Frena Bakery & Café

Breakfast on Geary (redux) ~ Part 34

https://frenabakery.com/

(I am not sure if this web-site is currently operational. When I tried to open it today, I only got a blank screen. This is the correct web-site as listed on their take-away menus, though.)


Place: Frena Bakery & Café

Location: 5549 Geary Boulevard
(on the corner of 20th Avenue)

Hours: open Sunday at 9:00am, Monday - Friday at 8:00am, and, for some ungodly reason, closed on Saturday 

Meal: Shakshuka Egg in the Basket ~ slow cooked tomatoes, bell peppers and onion; one (Chocolate) Rugelach[1]; and a 12 oz cuppa illy® to drink (I did not think to ask which roast/blend)

https://www.illy.com/en-us/shop/coffee/


Oh, my יהוה!

Frena Bakery & Café opened up its second location in San Francisco just last month (circa January 23rd or so) and, luckily, just down the street (give or take twelve blocks) in my neighborhood. I have never been to their original location on 6th Street (even though it is only about two blocks south of Dottie's True blue café), which is relatively new itself (I think it only opened back in December 2016).

I will have you know that I was fully planning on hating this place (I mean, what kinda bakery worth its [kosher] salt is not open on Saturday and does not open until 9:00am on Sunday?!). And so as not to be labelled as anti-semantics, I do know when to use Jewish, Hebrew, and Israeli in their correct context... you know, as in: "Those d*mn Jews!", "Those d*mn Hebrews!", and "Those d*mn Israelis!". As if my neighborhood needed another bakery in it. Already right across the street is Moscow & Tbilisi Bakery Store; there is also a brand new bagelry set to open only another two blocks away; and House of Bagels has been ensconced in their same location for many, many years now just five blocks away also on Geary Boulevard... (not to mention the number of local Chinese bakeries in the area, too).

Frena Bakery & Café is in the same location that once housed Emma's Coffeehouse (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, October 4th, 2015).[2] With their newly-installed, large clay oven bakery-thing taking up a major portion of the back space now, there is not really such a large sit-down eating area remaining in the front. Currently, there are just four tables for three and one taller island-table with ten stools, which is in the middle of the area in front of the window-cases/ordering counter. I sat at one end of the taller island-table so that people with more in their groups could use the smaller tables if needed. It seemed that the majority of customers were not ordering food to eat there, but "to go", anyway. 

I went with what I ordered this morning 'cause it was one of the more breakfastarily sound items on the menu (well, it included a cooked egg on top, at least). However, the range of kosher baked good items that they offer is pretty vast and very tasty-sounding. They have everything from several varieties of bagels to doughnuts (which they are calling "Sufganiya" ~ apparently an Israeli style [not Jewish style] jelly donut; and offer raspberry jam, blueberry jam, or Bavarian cream filled), challah breads (four versions) to pita breads (also four versions), Sambusaks (pocket pastries) to Burekas (puff pastries), and several other kinds of sweet pastries (not only do they offer your standard Seinfeld-ian Chocolate and Cinnamon Babkas, I even saw a loaf of Raspberry-Rose-Pistachio Babka!).

I loved this idea of Shakshuka as a flatbread as soon as I saw it on the menu! However, it did prove to be a bit hard to navigate with just the flimsy plastic fork and knife provided. I probably should have had them quarter the thing with the Pizza-cutter I saw them use on the person's order ahead of me that had ordered one of these as a take-away. No biggie. I ended up mainly eating it hand-held as you would a small-ish Pizza, anyway. Hopefully the photo above does it justice, 'cause I have no way of explaining this other than it was tomatoes and sauce with a baked egg on top of flat dough. It also came with some (Israeli style, not Hebrew style) cucumber-pickles and a small ramekin of tahini on the side. I was not quite sure what to do with the tahini, so I just dumped/drizzled it all over the top of the mess. It seemed to work fine for me.

Now the real find here was their completely awesome and unbelievably tasty (Chocolate) Rugelach. I was planning on getting some kinda sweet baked good for after the meal with which to finish up my Coffee. As luck would have it, I chose the Rugelach; and a very wise choice it was, if I do say so myself, Shlomoh! I have had other versions of Rugelach at other Jewish (not Israeli, nor Hebrew) delicatessens, but this was by far the best I have ever had. While this Rugelach may not have been actually "to-die-for", it would definitely be worth sacrificing your first born for, Abie!

I have no idea what they may have had to offer in the way of any kind of condimentary supplementation. I did not ask, nor need any. Not really knowing what they may have had to offer in the way of a breakfast menu, I did bring a few bottles of my own hot sauces, but did not see the need to mess with the Shakshuka-thing in any way (other than with the above-mentioned small amount of tahini provided).

The next time I go there (and, trust me, there will definitely be a next time... just not next Saturday), I will probably order a cuppa their Elite Israeli (not Hebrew, nor Jewish) Coffee (which, from the way the guy behind the counter described it, is basically your Greek/Turkish/Arab [Oy, gevalt!] version of Coffee with the grounds still in the bottom of the cuppa). I just did not want to hold up the long (literally) "out-the-door" line this morning where one of the only two workers behind the counter would have had to prepare that time-consuming drink for me.

I may not get back to breakfast there for a while 
(the "no Saturday"-thing does not help much), but I know I will definitely be going back for lunch or dinner again... and probably sooner than you can say "Jumping Jehoshaphat!" Did I mention the Raspberry-Rose-Pistachio Babka, Jerry?!


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Shakshuka Egg in the Basket ~ 6.6;
Rugelach ~ 7.4 (possibly even higher the next time I try it again)

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1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugelach

2. Emma's Coffeehouse closed down (which was supposed to be only temporarily) about two years ago when the owners of the building refurbished the entire building and it took well over six months to complete. Unfortunately, they never reopened after such a long hiatus.