http://www.tangerinesf.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ_JAgHxR14
(Today's EweToob selection brought to you by the colour tangerine. For some reason, it won't let me link the actual video here as it has done for the past few weeks. What do you want for nuthin'? Rubber biscuits?)
I went back to Tangerine (see last 'blog-entry from January 29th, 2012) this morning for breakfast (and this time it was my planned destination, Eric). They are located on the corner of 16th and Sanchez[1] Streets in the Castro. I ate al fresco this morning (and mostly da solo, as I was the only al stupido enough to sit outside at one of the several tables on the sidewalk, as it was still a bit cool and shady yet).
After having their unbelievably good (but completely idiotic sounding) Macaroni & Corn Pancakes the last time I was there, I knew I had to get back there again to try some of their other equally-as-interesting sounding (and idiotic) breakfast dishes. There are several omelettes that I would like to try: e.g. Artichoke & Roasted Pepper Omelet, Shitake[2] & Asparagus Omelet, and Sweet Corn & Sauté Leek Omelet; as well as Coconut Pancakes with Ginger Syrup ~ that has to be good. I specifically went back today to get Zucchini Latke[3] ~ Home-made scallion-potato pancakes with 2 poached eggs, choices of bacon, spinach, or smoked salmon, topped with a spicy hollandaise sauce; served with organic greens (which is just a fancy name for plain ol' salad stuff). I also ordered a side of roasted potatoes (because a main dish made mostly from potatoes is never enough carbohydrates) and a large glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice (but they do not offer tangerine juice, for some reason; I asked).
I can only think of two words to describe this one: "Wow!" and "Wow!" Now this wasn't quite as great as the Macaroni & Corn Pancakes, but it was still great. That is a rather unfair assessment, though; as that is like saying which of the Marx Brothers were the funniest (everyone knows that was Gummo, of course). This was basically a large potato pancake with eggs on top à la Oeufs Benedict. The "spicy hollandaise sauce" really wasn't; or it may have been, but after all of the stupid condimentary supplementation (see below) I added, who could tell. This came with at least a ton of spinach piled on top (okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration; there really was only 1,999 pounds of it on the plate), which is always a good thing with me. It was made with lots of julienned[4] zucchini and shredded potatoes; I can't be sure, but they may also include some kind of noodles in their latke recipe, at least I thought I saw some in there. Like the Macaroni & Corn Pancakes, there is a ring of puréed spinach around the plate again; even more spinach-y goodness still, Elzie.
As for the orange juice, it was actually fresh-squeezed, and not just out of a bottle labeled "fresh-squeezed", as it was still frothy when they brought it to me.
Before heading over to Tangerine, I stopped at Castro Coffee Company and had a cuppa Organic Road Warrior (which they state is the "Dark Roast #2" of the day, Mel). This is only a few blocks away from the restaurant, right on "Main Street" of the Castro (Castro Street, between Market and 18th Streets); just two doors down from the historical Castro Theater. Like Bettys, they also offer a Jamaica Blue Mountain, at $45.00/pound. However, they have an even more expensive coffee, Kopi Luak, at $695.00/pound (that is not a typo; but after seeing the price I coulda used a good Type-O transfusion); I think "Kopi Luak" means "You have to be f*ckin' kiddin' me!" in Malay (you can consider that a stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, or not); for $695.00/pound, it's cheaper to fly to Sumatra and just grow your own beans to roast.
http://www.castro-coffee.com/Default.asp
As for condimentary supplementation, Tangerine only offers Tabasco® (just the standard red). I brought a few of my own collection and went with some Palo Alto Fire Fighters Pepper Sauce (Thanks agains, Amys!) on the latke, Oaxacan Hot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the potatoes, and a little Blair's Sudden Death Sauce with Ginseng[5] (Thanks a lot, mom! See, Cindy, you are not the only sadist in your gift-giving.) on the salad (I really just added 2-3 small drops at most, but it was still pretty darn nookular; it didn't make much difference as I wasn't planning on eating all of it, anyway; it was just stupid ol' greens).
Even if I hadn't tried the Macaroni & Corn Pancakes on my first visit, I am sure that I would have come back to try more of their food, anyway, after today's meal.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Zucchini Latke ~ 7.45; Castro Coffee Company, Organic Road Warrior ~ 6.4
[1] Just who was this Sánchez guy you ask, Jonathan?
The street was named for Antonio Sánchez, a one-time commandante of the San Francisco Presidio. His family once owned a 15,000 acre ranch running from today's South San Francisco to Burlingame (for any of you out-of-towners, that is basically from San Francisco southward, past the airport, and then some).
But, I bet he never pitched a No-No (and a 28-Batter Game at that) in his life.
[2] This is how they had it (mis)spelled on their menu. I have mentioned before that the correct spelling/transliteration should be "Shiitake". You'd think a place that specifies that they are a "Pacific Rim Restaurant" would get the correct spelling/transliteration for a Japanese word. Luckily, no GBS points are ever taken off for spelling.
[3] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinary pointer of the day, номер один (или номер два), Mr. Gravas:
"Latke" comes from Yiddish, from Russian "латка" meaning "pastry", literally "patch".
Extra added bonus information from our friendly friends at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latke
I wonder what a breakfast with Freddie Blassie would have been like?
(Now it is letting me link an actual video here. Go figger.)
[4] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinary pointer of the day, numéro deux (ou numéro trois):
"Julienne" comes from French, probably in reference to the proper name of Jules, Julien, or Julienne, Mr. Lennon.
[5] As if adding ginseng to this devilry is going to make it any less deadly. "Hey, look, it has ginseng in it. It must be healthy and good for ya!" The two main problems with this hot sauce is that it is an oil-based one and it is made with extract of peppers; so, not only does it have extra added heat, it will stick to your tongue with the oil ~ you can't rinse this stuff off easily with a quick sip/gallon of water. They should rename this evil stuff Blair's Witch Project Sauce.
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