474 Geary Street (at Taylor)
Phonicular contact: (415) 276-5950
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZqY3hiXJr8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBcDEmNDYW8&feature=related
(Okay this is the best video/music link I could think of to borrow from EweToob without disturbing some readers/listeners that happen to live in Sharow, Ripon, North Yorkshire, England ~ you know who you are without me having to get too specific. You try and find a good song about "delicatessens"[1] or "delis". I prefer the "original" Mott the Hoople version of this "cover" by David Bowie[2], so I included it also. I just couldn't figure out a the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" ~ no relation to Glen, by the way ~ link from Ian Hunter to "delicatessen".)
I must say that I went to David's Delicatessen/Deli & Bistro (the awning says "Delicatessen" and the menus say "Deli & Bistro", take your pick) with just a little apprehension (and a side order of trepidation) this morning as I had read many (many, many, many) horrible reviews of the place on yelp*. Now, normally I don't check out yelp* before going to eat at a place; however, David's does not have a web-site to check out their menu and times, so I was just trying to find out when they open and if there were some decent choices for breakfast for me to decide on. But David's was next in line on my breakfastary trek down Geary Street/Boulevard and I really didn't feel like skipping it due to some (well... many, many, many, many) bad reviews. Plus, you needn't believe everything you read on the Intro-Net, Bertrand[3].
I know I had eaten at David's many years ago for lunch or dinner, probably back when it was still owned by the actual David on the awning. I was wondering just how the place stayed in business if it was as horrid as some of the reviews I had read; then I noticed that the place was full of touristas. It is located smack-dab in the middle of the Theatre District and surrounded by hotels. There are really not that many choices in the neighborhood (especially now that Dottie's True blue café has moved further away from the area and Max's down the block has closed). Just down the counter from me (the main dining area is an oval diner-esque countertop; there are other tables and booths and a separate dining room for overflow, I suppose) there was a group of Israeli tourists, seated two seats from me was a Japanese tourist, and across the counter were two French tourists (one of them actually ordered the "French Toast", I wonder if she was just expecting to get some burned bread). Other than during theatre performances, I doubt that it gets a lot of repeat business from locals.
They actually have a decent enough breakfast menu. I was going to order the Potato Pancakes (and a side of eggs), but wasn't sure if that was going to be enough for me (or too much to eat). Plus, as I was walking in I happened to notice the dessert/pastry display and really wanted to try the Raspberry Macaroon. I had no room for anything after breakfast, but I did make sure to pick up one of the aforementioned macaroons, plus another Chocolate Macaroon (which I am enjoying right now as I write this ~ the secret ingredient is mocha cream added inside) and an Almond Bar (with cherries all through it and bottom-coated with chocolate, too). The Delicatessen Omelette sounded interesting, but my server told me it is made with both pastrami and corned beef. There is (are?) no Eggs Benedict on the menu, which I am not so sure I would have ordered, anyway (see 'blog-entry from February 19th, 2012 for the reference to that joke).
I ended up ordering Cheese & Mushroom Omelette ~ (Do I really need to list the ingredients?) served with hash browns (they have this as two words on the menu; they must be on Microsoft's® payroll), rye bread, Siberian Soldier's bread, egg twist (Challah[4]), Kaiser roll, white, or whole wheat bread; and a large glass of orange juice.
I went with Swiss cheese and rye bread toast as my choices. I really wanted to try the Siberian Soldier's bread (whatever that might be), but my server said that they were out of it; my server described it as a type of dark rye ("marble" rye, perhaps, from Schnitzer's?!). This was not the worst omelette I have ever had (that would be one of my own attempts, of course), it was just a simple omelette ~ not bad, not great ~ it did have lots of Swiss cheese in it, at least. Also on the plus side, the hashbrowns were extra crispy, just like I like them.
David's only offers Tapatío® for condimentary supplements. I came more than prepared this morning (after having to settle for the Tapatío® yesterday) and used a lot of Palo Alto Fire Fighters Pepper Sauce (Thanks agains, Amys!) on the hashbrowns, and to the omelette I added some Sylvia's Restaurant® Kickin' Hot Hot Sauce (for that authentic New Yorkese feel, Sean).
Pay It Forward Weekend (continued):
Once again, I stopped at Peet's Coffee & Tea® on Geary Boulevard on my way downtown, Petula. This morning I just got a shotta espresso; however, I did add a few drops of Cholula® to it (which I had also brought with me). Now this may sound like a very strange thing (Have you read any of my other culinary quirks here?), but it was not something that I had thought up; this is something that one of the baristas/baristos had invented at that particular location ~ adding a few drops of hot sauce to a shot of espresso, and I think they called it a "Scorpion" or something like that ~ it really adds a bit of a bite and a jolt with the coffee. Plus, I got the shot in my favourite "Monkey dancing with Dog" motif[5] cup. For my "Pay It Forward" endeavour, I gave the baristo another fiver and explained again what to do with it.
I am very happy to say that despite all the yelpish warnings, I did not have to suffer through any Bubonic Plate Special or Ptomaine on the House…
Next up on Geary Street: La Scene
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Cheese & Mushroom Omelette ~ 5.5; Peet's® Espresso Scorpion (with Cholula®) ~ 7.0; Chocolate Macaroon ~ 6.7
[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinary pointer of the day, Nummer eins:
"Delicatessen" is a loanword from German. "Delicatessen" is the plural form of "Delicatesse". In German, "Delicatesse" itself was a loanword from the French "délicatesse" meaning "delicacy, fine food". The root word derives from the Latin adjective "delicatus", meaning "giving pleasure, delightful, pleasing".
[2] How many people are aware that David Bowie's real name was David Jones? He had it changed in the 60's after deciding "Davy" or "Davie" Jones was not cutting it (pun completely intended with his new chosen last name) for him and it also caused confusion with the Monkees singer of the same name.
[3] "Even when the experts all agree, they may well be wrong." ~ Bertrand Russell
"If 50,000,000 people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." ~ Bertrand Russell
[4] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinary pointer of the day, מספר 2:
"Challah" or "hallah" simply comes from the Hebrew word
"לחם" meaning "loaf of bread".
[5] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numéro trois:
"Motif" comes from the French word "motif" meaning "dominant idea, theme" (see: motive).
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