Dottie's TRUE BLUE CAFE

Unfortunately, my meal was not served by Fergie… some guy named guillermo.soy kept asking me if I wanted more coffee, though.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSD4vsh1zDA


As this is an entirely new year (those partial new years really bug me), I figured that my first breakfast out for 2011 had to be at Dottie's TRUE BLUE CAFE*. Dottie's is still located on Jones Street (between Geary and O'Farrell) in the Tenderloin, but don't hold the location against it.

I have been eating at Dottie's for well onto 20 years now and don't think I have ever ordered off their "everyday (printed) menu"; one of these days… maybe. There are some very nice options there, but I usually go with something from their "Specials Board" which always has several tasty and interesting entries from which to choose, and today was no different.




At the diner countertop, my kitschy salt-n-pepper shakers of the day were a pair of cute dolphins (or porpoises) ~ whatever, they were some kinda big fish, George Costanza.




As always, there were several good choices today on the "Specials Board". The Grilled Eggplant, Roasted Red Pepper, Scallion, Kalamata Olive, & Feta Frittata looked good (and is, as I have had this many times in the past; or at least some variation on it). The Balsamic Portobello Mushroom, Spinach, & Provolone Strata also looked good (and is very good; see my post from July 25th, 2010 for a similar dish; Howdy, JT!). However, I sort of figured that this being the New Year, they would be offering their Black-Eyed Peas Cakes on the "Specials Board", and I was correct. It's some kinda tradition to eat black-eyed peas for good luck during the New Year.**

The Black-Eyed Peas Cakes are served with two eggs any style ("over medium" being my style), grilled (fresh baked) corn bread, home fried potatoes, and sour cream and salsa (which is a fresh, home-made pico de gallo). Of all the legume-cakes that they offer, this is probably my favourite version; however, they seem to only offer this one very seldom. I asked Kurt (the owner, chief cook and bottle-washer, etc.) about this and he said he made these specifically for the New Year's. The black bean cakes and lentil cakes that I have had in the past are excellent, too, I just like the black-eyed peas cakes the best. I always explain to people that these bean cakes are a sort of vegetarian sausage patty.




For a bit more extra flavour/spiciness, I went with a little Tabasco® Chipotle sauce on the eggs and some Tabasco® Jalapeño sauce on the home fried potatoes. Their home-made pico de gallo (which is cut up chunky-style, as it should be) really didn't need any additional junk added to it.

As stated in my first post from last year on Dottie's:

"Anyone coming to San Francisco, or even those locals that might read this, do yourself a flavour and go to Dottie's for the real San Francisco breakfast treat (Rice-A-Roni® be damned)."


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Black-Eyed Peas Cakes ~ 7.7; The Black Eyed Peas (the music group, especially Fergie) ~ 7.5


*(Their menu and sign ~ and my souvenir coffee mug ~ all state "Dottie's TRUE BLUE CAFE" with the "cafe" sans accent aigu; however, they have a new business card that shows the "café" avec accent aigu. For now, I am sticking with ye olde spelling, as this was how I first came to know Dottie's. If they ever change their menu and awning sign spelling, then maybe I will, too.)

**(From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-eyed_pea )