BA ~ .349 (which happens to be the highest average for any player eligible for the MLB HoF and not enshrined)


[1] Strangely enough, "Lefty" both hit and threw right-handed*. He was given the nickname "Lefty" as a joke due to his heritage. It was a well-known fact that his actual family name was Odulovsky and his family had anglicized it when they first moved from Russia so that they would not be considered part of the Red fanaticism of the time.

*(And if you buy that one, I have the deed to another small bridge in San Francisco that I would be more than glad to sell you.)

Q Restaurant and Wine Bar

http://www.qrestaurant.com/

(I couldn't think of any other "Q"ute EweToob music links. This will have to do for an 80's nostalgia trip.)


I went back to Q Restaurant and Wine Bar (see last 'blog-entry from January 21, 2012), which is in my Starting Rotation of breakfast places (and I am just happy to state that my Line-up is doing much better than the Boston Red Sox so far this season). I sat at the table with the large spider tableau once again. Above me there was this cool light made from a food grater (I have no idea how that stupid sports shout-out got in the background, though).

Q has plenty of good things to choose on their standard "Brunch" menu and they have several other items on a separate "Brunch Specials" menu, which changes weekly/seasonally. I was thinking about trying Susio's Rico Suave French Toast (Cream Cheese and Strawberry Stuffed French White Baguette with Strawberry Compote and Caramelized Walnuts) or Zucchinni[1] Vegetable Cake Benedict (which is brand new to their menu; this sounded pretty similar to the one that Dottie's True blue café offers, except they serve this with a standard Hollandaise sauce not a spicy Marinara sauce). I opted for Horacio's Muy Deliciouso[2] Chilaquiles ~ Tortilla Chips Baked with Tomatillo Salsa and Sharp Cheddar, Topped with Scrambled Eggs and Served with Black Beans, Salsa Fresca and Sour Cream. I also had a large glass of orange juice with the meal. As I had skipped coffee with breakfast this morning, I brewed up a nice cuppa Bettys Colombian Rio Magdalena and am enjoying it while typing this out.

This is not quite as good as Chava's or SanJalisco®, but it was a pretty decent version of the dish, too. Black beans are always a good side. Now I have discussed what chilaquiles are here a few times and don't really feel like having to go into detail again, so I am "borrowing" some information from our friendly friends at Wikipedia (please note, they already have a cunning linguist pointer about the word "chilaquiles", so I don‘t have to do that even):

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

Q has several options for condimentary supplementation; they had Tapatío® on most of the tables today, but I know they have a few others available, too. I used a little of my own One Stop Hot Shop "Son of Smart Arse" Sauce (Thanks! Cindy! This is the one that almost wiped out the entire staff at Eddie's Cafe on my last visit there; see 'blog-entry from January 7th, 2012.), and by a "little" I mean just three toothpick drops at that; it was more than enough to add a bit o' heat to the dish. Actually, the chilaquiles really didn't need any extra spice as the tomatillo salsa was pretty tasty on its own, but I want to try to use up more of this damnable stuff… at this rate, I should have the bottle emptied by Stardate 41153.7 (Note: that specific Stardate is actually a nod to today's restaurant’s name, Jean Luc).

Once again they brought me a mini Tootsie Roll® with the bill. Always, nice.

Non-breakfastary shameless promotion of an old Air Force buddy's newest book:
(my 'blog, my rules, after all)

As I stated a few weeks back, Jack Dixon has written his second historical novel and it is now published and available in hardcover or paperback (it has been available for a while now as an e-reader, but I can't imagine any sensible person wanting to read anything worthwhile on a computer ~ and that includes this 'blog).

http://networkedblogs.com/xlSj6

Jack and I were stationed together back in the early 80's in Athens, Greece at the 6916th Electronic Security Squadron (Home of the "Prodded Professionals", where everyone gets one free FIAT). Like me, Jack was also a cunning linguist, but he was only an Arabic linguist and never had as much to do back then as I did.

Go out and buy/order/download (well, I suppose if you order or download it, you really don't have to "go out") yourself a copy of Jerusalem Falls today. I think the title refers to a little-known place where water flows over a vertical drop in the course of the Niagra River, not sure why that would be considered an historical novel, though, sounds more like a travelogue to me.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Horacio's Muy Deliciouso Chilaquiles ~ 6.9


[1] Stupid, useless spelling error pointer:
 
They had this mispeld as "zucchinni" on the menu. The correct spelling should be "zucchini".
 
[2] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/spelling error pointer, número uno:
 
The correct spelling of "delicious" in Spanish is "delicioso". The Tori* didn't distract from the actual deliciocity of the dish in any way, though. 
 
*(Miss Spelling)

Joe’s Coffee Shop

Breakfast on Geary, Lucky 13

(No official website)

6134 Geary Blvd

Phonicular contact: (415) 668-9382


Technically, Joe's Coffee Shop (see last 'blog-entry from March 12th, 2011) would be the last stop along Geary Street/Boulevard in my "Breakfast on Geary" series as they are really the last place along Geary Boulevard in the Outer Richmond that does breakfasts; however, I have a few others (revisits/guest visits) still up my sleeve to prolong it a few more weekends. You are also getting a weekend breakfastary three-fer as I have today off from work (due to a vision problem… I just couldn't see myself going to work today).

Joe's Coffee Shop is basically an olde-timey breakfast-lunch diner. There are a few pluses to Joe's Coffee Shop: they open up very early (7:00am) and are just seven blocks from my apartment (even a lazy slob like me can do the fourteen blocks round-trip ~ including the last six blocks all uphill), making them the closest place for breakfast to me; albeit, this is only the second time I have eaten breakfast there, and I have probably only eaten there a half dozen times total in 26 years. I can't speak for their burgers, but the food that I have eaten there in the past has always been pretty good.

There are several things from which to choose on their breakfast menu: French Toast, Pancakes, Waffles, Omelettes, etc. This morning I had the Avocado[1] and Cheese Omelet (with fresh salsa) ~ served with hash browns (they have this as two words on their menu; obviously another local eatery on the Microsoft® payroll) and toast. I also had a large glass of orange juice.

The omelette was very fluffy, not flat like yesterday's version; but I felt there could have been a little more avocado in it, and the cheese was just your plain ol' 'merican cheese (the yellowish-orange type, not the off-white kind). The salsa is a fresh pico de gallo that is served on the side, and it was pretty decent, too. They have two types of breakfastary potatoes, but I forgot to order the homefries this time; the hashbrowns were very good, though, so it was of no matter. I went with sourdough toast as my side choice.

Much like Denny's Café yesterday, Joe's Coffee Shop offers for condimentary supplementation: Tabasco® (red); Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce; and Crystal® Hot Sauce (these seem to be the standard in the Outer Richmond with Asian-owned places). I used some of my own Serious Food… Silly Prices ~ Mango Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy! No really, this stuff is very palatable and won't cause heart palpitations.) on the omelette; and some Serious Food… Silly Prices ~ Sweet Heat Hot Sauce (Thanks also, Cindy! Again, no lawsuits will be filed today.) on the hashbrowns.

As I remembered from my last visit to Joe's Coffee Shop that their "coffee" was really not much to speak of (I suppose just calling it Joe's Shop might be a little confusing to some), so I stopped across the street on my way back home at Café ENCHANTE  (however, I really must point out that it is sans accent aigu on the "enchanté" for some reason; I was even told that the owner is French. Perhaps it is just hard to get the "é" capitalized in print). I had a very decent cuppa La Colombe Torrefaction Pacific Blend coffee (I have no idea what "Torrefaction" means, Ms. Spelling). 

(No official website for Café ENCHANTE, or Café ENCHANTÉ, even)

6157 Geary Boulevard

Phonicular contact: (415) 251-9136

http://www.lacolombe.com/pages/coffees
 

Café ENCHANTE is pretty cool in that they have one of the rooms made up to look like an outdoor street café, with a running fountain and all.

Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Avocado and Cheese Omelette ~ 5.9; La Colombe Torrefaction, Pacific Blend ~ 6.7


[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-horticultural/pseudo-epicurean pointer of the day, número uno:
 
The word "avocado" comes from the Spanish "aguacate" which in turn comes from the Nahuatl word "ahuácatl" (meaning "testicle", a reference to the pear-shape of the fruit). Avocados were known by the Aztecs as "the fertility fruit". The Nahuatl word "ahuácatl" can be compounded with other words, as in "ahuacamoli", meaning "avocado soup or sauce", from which the Spanish word "guacamole" derives.

Denny’s Café

Breakfast on Geary, One Dozen

(No official website)

5530 Geary Blvd

Phonicular contact: (415) 386-3288

(To get the silly reference to today's EweToob video/song selection, you will have to read my 'blog-entry from last Mother's Day, May 8th, 2011. I am very happy to say that no one asked me if I had a "reservation" for "Brunch" this morning.) 


The next stop in my "Breakfast on Geary" series was to Denny's Café (they have the "café" sans accent aigu on their menu and signs, but their cards are avec accent aigu, so I am going with that spelling as I prefer it anyway); they are located between 19th and 20th Avenues along Geary (Boulevard). This is not to be confused with that other Denny's® ("America's diner is always open"… just as long as you are white and have money to spend), as this place will actually cater to minorities and is only open until Midnight every day.

I walked to Denny's again this morning as it is pretty close to where I live. It is interesting to note that between my apartment building and the restaurant (which is only a dozen blocks away) there are nineteen restaurants (not including several bakeries, coffee house, etc.), but there is just one other place that serves breakfast along Geary Boulevard.

Denny's Café is a little Chinese family-owned place (by "little" I mean the size of the restaurant, this is not a racial stereotype against any short Asian-types; though, I am sure in a pick-up Basketball game with any of the staff or customers this morning, I would get me a few good "in-yo-face" rejections). They have probably been in operation much longer than the 26 years that I have lived on Geary. I have eaten dinner there before once or twice, but this was my first breakfastary visit. They actually have several "interesting" (is the best word I can use to describe it) things on their breakfast menu. There were many locals/regulars having breakfasts of soup and noodles and such. I have no idea what a typical Chinese breakfast would entail ("entails" may very well be an ingredient in the soup for all I know), as I have never been closer to the Orient than Saudi Arabia. If I were a bit more adventurous and ate the dead, decaying animal flesh, I would probably have tried one of their breakfast soups just for a change of pace. But as it were, I simply ordered the Vegetable Omelette ~ served with a hashbrown potato triangle, toast, and choice of coffee or tea (I opted for tea for a change).

There really was nothing at all exciting about the omelette; it was made with eggs and had stuff in it, which is better than most of my stupid attempts. The vegetables that were included inside were just green and yellow bell peppers and mushrooms; that was a bit disappointing, but at least it did not include any of the vile weed (which I fully expected at a Chinese restaurant). One nice touch was that the fresh bell peppers were grilled/roasted before adding them into the omelette. The tea was nothing much to write home about, either, but what do the Chinese know about making tea?

For condimentary supplements, Denny's Café had: Tabasco® (standard red); Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce; and some kinda homemade red pepper looking one (which I probably should have given a try). Instead I went with some of my own BIG PAPI En Fuego Hot Sauce ~ Original Mild (Thanks, Kerry!) on the hashbrowns; and just a little 'Smart Arse' Extreme Chilli Sauce (Thanks, Cindy! Your intentions were good.) on the omelette (and I truly mean "just a little"; I brought a toothpick with me this time and used exactly ten drops only on the omelette; I probably could have used a bit more, but there was no way I was going to risk pouring too much of this nookular junk on my meal just in case).

On my way home, I had to pass by John Campbell's Irish Bakery, and was still a bit peckish (esurient… a wee bit 'ungry-like). Now this place makes some very good Irish baked goods, and they make one of the best versions of scones that I have ever had. Their Irish Cream Scones are fantastic; they are made with Bailey's® and are always moist, not hard as a rock like some places make. Unfortunately, they only make these on Saturdays, so I had to "settle" for one of their raisin scones and one of their blueberry scones. I am enjoying the raisin scone right now while typing out this entry, with a decent cuppa Bettys Colombian Rio Magdalena; I will probably have the blueberry scone later this evening with a cuppa Bettys Earl Grey. I know what you are thinking "Irish pastries with British coffee/tea?", but it's okay, I plan on having U.N.-flavoured Tums® to settle any disputes in my stomach later.

http://www.johncampbells.com/

http://www.bettys.co.uk/Coffee,5.aspx

 
"How do you like your tea? One lump of salt or two?" 
Speaking of teas, while I was eating my breakfast I noticed one of the Chinese guys in another booth pouring salt into his tea. He didn't just add a pinch, he probably poured a good teaspoon or two into the cup. Now, not knowing what Chinese breakfast customs were, I figured he knew exactly what he was doing. Plus, I used to go to a Tibetan restaurant that served their tea with salted butter instead of cream (it's something to try once, but I wouldn't recommend it daily). Well, the guy took one sip out of his cup and I knew right away that he had made a big mistake. I can't believe his friend that was sitting across the table from him didn't try to stop him or warn him while he was doing it. He sheepishly asked the waitress for a new cup and proceeded to use the sugar packets that were on the table to sweeten it correctly.

Happy Single Loser's Day! (All of you "mothers" know exactly who you are.)


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Vegetable Omelette ~ 5.4; John Campbell's Irish Bakery Scones ~ 7.0 (if I had gotten one of their Irish Cream Scones, this would have been a 7.7 or higher); Bettys Colombian Rio Magdalena ~ 6.5

LOU’S CAFE

Breakfast on Geary, #11

http://www.louscafesf.com/

(As I couldn't think of any good "Lou" reference songs, I decided to include a couple from Joyce Cooling instead. It's really such a shame that she is so darn ugly or she might have a bigger appeal. And I would just like to see/hear anyone from North Yorkshire ~ particularly anyone living on Dishforth Road, Sharow, Ripon; without getting too specific ~ complain about these EweToob links.)


To continue my "Breakfast on Geary" series (which is fast coming to the end of the road, literally), I went back to LOU'S CAFE (see last 'blog-entry from June 5th, 2010). LOU'S is in the Outer Richmond, just after where Geary Boulevard crosses Park Presidio (for you out-of-towners, Park Presidio will take you directly to that little orange bridge of which touristas are so very fond). This is really convenient, as now I am in my general neighborhood and can walk there and back for breakfast. However, as close as they are to my apartment, I have really only been there a few times (and mostly for lunch) since they opened in Early 2010.

LOU'S has added a few new breakfast sandwiches to their menu since opening. I was happy to hear that the breakfast sandwiches are available all day long, too. I had their Original Breakfast Sandwich on my first visit there and wanted to try one of their new ones. The Southwestern Omelette Sammie looked pretty tempting, but I decided on the Ultimate Omelette Sammie ~ Bacon, Mushroom, Roasted (red) Peppers, Red Onions Omelette, topped with Cheddar cheese, and Hash Browns (They have this as two words; okay, they must be on Gates' payroll also) with Lou's Special Sauce in a Torpedo Roll. I also had a small cuppa illy® coffee.

http://www.illy.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/home

(Oops! Just like last time I 'blogged about LOU'S CAFE, I ate about half of the sandwich before remembering to get a picture of the stupid thing. I will use the excuse that it is just that good and I couldn't wait.)

I skipped the dead, decaying porky flesh, Glen, and got it in a Ciabatta[1]roll instead of the normal Torpedo Roll. A big plus is that they toast the breads/rolls; now this may seem like a minor point what with a lot of commercial sandwich shops doing the same, but it really does add to the sandwich. I also opted for the additional Jalapeno[2] Spread  ~ this being Cinco de Mayo, I had to celebrate somehow (of particular cunning linguistic note: they have this spelled on the menu as "Jalapeno" without the diacritical tilde "ñ"; no GBS Rating points are ever taken off for mispelingz, thow). They offer some nice add-ons/substitutes; I probably shoulda ordered this with some sliced peperonicini[3] in it.

As with their Original Breakfast Sandwich, this comes with a hashbrown patty included inside the sandwich. Any sandwich with potatoes already in it is jake with me, Mr. Martin! What's not to like? As anyone from Pittsburgh (the real one in Pennsylvania, not the suburb of Oakland, CA; however, it is of interest to note that there is a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA named Oakland) can attest, potatoes in a sandwich are a very good thing:

http://www.giordanobros.com/

http://www.primantibros.com/

Not that any were really needed, but LOU'S CAFE  offers up a selection of condimentary supplementation: Tabasco® (standard red); Crystal® Hot Sauce; and Tapatío®. I had brought along one of my usual suspects, Mr. Söze, Palo Alto Fire Fighters Pepper Sauce (Thanks agains, Amys!), but didn't even break it out this morning. Normally I would have doused that bad boy with this great-tasting hot sauce; it really is a great complement (or compliment: "My, you sure are looking very pretty today, Mrs. Cleaver!") to any sandwich and especially with any potato products. Trust me, just stick with LOU'S own special sauces and you can't go wrong: Lou's Special Sauce is pretty darn tasty on its own, but in conjunction with their Jalapeno Spread it really adds a lot of the right amount of heat and flavour.

I have just one minor etymological complaint. As most of you are aware (well, "most" meaning both of my regular readers), I am not a big fan of cutesy, made-up, newfangled words, so the use of the term "Sammie" instead of "sandwich" kinda bugged me; but as their most excellent condimentary supplementation really adds to the whole breakfastary experience, this can be overlooked this one time.

My usual weekend breakfasts are generally more than just a sandwich, but this ain't your standard, run-of-the-mill, plain ol' Quiznos®- or Subway®-variety Cliff Clavin-esque "Sammie", Mr. Malone. Hmmm, I wonder if Lou is thinking of franchising…


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Ultimate Omelette Sammie ~ 7.0; Lou's Special Sauce and Jalapeno Spread combined ~ 7.0


[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinary pointer of the day, numero uno:
 
"Ciabatta" in Italian simply means "slipper", due to the loaf's flat, elongated shape. Ciabatta bread is the type most generally used in making panini. See also the French word "sabot" (of which "sabotage" comes from; meaning "to clatter in sabots") and the Spanish word "zapata/zapatilla" ~ Viva!

[2] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinary pointer of the day, número dos:

The word "jalapeño" is named after the Mexican town of Xalapa/Jalapa, which comes from Nahuatl "Xalapan", literally "sand by the water", from "xalli" ("sand") + "atl" ("water") + "-pan" ("place").

[3] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinary pointer of the day, numero tre:

The word "peperoncini" comes from Italian; this is the plural form, the singular would be "peperoncino". This is the diminutive of the Italian word "peperone" (plural "peperoni") meaning "cayenne pepper", which is where we get the spicy, dead, decaying porky sausage product name of "pepperoni".

Also of cunning linguistics/travelation note: when ordering a "Pepperoni Pizza" in Germany, be very aware that you will receive a pizza not with any slices of toten, verwesenden Schweine-Fleisch, but a pizza covered with these piquant, little yellow peppers. Thanks go to Doug DePraved (or Dave Fluker or Tony Schloss; I can't remember which of these supposedly cunning linguists found that out the hard way) for that little culinary titbit.

Extra added savoury bonus: peperoncini are usually about 100-500 Scoville Heat Units.