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.