Roxanne Cafe

"You don't have to put on your red… potatoes?"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aro4uBPBC4&feature=related



Roxanne Cafe (sans accent aigu) is located on Powell Street right along the Cable Car* line, uphill a few blocks from Union Square. This place was recommended to me two months ago by the couple sitting next to me at Art's Café (avec accent aigu); I am always up for new/good suggestions and probably would never have ventured here on my own. Roxanne Cafe is a very cozy little place; the clientele seemed like mainly touristas, from the looks of them and due to its location near many downtown hotels. There is no actual known "Roxanne"associated with the place; I asked, Mr. Gordon Sumner.

I had the Omelet ('merican spelling noted; however, I much prefer the Frenchy spelling) Napa ~ Sautéed (avec accent aigu) Apples, Brie, Fresh Cilantro, Mushrooms, and Almonds. All the omelettes come with home fries (red potatoes; hence, the hokey subtitle joke) and a choice of toast (for which, I chose Sourdough). I also had a large apple juice (to complement the omelette) and a cuppa coffee.



Now, I know what you're thinking (and you all should be ashamed of yourselves!), "Fruit in an omelette, Brian?" Well, technically, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and eggplant are all fruits, and go very well in many omelettes. The combination of ingredients in this particular omelette all seemed to work well: Brie and apples (or pears) always go well together; they used "real" mushrooms, not the canned or plain ol' boring button variety (Me: "What kinda mushrooms do you use in the omelette?", Waitress: "Wild mushrooms.", Me: "Oh, good, I really hate having to eat those domesticated, tame ones."); and the almonds were toasted and slivered. The only thing I probably would change (if I could ever learn how to make a proper omelette) is to substitute the fresh cilantro for Herbes de Provence; this would have probably paired (or peared?) better than the cilantro with the rest of the ingredients. (The standard mixture of Herbes de Provence typically contains savory, fennel, basil, and thyme flowers and other herbs.)

I saw this little fresco of "not Herbes de Provence" along their bar counter:



Looks like "Thyme" was a little late… or early… as I have always heard "Thyme waits for no one".

They do have many other good breakfast choices, but this one seemed like the most bizarre, and I always like to go with the Mae West version ("When choosing between two evils, I always like to choose the one I haven't tried before."). This fruity omelette was so much better than Seal Rock Inn's Sunrise Omelette ~ bananas (and raisins) do not belong in a morning eggy dish… unless Rum, butter, (and, apparently, azuki beans and mascarpone now) and French toast are included of course.

They only have the plain ol'/standard red Tabasco® available. I came prepared with both Sylvia's Restaurant™ Kickin' Hot ~ Hot Sauce (Thanks again, Sean!) and Trees Can't Dance ~ Belizean Habañero Sauce (Thanks again, "Greg" and "Cindy"). The Sylvia's was put to good use on the red potatoes and Trees Can't Dance on the omelette. I figured the fruitiness of the habañero sauce would go well with the rest of the ingredients (and add just a touch o' heat); I was right.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Napa Omelet ~ 7.0; "Frisco Trolley Cars" ~ 8.5


*(There are two very important pieces of information that I always impart to any visitor of San Francisco:

1) Those little transportation thingys that everyone waits hours in line for a one-way trip up and down the hills of San Francisco are called Cable Cars, not "Trolley Cars".

2) It is San Francisco, never-ever "Frisco". San Francisco can also be called "the City" by locals, as this is an accepted nickname. However, I never understood how someone from either Oakland or San Jose ~ a much larger "city" itself now for many years ~ would refer to San Francisco as "the City", too.

I learned these little pointers almost immediately while living here.

So if someone ever asks you where you can catch a ride on the "Frisco Trolley Cars", you tell them to go to Utah or Pennsylvania, or to seek out Jack Wagner.)