… or Café Flore, or Cafe Floré, or Cafe Flore
(it's all very confusing)
http://cafeflore.com/
Café Floré* is over on Market Street right in the heart of the Castro. There is really nothing fancy about this place at all. You order at the back counter, they give you a number to put on your table, and they bring out the meal when ready. You order and pay for your drinks separately at the bar. The main attraction seems to be the good, hearty food and its location along "Main Street Castro"; a place to see and be seen. Another big attraction is having Prima Colazione al Fresco** in their large outdoor patio area (plus there are several additional sidewalk tables, at least 10-15 or so, available outside the fenced area); this was a great thing on such a sunny Sunday Fall morning.
I had the Flóré Bénédíct ~ poached eggs, homemade cornbread, oven-roasted tomatoes, mushroom ragoût, hollandaise sauce, and garlic fried potatoes. The use of of cornbread instead of English muffins in this Benedict was an interesting concept; however, their cornbread was a little on the sweet side and it really didn't work for me. The roasted tomatoes are a nice touch, if not a bit chunky/unwieldy on top of the cornbread and under the poached eggs (I don't know if it would be feasible to slice the tomatoes first, then roast them; probably not). The mushrooms were plentiful and chunky in the ragoût (sorry, Skip) which is a plus in my book***. Most breakfast dishes come with garlic fried potatoes; they were good, but not as good as yesterday's Excellent! home fries with the huge tracts of roasted garlic cloves. Overall, it was a nice breakfast combination.
Because 'tis (almost) the season, I decided to go with their special Eggnog Latte****, with some ground nutmeg, Ms. Whitman (from a shaker only, though, fresh-ground would have been much better; and they did not have any Cardamom to sprinkle on top ~ neither fresh, nor in a shaker ~ I asked). It was okay, but I still prefer plain ol' black coffee. Their coffee selections are all from Peerless® Coffee.
Just like Eats yesterday, they also offer Tabasco® (again the standard red), Tapatío®, and Cholula®. This is not a bad selection, but I had brought some from my own collection just in case. I went with some Trees Can't Dance Tree Fire Sauce (Thanks again, Greg and Cindy!) on top of the hollandaise sauce on the poached eggs and with some Roland® Piri Piri with Lemon (Thanks, me!) on the potatoes.
There was one breakfast choice on their menu called Bear's Breakfast ~ I figure they must be either Cal fans or fans of the Chicago NFL franchise.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Floré Benedict ~ 6.4; Eggnog Latte ~ 6.3
*(I am going with this spelling avec accents aigu at the end of each word just to make it easier and because it's my 'blog. They actually had this spelled three different ways throughout the restaurant and on their website: Café Flore, Cafe Floré, and Cafe Flore. I know this is the Castro and things can sometimes seem ambiguous, but I did ask and didn't get told what the correct spelling should be.)
**(This is simply Italiano for "breakfast in the fresh air/outdoors". It is not one of the goombahs from "Godfather I", "II", or "III".)
***(Unfortunately my book is just a 12-page colouring book, but I do try to stay inside the lines.)
****(Completely random, useless cunning linguist note of the week:
This is the correct spelling of this coffee drink. It is of Italian origin, not French. It is sans accent aigu; it is sometimes incorrectly spelled as Latté or Lattè ~ see last week's comment on hyperforeignism.)
(Sorry, there is no website currently available… huh?!
I asked and they said they are working on one. I don't get it, as both of their older sister restaurants, Burma Superstar and B ★ Star Bar Bar, have decent websites.)
I made another trip over to Eats on Clement Street in the Richmond District (see April 1oth, 2010 entry). They have had some major menu tweaks since I was there last; some good, some bad.
First the bad:
They have axed the Poached Eggs Italian that I had there back in April. Apparently people (read: a buncha idiots) complained that the spicy tomato sauce was too "spicy" ~ ummm, it stated "spicy" right in the description. I'm sorry, if you have a problem with "spicy", order something else; plus, it really wasn't that "spicy" to begin with*. This is really a shame, as it was very good and I especially liked the addition of the broccolini.
They have also nixed the freebie mini-scones at the beginning of the meal. Too bad, as they were also very good.
As for the good:
Please continue reading and pay special attention to the home fries.
Before going to Eats, I stopped at Martha & Bros® Coffee Company a block up the street. Martha & Bros® makes a pretty decent cuppa; much better than St*rbucks, but not as good as Peet's® (this is not just IMHO**, it is a fact, because it's my 'blog). I just had a small cup of their standard "House Blend" and it was very good.
http://www.marthabros.com/
Once again, deciding on which of their breakfasts from which to choose was very difficult. After much deliberation, your Honour, I went with the Garden Scramble ~ corn (fresh and always a very good ingredient), summer squash (I wonder if this will be changed to Winter Squash or Solstice Racket Ball next month), Asparagus*** (Excellent!), mushrooms (I didn't ask if they were "shitake" ~ which, I found out, is apparently an acceptable transliteration, but I still prefer "shiitake"), goat cheese, basil (fresh and chiffonade), and parsley (also fresh and chiffonade). There were lots and lots of asparagus and corn ~ both a very good thing; no chintzy amounts of either here, which is always a plus with me as these are usually a deciding factor when I make a choice.
Now a little about their Excellent! home fries: They are made with red potatoes and mucho, mucho garlico. The garlic**** is roasted whole cloves which are served still in the papery skins, so you can either just push them aside if you don't like garlic (if this is the case, please do not ever invite me to dinner) or peel them and spread the sweet, buttery goodness on the home fries or on your toast. There had to have been at least 10 cloves ~ nice! The below photo really doesn't do it justice, as I had already eaten half the meal before I remembered to take some photos. You can see a little pile of the skins towards the back of the plate and there were still 2-3 large cloves left among the potatoes. I can still taste the sweet roasted garlic now, even hours later… mmmmmm *burp*!
They also offer some nice, blended drinks from their juice bar. I had the Detox ~ Carrot, Apple, Beet (yes, beet), and Ginger. It sounded disgusting, so I knew I would enjoy it. It was actually very good and the apples temper out the carrots and beets, plus there is just a hint of spiciness from the ginger (for which, I hope people won't complain and get it banned, too).
Their hot sauce condiments selection is pretty decent; I had remembered this from my last visit, so I did not bring any from my own collection. They offer Tabasco® (the standard red), Tapatío®, and Cholula® (they just had the plain version today as they were all out of the Cholula® Lime). I went with some of the Cholula® on the home fries only; however, they really didn't need any extra flavouring with all the Excellent! roasted garlic. They also have pepper mills on each table ~ always another good thing, Martha, my dear! And I discovered by accident that cantaloupe with fresh cracked black pepper is a very interesting combination.
Unfortunately, I only noticed after I was done eating that they had a special Fresh Green Grape Mimosa (see the picture above at the top of this entry). I would definitely have liked to try that concoction, too.
I just might have to rethink my Breakfast Rotation in 2011 and add this one in (but who would get DFA'd?); the location is close to me and their breakfast selections are excellent.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Garden Scramble ~ 7.2; Excellent! Home fries ~ 7.5; Detox ~ 6.8; Martha & Bros® Coffee ~ 6.7
*(I know that you're not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, but you try to re-write this to read smoothly: "With which to begin" just sounds too awkward. This always reminds me of the punch line to that old joke: "Where's the liberry at, jerk?!")
**("IMHO" is Intro-Net speak for "I am right and you are wrong, so just STFU." I will let you discern for yourselves what "STFU" means on the World Wild Webster.)
***(Some people complain that "Asparagus makes your pee smell funny." ~ Sorry, Nancy! ~ I don't care; it is still one of my favourite vegetables.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asparagus
As if normal urine smells like Eau de Toilette, anyway.)
****(Just a little edjification on the "stinkin' rose":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic )
Eat this mess around… (sorry, no Shy Tuna on the menu, I checked)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN8hV4AyNss
I revisited Boogalos in the Mission (see April 25th, 2010 entry) this morning. Boogaloos is one of the places in my Starting Rotation of breakfast eateries. There are many great vegetarian breakfasts from which to choose on their menu: e.g. Boogaloo Classic (2 eggs any style, homefries and a biscuit smothered in vegetarian herb-cream gravy, topped with green onions), Polenta-n-eggs (Grilled polenta and salsa ranchero served with 2 eggs any style, black beans, sour cream and cabbage salad), or the "Make It Funky" Scram (2 eggs scrambled with your favorite ingredients from The Kitchen Cupboard: http://www.boogaloossf.com/cupboard.html ). My corner seat provided me with a nice view of an egg-lectic Rooster/Chicken tableau (see below) while waiting for my meal and listening to a little Patsy Cline playing on the house stereo ("Crazy", etc.).
http://www.boogaloossf.com/
I had one of my favourites of theirs, Desayuno Típico (which is Spanish for "Typical Breakfast"; however, there really is nothing típico about this meal unless you happen to be un habanero*) ~ 2 eggs any style (my style: over-medium), grilled plantain cake topped with tamarind** sour cream, served with black beans and corn tortillas. The plantain cakes are excellent all by themselves, but served with the tamarind sour cream this is really a special meal; and all go very well paired with los frijoles negros.
I also ordered a side o' homefries (just because there was not enough carbohydrates already coming) and a large grapefruit juice. (Don't let the picture fool you, their side order of homefries is usually HUGE; I just asked them to go light on me, as I knew it would be way too much food as it was.) The house coffee is Peerless Coffee & Tea®; it is usually very good and strong, and tastes great all by itself, but I added some maple syrup to it (this has become a tradición of mine whenever I eat there). It's just nice that they have maple syrup on the tables; as it was already there, I used some.
There is only Tapatío® available on the tables, so I went with some of my own Cholula® on the homefries and some Chipotle-Habanero salsa on the eggs.
Gracias por el desayuno delicioso, Fidel!
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Desayuno Típico ~ 7.4; Homefries ~ 6.9; Peerless Coffee ~ 6.5
*(Stupid cunning linguist pointer of the day:
"Habanero/habanera" is the Spanish word for a person from the capital city of Cuba. The fiery hot chili pepper gets its name from the same root word; it was actually native to the Yucatan peninsula, but was traded through Habana/Havana apparently and the name stuck ~ kinda like "tangerine" through Tangier, Morocco.
I did find something out today ~ Isn't the Intro-Net wonderful? You look for things and can find them. ~ the correct spelling is "habanero", not "habañero" as I had always thought. This is due to something called hyperforeignism. From Wikipedia: "A hyperforeignism is a special type of hypercorrection resulting from an unsuccessful attempt to apply the rules of a foreign language to a loan word (for example, the application of the rules to a word borrowed from another), or occasionally to a native English word believed to be a loan word. The result may be 'absurd,' reflecting 'neither the… rules of English nor those of the language from which the word in question comes.' For example, habanero is sometimes spelled with a tilde (habañero), which is incorrect in the Spanish from which the word comes, and this error is perhaps influenced by the correct spelling of another Spanish-named pepper, jalapeño."
Since finding this out, I will be careful to spell it correctly in the future… but there is ño way I am goiñg back añd correctiñg it iñ all my past posts here, that would just be ñuts.)
**(For those of you unfamiliar with tamarinds, it is an ugly little fruit, but very tasty:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarind )
West Portal edition
As best as I can tell, there are two restaurants in San Francisco named Cafe Rain Tree (and both are sans accent aigu); they may or may not be related. There is one on Irving Street in the Sunset and one over on West Portal in the West Portal area. I went to the one in West Portal*/on West Portal; this happens to be just down the street from The Village Grill (see October 30th, 2010 entry) where I went last weekend.
(No website available. Really? What is this the 2000's?)
This is a simple enough local neighborhood joint; nothing really fancy about it or the menu. They offer several decent enough breakfast choices (no "Fritattas", though) and a few weekend specials. I went with one off their specials board: Mediterranean Scramble ~ Artichoke hearts, olives, onions (both white and green), tomatoes, and Feta cheese. Most egg breakfast dishes come with home fries and a choice of toast; my choice was English muffins. Pluses: there was lots of Feta and artichoke hearts, which is always a good thing. Minuses: the artichoke hearts were just the marinated variety and the olives were your standard canned/sliced black ones. If I were making this scramble (fat chance), I would have used whole, pitted Kalamata olives and brined artichoke hearts instead; even sliced green olives would have been a better addition.
They only have bottles of Crystal® Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce on the tables, so I went with some Sylvia's Restaurant® Kickin' Hot ~ Hot Sauce on the home fries (actually I went with a lot of this today; "Thanks again, Sean!").
http://www.sylviassoulfood.com/KickingHotSauce.html
I skipped a cuppa coffee with breakfast as I knew the Peet's® down the street would have much better quality coffee. I had their Holiday Blend; Madonna (sorry, not you Ms. née Marcone, the other one) would be proud of this blend ~ very tasty and robusty (much like Nick Terlizzi's mom, I must say; "Hi, Madonna!").
http://www.peetscoffee.com/freshtruth/index.php?cm_re=topnav-_-link1-_-text&cm_sp=freshtruth-_-topnav-_-text
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qJaq3jv2P0
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Mediterranean Scramble ~ 6.3; Peet's® Holiday Blend ~ 7.o
*(A brief history of West Portal if anyone is interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Portal,_San_Francisco )
naWHAT'Sme?
http://www.toasteatery.com/
There are two Noe Valley* locations for TOAST Eatery. I went to their second restaurant, the one located in "downtown Noe Valley" on 24th Street in the spot vacated by the old Herb's Fine Foods. It maintains a 50's-style Diner look to it and there are several "cartoon literalism" murals/artwork by Sirron Norris on the walls.
http://www.sirronnorris.com/
I had the Sicilian Omelet (not Frittata, nor Fritatta even) ~ Spinach, Sun Dried & Fresh Tomato, Pesto, Onion, & Feta. The choices of toast are: White, Wheat, Rye, Sourdough, or English Muffin; I went with plain ol' wheat bread toast. The side of hash browns were nice and crispy. The omelette had lots of spinach (fresh again), lots of Feta (I asked my server and she told me that she was pretty sure it was a local California Feta; it tasted very good and I assumed it was Greek), and lots of sun-dried tomatoes (I have found that places usually are a bit chintzy on both Feta and sun-dried tomatoes). The flavour combination was very nice and really didn’t even need the extra ingredient of onions, in my opinion.
They serve a good, strong cuppa coffee, Mr. Espresso® (a long-standing Bay Area roastery); it was served with a fun little milk pitcher/creamer (but good coffee should always be drank black, thank you very much). TOAST is right next door to a St*rbucks, and this coffee was much better than that corporate brand.
http://mrespresso.com/
They have the ubiquitous standard red Tabasco® only on the tables; so I used some of my own Trees Can't Dance Tree Fire Sauce ("Thanks again, Greg & Cindy!") on the hash browns.
As today is Hallowe'en, the cute female server, Colleen, (Sorry, Diane!) was dressed as one of the "Three Blind Mice"; she said two other co-workers were coming as the rest of the mousy trio. They still hadn't shown up by the time I finished eating. Guess the couldn't "see their way to coming to work"!
I like the simplicity of the restaurant's name, and much like Eats (see April 10th, 2010 entry), the food is much better than the basic name would imply. However, my only minor complaint is, with an eatery named "TOAST", I would have expected many more and some interesting different types of bread (Rosemary, Potato, or any others). But what's in a name?
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Siciliana Omelet ~ 7.0; Mr. Espresso coffee ~ 6.9
*(Just to let everyone know, Noe Valley is not named after Rudy. I looked it up. The neighborhood is actually named after José de Jesús Noé, the last alcade, or mayor, of Yerba Buena ~ present day San Francisco.)
http://thevillagegrillsf.com/
The Village Grill is over on West Portal in the West Portal area (go figure). West Portal has that sleepy village atmosphere, so this is a perfect little breakfast place for the neighborhood. They have a good selection of breakfast dishes and offer several weekend specials, too. I sat at the counter and had a great view of their extensive plate collection.
I had to go with the San Franciscan omelette today ~ Spinach, Mushrooms, and Swiss Cheese; and with the choice of sourdough toast ~ in honour of the San Francisco Giants* (your 2010 NL Champs). All egg breakfasts come with either fruit or potatoes ~ never a tough choice for me ~ what am I, some kinda fruititarian? The omelette had lots of fresh spinach (for which, I am happy to state again, it was none of the frozen stuff) and lots and lots of 'shrooms (some kinda wild type ~ sorry, all you fungi-fobes ~ "Hi, Skip!"). Their potato choice was a very good hash browns/home fries mix, made with chunks of onions and green peppers, too.
I skipped the house coffee (I figured their coffee couldn't really be much better than the swill that I make at home and other than being "black and hot" it probably wouldn't have much flavour ~ unlike Beyoncé and Halle Berry, who are both "black and hot" and very tasty, I am sure). So instead, after breakfast, I headed up the street to Peet's® Coffee for a cuppa their daily brew; today it happened to be their Garuda blend. A very nice way to top off the morning.
http://www.peets.com/shop/coffee_detail.asp?id=52&cid=1005
They only have Tabasco® (standard red) on the tables, so I used some Cholula® on the omelette and some chipotle-habañero on the potatoes (I came prepared with three different types today). The guy sitting next to me even borrowed some of the chipotle-habañero to use on his breakfast. He asked me if I had ever tried any HP® brown sauce on breakfast; HP® is a very popular condiment in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland ~ which is very similar to 'merica's version of A.1.® Steak Sauce. I have tried this sauce many times over in Englandia and may have to think about buying a bottle to bring along with me on the weekends as an alternative.
The meal was all very good, I was just a little disappointed that my breakfast wasn't served on a Mona Lisa collection plate or something… they could have at least offered.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: the San Franciscan ~ 6.5; Potatoes ~ 6.9; Peet's® Garuda Blend~ 7.0
*(With Giants fever sweeping the City and all the orange and black decorations around town, it almost feels like Hallowe'en around here.)
... and me
http://www.justforyoucafe.com/
Just For You cafe used to be located on 18th Street (near Connecticut) over on Potrero Hill*, where I used to go there often for breakfast and lunch when I worked only a few blocks downhill. They have been at their present location in Dogpatch** for the past eight years or so now. Like Dottie's TRUE BLUE CAFE, they have a great breakfast (and lunch) selection from which to choose; their main specialties are New Orleans, Mexican, and California classics.
This place could easily be put into my rotation, if not for its being located diametrically opposite (as opposed to diametrically the same?) my apartment in the City; it is about as far away in San Francisco to travel from my neighborhood as possible and not end up in the Bay. It took me about half an hour to drive cross-town to get there this morning, mainly due to the wet road conditions. They have lots of cool old art posters, Rock-and/or-Roll concert posters, movie posters, and travel posters on their walls. It has a very friendly and inviting neighborhood feel to it. There really is no equivalent in the Richmond District, unfortunately.
I had the Frittata (witch eye em gladd two sai wuz speled kerrektlee) of the Decade ~ A slow-pan-fried Italian omelette with zucchini, mushrooms, onion, garlic, spinach & tomato, topped with Cheddar cheese. (Wonder what the Frittata included just last year?!) This had lots of fresh veggies in it and, I am happy to say, especially the spinach was fresh (not frozen) which is always a big plus, Popeye. The only thing I might have done differently (if I ever cooked) would be to substitute the Cheddar cheese with either Fontina or Provolone (autentico formaggi italiani); otherwise, this frittata was superbo, eccellente, magnifico.
All of their egg dishes are served with home fries and choice of fresh baked breads/toast; I went with the cornbread. The home fries were an excellent chunky-style made from red potatoes and were sufficiently crispy and crunchy on the outside ~ nice. The cornbread was a huge corner piece; I ended up eating about half of it only.
I also had a cuppa very nice N’Orleans-style coffee, made with roasted chicory: Community Coffee® ~ The Genuine Flavor of New Orleans™ (which is actually located in Baton Rouge, though).
http://www.communitycoffee.com/
This place, again like Dottie's TRUE BLUE CAFE, offers a selection of many different types of hot sauces: 3 different varieties of Tabasco® (standard Red, Chipotle, and Jalapeño); Cholula®; El Yucateco® ~ XXXTRA HOT SAUCE Salsa Kutbil-lk de HABANERO (rated at 11,600 Scoville units, by the way), Crystal®, and Tapatío®. I had come prepared with some of my own, but was glad to see none were really needed. I ended up going with some of the El Yucateco® on the home fries; unfortunately, I went a little heavy with the hot sauce (hey, it pours pretty fast) and nearly blew my head off (and am still blowing my nose) when eating them. The server was extra nice and asked if I'd like some more potatoes to balance it out; there really was too much food as it was, so I told her no.
They even have mini-pepper grinders on the counter to use; fresh, cracked pepper is always the best.
They also offer Beignets (another N’Orleans tradition) on the menu, three per order, and they are HUGE. I will have to go back another time just to try them (the excellent server even offered me one freebie of those, too. Again, I was way too full as it was… now if I had only skipped eating most of the cornbread).
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Frittata of the Decade ~ 7.5; Community Coffee ~ 6.9
*(Stupid cunning linguist pointer of the day:
"Potrero" is Spanish for "pasture": the name derives from an 1835 land grant to Don Francisco de Haro to graze cattle in the "potrero nuevo" or "new pasture". This would explain the other nickname for the neighborhood "Goat Hill" ~ which, of course, beats "the place where convicted felon ~ multiple counts: including Criminal Conspiracy, Kidnapping, Assault, Robbery, and Using a Deadly Weapon ~ and also guilty of Wrongful Death and Battery charges, Orenthal James Simpson grew up", which is just too long to put on postcards and tends to scare off the touristas.)
**(Even though Dogpatch is one of the oldest existing neighborhoods in San Francisco, it is still a relatively "newish" area for "re"-development and really hasn't been hit by the "gentrification" bug of the late 90's - early 2000's, like Hayes Valley and South Park . It remains mostly a residential and warehouse area. However, since the developments of the UC Mission Bay Campus and AT&T Park ~ home of your 2010 NL Championship San Francisco Giants! ~ just north along 3rd Street, Dogpatch has become a little more popular commercial spot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogpatch,_San_Francisco
Not sure where the name "Dogpatch" comes from, but it sounds cool. Maybe Al Capp was one of the founding fathers of the neighborhood.)
Comfortable Food*
http://www.stacksrestaurant.com/
Stacks'** as the name implies is an old-fashioned, pancake-house style restaurant. However, don't be fooled by the simplicity of the name, as this ain't exactly your mama's IHOP®. Stacks' has three locations in the Bay Area: Burlingame (which I think is the original restaurant), Menlo Park, and San Francisco; as well as two sister locations (separately owned, in Redwood City and Campbell). I went to the one in Hayes Valley this morning. I have been to the one in downtown Burlingame several times, too, as friends of mine used to live nearby ("Hi, Amy, Luke, and Zaria!" ~ see, I said "Hi!" to everyone from "A-Z".) Normally, if you get to the San Francisco restaurant after 9:30am on most weekends, you can expect a line out the door and a wait of at least 30-45 minutes. Today was a little overcast and scared away most of the posers, and I got there very early, so I had no problem getting seated immediately. There were even a few people occupying the outside tables (of which there are about 6-8 on the sidewalk).
There really aren't as many pancake dishes offered on the menu as you would think by the restaurant's moniker. They have a few different types of pancakes, Belgian waffles, and crepes; but they do also offer an entire array of frittatas*** (unfortunately which they have “mispeled” on their menu as "Fritattas"), Eggs Benedict-style dishes, as well as omelettes (which they have on the menu as the completely acceptable alternative spelling of "Omelets"), and some very good "Skillets" (not misspelled as "Skiletts" nor "Skillettes", I was glad to see).
I am not normally a pancakes kind of guy (although I do enjoy the occasional excellent "Lost Bread" now and then ~ see Baker Street Bistro and B ★ Star Bar entries); but I figured, when in Rome, do as the Etruscans do, so I had the Lumberjack Pancakes ~ Blueberries, Bananas, Raisin-Walnut, and Wheat germ. I got the "Short Stack" (2 HUGE pancakes ~ which I could not even finish; their "Full Stack" is 3 pancakes. They also offer a "Single" pancake, which is what I shoulda gotten.) This comes with a cup of blueberry compote/syrup. The pancakes were chock full o' (raisin-wal)nuts, blueberries, and bananas (and wheat germ, too, I suppose).
To me, it just ain't breakfast unless there is some kinda side o' potatoes; so I also ordered their "Potatoes". This was not your standard, chunky Home Fries or shoestring Hash Browns variety; these were more like a sliced/shredded style (perhaps prepared à la mandoline?) ~ with onions in the mix. When I quizzed my server, Francisco, on what you would call the exact style, he agreed with my "sliced/shredded" wording.
I finished the meal off with a cuppa coffee. This turned out to be a very good, strong coffee ~ actually it was a carafe that they leave at your table (which is nice); sorta like an upscale IHOP®, but just with much better coffee and actually at a lower price. Again I pestered… er, queried Francisco as to what kind of coffee they brew. He not only informed me that it was Peerless Coffee & Tea®, but he went back into the kitchen and brought out a bag of the coffee to show me.
http://www.peerlesscoffee.com/
I did find it a little odd that you have to order as an additional item some Brown Family Farm Pure New England Maple Syrup (from Brattleboro, VT) for $1.69/each. It's not really about the money, though; if you can't afford to eat out, don't (but Free Stuff is always the best.) This did not stop me in any way from ordering it. After all, what is more 'merican than Maple syrup and blueberries? Add some pun'kin to the batter and you have the perfect true all-'merican classic breakfast. The Maple syrup came in a cute little 1.35 oz. bottle that was more than enough for my two pancakes and I ended up sharing it with the couple at the next table over (they had some Belgian waffles). I did save the mini-bottle as a cool souvenir.
They only have available on the tables bottles of Tabasco® ~ the standard Red and Jalapeño versions; but Francisco was on the ball (yet again) and brought me out a bottle of The Pepper Plant® Original California Style Hot Pepper Sauce (from Gilroy ~ "the Garlic Capital of the Universe"), which went very well on the "shredded potatoes", Betty.
I don't normally comment here on the service/servers (unless the waitress happens to be very hot); but Francisco was exceptional ~ he went "far above and beyond the call of duty" and answered several of my innocuous questions; he also brought out the additional hot sauce for me upon request and the bag of coffee to show me (it smelled great!). For this, I made sure to "reverse complain" to the Manager, who also turned out to be one of the owners, about the great service provided by Francisco. I generally tip at least 20%, but today I made sure to tip 30% ~ heck the extra 10% only turned out to be around the same price as the 100% Pure New England Maple Syrup, anyway.
I did have one major complaint though (and for which I hope Francisco does not get canned): no one ever informed me of the "Mickey Mouse" pancakes available on the kids menu…
"I'm a Lumberjack and I'm okaaaaaay!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zey8567bcg
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Lumberjack Pancakes ~ 7.0; Potatoes ~ 6.8; Peerless Coffee & Tea ~ 6.7; Service ~ 8.0
*(This is their actual slogan. I would have probably come up with something a lot more corn-bally, like: "Food for People".)
**(Their website and business card state "Stacks"; however, their menu and the Burlingame restaurant's awning/sign state "Stacks'". As I like the idea of it being plural and possessive, I went with this spelling.)
***(Stupid Cunning Linguist pointer of the day: This is the correct Italiano spelling of the word and I am sticking by it. The word comes from the Italiano word "fritto" which is the past participle of "friggere" "to fry" ~ even though it is generally more of a baked dish.)
San Mateo, CA
Don't let the name fool you, Nini's Coffee Shop is not really just a li'l ol' coffee shop, it is a full-service breakfast and lunch joint. Nini's is in San Mateo*, just off Highway 101. For those of you unfamiliar with the Bay Area, San Mateo is located about 10-15 miles south of San Francisco**; San Mateo is better know for the sports alumni from one of its private high schools, Junipero Serrra High School: Lynn Swann (Class of 1970; NFL Hall of Fame), Barry Bonds (Class of 1982; MLB Hall of Fame-bound… possibly), and Tom Brady (Class of 1995; NFL Hall of fame-bound, probably); unfortunately, I could not locate any of the famous female athletes that went there.
The location ~ just a short ride down the freeway from Candlestick Park, home of the Five-Time World Champions San Francisco 49ers ~ makes this place a favourite Sunday morning breakfast spot before the throngs head to the game to tailgate. As the group of seven of us all got there around 10:00am, there was about a half-hour wait due to the small crowd already waiting to eat in time to make Kick-off (however, when they finally seated us at a table, it was one that would have held five people a lot more comfortably; luckily, we all like each other well enough and there was no filching of food off anyone else's plate… well, I think I did notice Zaria steal some from Marc's plate). Today's gladiatorial match was to be the 49ers vs. their cross-Bay rivals, the Oakland Raiders; so there were many fans of both teams waiting to be fed.
I knew I would get there earlier than some of the others, and despite Nini's name, I figured the coffee at Peet's® in Burlingame would be a much better bet. I actually got one of their seasonal frou-frou drinks, Pumpkin Spice Latte; it was pretty good still.
There are many good choices on Nini's breakfast menu, but I went with the Greek Omelette ~ (χωρίς αρνί, ευχαριστώ), Feta, tomatoes, black olives, and spices, sour cream, and chives. This had lots of Feta in it, which is always a major plus; however, the black olives were just the standard sliced, canned variety. This would be a much better omelette with real Καλαμάτα olives, of course, and with the addition of green bell peppers and onions. I do like that they ask if you'd like your side of home fries with green peppers and onions (I did like) or not, so that kind of makes up for the omelette omissions. (My what nice alliterations you have, Allie!)
Ooops! I completely forgot to take a picture of my meal or even our crowded little group (Nobody puts Baby's group in the corner, Johnny!)… sorry, guys. (Hi, Luke, Zaria, Steve, and David!) Plus, I forgot to poll the group for their input; but, judging from all the empty plates, everyone seemed to enjoy their meals as much as I did.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Greek Omelette ~ 6.5; Peet's® Pumpkin Spice Latte ~ 6.7
*(The Spanish name for Saint Matthew; however, this is not one of the original Fray Junípero Serra "San" Misiones de California.)
**(Some town in Northern California with "Trolley Cars" and lots of hills, I think it is known to the locals as "Frisco". This was one of the original Fray Junípero Serra "San" Misiones de California.)
Soul Food Restaurant (just not a Seoul* Food Restaurant)
"Onions on your sneakers!"**
Eddie's Cafe (sans accent aigu, s'il vous plaît) is over in the Western Addition on Divisadero, just a block away from historic Alamo Square (anyone not from San Francisco, that is the "Full House" park ~ the one with "the Painted Ladies"). This little place is a really nice family/neighborhood-friendly joint; it has a very local place feel to it and there were a few families with li'l'uns dining there this morning. It has a great old-style diner counter in addition to vinyl booths for the patrons to eat at.
Over the counter and in a cupboard at the end of the counter, there is a very cool collection of coffee mugs. The best thing is that they are actually used to serve the customers (the guy sitting next to me got a Batman one, another guy down the counter was stuck with a San Diego Chargers mug, etc.), not just to look at. I asked the owner(?)/waitress where all the mugs came from and she told me that someone gave them one as a gift once and now it has blossomed into a collection of well over 100 mugs of all sizes and types.
Their menu is really nothing special, just a pretty basic diner-ish menu. The only "Soul food" that I really noticed on the menu was "grits" and some "greens". No big deal, as I was there for breakfast anyway. I had the Vegetable Omelett (sic) ~ three eggs with hash browns or grits/toast or homemade biscuits & jelly; and I had them add some Swiss cheese to it. It was a simple enough "omelett" made with tomatoes, green bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. I went with hash browns and biscuits for my choices. I also had a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice (which may or may not have been "fresh squeezed" by Odwalla®, which sounds Korean enough for me.)
They only have Crystal® out on the tables, but when I asked if they had any others, they brought out both Tabasco® and Tapatío® for me. I had come prepared with a few from my own "collection" and used a little Trees Can't Dance Tree Fire Sauce (thanks again, "Greg" and Cindy) on the hash browns. I was actually pretty surprised that they did not even have any gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), though.
The food wasn't really the best I have ever had, nor was it the worst; it was just a very nice overall breakfast and friendly experience. I will be going back mainly for the friendly atmosphere and to bring a mug to add to their collection; I just need to remember to try and get a fun coffee mug from Englandia when I am over there on my "Christmas Holiday" this year ~ I'm thinking a Bettys or one from Liverpool would be neat.
And to top off the morning, I found two pennies ~ one right outside the restaurant in the gutter while I was taking the photos, and one right next to my car a block away ~ twice as lucky for me!
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Vegetable Omelett ~ 5.9; Coffee Mug Collection ~ 7.5
*(The restaurant is owned and operated by a Korean family. I had to ask why they didn't offer any Korean specialties on the menu. The best that I can figure out is that the restaurant at one time must have been owned by an actual "Eddie" and the current owners just kept the menu as it always was. )
**(See my entry for Art's Café from August 14th, 2010 for the translation to that lame joke.)
