♪ "... the best part of waking up... is Rauchbier in your cup... " ?!? ♫
https://www.suppenkuche.com/ Place: Suppenküche Location: 525 Laguna Street (on the corner of Hayes Street) Hours: "Brunch"[1] is served on Sundays from 10:00am - 2:30pm Meal: Bauernfrühstück[2]mit Gewürzgurken ~ farmers scramble with potatoes, bacon, cheese, served with pickles & pork sausage (natürlich, I sechsundachtzig-ed any of die totes verrottetes Schweinefleisch); to drink with the meal, a .5-liter SchlenkerlaMärzen; and beforehand a cuppa Ritual Coffee - El Guamo, Colombia https://www.schlenkerla.de/rauchbier/sorten/sortene.html# https://www.ritualroasters.com/
(Ja, I know that I have used this song before [and twice in just the past few weeks, even], but this is a different version, and the song makes a perfect juxtaselection mit heute Frühstück.) Ich bin heute Morgen zum Frühstück in Suppenküche zurückgekommen (see previous 'blog-entry from Sonntag, 9. März, 2014). I like that this place is set up in Bayerische Bierhalle-style dining, where you may find yourself eating at a table with complete strangers (incomplete strangers are even worse). However, I got there early enough that I had an entire six-seater wooden table-bench to myself, anyway. Unfortunately, there are really not a whole lotta other choices for dämliche Vegetarier. The only other "Brunch" item that I might have gone with was Gebratener Semmeknödel mit Eier und Bratwurst (sautéed bread dumplings with two eggs and sausages ~ I am not sure how that is made or if it could even be made vegetarian-friendly). Otherwise, I was just going to go simplistisch with an order of Reibekuchen mit hausgemachtem Apfelmus(potato pancakes with homemade applesauce, sour cream & chives) and Zwei pochierte Eier mit geröstetes Brot (two poached eggs with toast). This (plus not opening until 10:00am) might be one of the reasons it had taken me four years to make a return visit... but die Biere is always worth a go.
One of the breakfastary ("Brunch"-ary, whatever) pluses is getting a complimentary (and complementary) basket of Brötchen. There were three types in the basket this morning: poppy seed, sesame seed, and caraway seed[3], which I made sure to enjoy with the provided Butter and some Aprikosenmarmelade that was on the table. There was nothing really special about this dish. It was just scrambled eggs with potatoes and cheese, but it was still good enough for me. The pickles were just your typical gherkin-style pickles. Near the end of the meal, I dumped the remaining chopped pickles into the scrambled mess. Now, the Rauchbier was almost as good as a cuppa Coffee at breakfast with its smokey and roasted malty flavour. So, if you happen to be a Mormon and do not partake of any of the caffeinated drinks, I would highly recommend this as a substitute... For condimentary supplementation use, I only saw some bottles of Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) on the bar-area. I just used some of my own Punch Drunk™Chocolate Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce (Thanks, Sean!) on the scrambled egg mess along with several grinds from my grains of paradise grinder. (another not so) Strange Coffee Interlude Knowing full-well (which is the only way a pessimist will make a wish) that the joint I was planning on eating at did not open up until 10:00am for "Brunch", I made sure to get a decent cuppa beforehand at the Ritual Coffee Quonset hut-kinda shop across the street from Patricia's Greenpark[4]. I had about another half-hour to kill, so I enjoyed it while watching a variety of pupsters frolicking in the park with their human pets. I preferred yesterday's Kenya blend a little better than today's Colombia blend (I did not smell any artichokes this morning, though). Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Bauernfrühstück mit Gewürzgurken~ 6.0 (and this is factoring in the basket of Brötchen); SchlenkerlaMärzen ~ 7.2; Ritual Coffee - El Guamo, Colombia ~ 6.8 ___________________
1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, nummer eins: The German word for "Brunch" is simply the English cognate "Brunch". Na, und?! I do not know why they do not just call it "Frütagessen" and get it over with. (Hopefully, one does not necessarily have to be a Herm Op to get that stupid joke.) 2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, nummer zwei: Like so many other words auf Deutsch, this is a combination of two word: "Bauer" (meaning "farmer/peasant") and "Frühstück" (meaning "breakfast"). (See, sometimes you do not have to be another Alfred Einstein to figure out this cunning linguist stuff.) 3. Stupid, useless botanical pointer of the day: As strange as this might sound, caraway "seeds" are not really seeds. They are actually the dried fruits of the plant. 4. http://sfrecpark.org/destination/patricias-green-in-hayes-valley/
"My pathway led by confusion boats Mutiny from stern to bow. Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." ~ little Robbie Zimmerman, "My Back Pages" (1964)
https://www.stacksrestaurant.com/ Place: Stacks - Comfortable Food Location: 501 Hayes Street (on the corner of Octavia Street, just a block before it becomes a full-blown "Boulevard", Mr. Browne[1]) Hours: open Monday - Sunday 7:00am Meal: Blueberry Wheat Germ Pancakes (Short Stack [2]); a side of potatoes (which is how they simply have it listed on the menu); and a cuppa (and 1-1/2 refillas; they leave a Thermos®-carafe-thing on the table for you) Peerless Coffe & Tea® "Organic" (where they have actually quotation marked the word on the menu, and apparently it is "Fair Trade", too) French Roast http://www.peerlesscoffee.com/product/all-coffee/fair-trade-french-organic/
(So, what is the EweToobular juxtaselection for today? There is none of which I am aware. For all I know, little Robbie may love blueberry pancakes [and hashbrowns-hybrids], too. [That back-up band he has there are pretty d*rn good; however, they will never cut it as solo singers themselves, trust me. It is nice to see little Robbie letting his useless Wilbury family have some gainful employment, too.] The second cover version is just because little Stevie Earle was in town yesterday performing [and more than likely railing at the Blue Angels] at Hardly StrictlyBluegrass 2018[2] once again this year.) I can not believe that it has been over six years since I last visited Stacks - Comfortable Food (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, July 1st, 2012). There are currently three restaurants under the same ownership in the Bay Area: Burlingame (their original location), San Francisco (in Hayes Valley), and (the newest one) Menlo Park. There are also two additional "sister" locations in Redwood City and Campbell that are franchised, operating under separate ownership. It looks as if they have dropped the superfluous "' " from the end of their name since my last visit, too. They no longer reference it on their printed menus, nor on their web-site. However, I did still see it on some of the window-stencils. (Speaking of "return visits", La Boulangerie de San Francisco ~ directly across the street ~ probably needs one, too.) Even though their name implies that they may be a "National House of Pancakes" (or possibly "National House of Burgers", even), they offer many items other than just pancakes (they really only have eight from which to choose, anyway): Feta Omelet~ 3-egg omelet with Feta cheese, spinach, green onion and tomato (which woulda been my first choice this morning if I had not gone there planning on getting pancakes); MexicanFrittata~ chorizo (¡no, gracias!), onion, green chiles, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, chives and guacamole; ItalianFrittata~ spicy Italian sausage (which I would ottantasei, of course), mushrooms, onions, green pepper, black olives, topped with Marinara sauce and Mozzarella cheese; or maybe Green Chiles, Onions and Salsa Skillet ~ start with our (well, their) great potatoes, topped with Cheddar-Jack cheese, served with your choice of two eggs and a bagel (this would have been my second choice, but Feta always trumps green chiles and salsa).
I really liked that these two (plate-sized) pancakes came with a small ramekin of blueberry compote on the side. The wheat germ seemed to be incorporated not in the pancake batter, but just on the outside. I suppose they pour the pancake batter, then add the blueberries and wheat germ onto them, then flip 'em like that. Their (simply-named) potatoes are sort of a combination between hashbrowns and homefries. Instead of being made from shredded potatoes, they used shaved potatoes, which makes for a nice textural component. These were very good all on their ownsome, too. Now, these were two HUGE pancakes. I could not finish it all (well... technically, I only finished about one whole pancake). With the side of potatoes (which I made sure to finish all of... and just barely, Yogi), it was way too much food for my appetite this morning. "Lunches?! We don' need no stinkin' lunches!" The Coffee was tasty enough that I finished two-and-a-half cuppas. Unfortunately, that left no room for me to get another cuppa at the Ritual Coffee Roasters Quonset hut across the street (which I was planning on doing before breakfast). Stacks - Comfortable Food only offers Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce and Green Jalapeño Sauce) for condimentary supplementation... well... and warm maple syrup for the pancakes, where not much was really necessary due to the flavourful blueberry compote (which I did use in entirety on the top pancake). I simply used some of my own Pepper PalaceGator Bite Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the (simply-named) potatoes. I also used several grinds o' grains of paradise all over the potatoes... and a few more on top of the pancakes (yes, I did). "Ah, but I was so much fuller then, I'm hungrier than that now... " Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Blueberry Wheat Germ Pancakes ~ 6.7 (this is factoring in the blueberry compote); side of (simply-named) potatoes ~ 6.8 ___________________
1. Ah, what the h*ck... here is yet one more version of "My Back Pages":
https://www.strawsf.com/ Place: STRAW ~ Carnival Fare Location: 203 Octavia Boulevard (near the corner of Page Street) Hours: "Brunch" is featured under the Big Top Saturday & Sunday at 10:00am Meal: Seasonal Salad ~ roasted beets, mixed greens (aka your basic rabbit-food-stuff), goat cheese crumbles, candied pecans, honey dijon-apple cider vinaigrette, with two over-medium eggs laid (well, placed) on top; and a glassa (Mason jara, actually) Strawberry-Basil Lemonade
(Just a coupla "Carney"-related songs for today's breakfast destination, Art. [I am just sad that I could only include one P3 song, though.]) Because this weekend is the 40th AnniversaryCarnaval San Francisco, I thought it fitting to head back to STRAW ~ Carnival Fare (see last 'blog-entry from Saturday, June 17th, 2017)... nah, actually, I was already planning on going back to this particular restaurant this weekend, anyway, and saw somewhere that San Francisco's Carnaval just happened to be this weekend also. I was lucky enough this morning and parked just around the corner (legally, even) on Page Street. Once again, I sat outside in one of the four two-seater sidewalk tables: 1) 'cause it was nice enough this morning to do so, and b) 'cause I could (I was the second person/group waiting in line). STRAW does not really have that many items from which to choose on their "Brunch" menu, and by now I have had each at least once. My back-up plan (in case I did not like the sound of the seasonal ingredients for the salad) was going to be a re-do of Hanky Panky ~ cornmeal Belgian waffle, two fried eggs, maple-glazed bacon (which would have been 86-ed again, of course), Cheddar & Jack potato croquettes. (not really such another) Strange Coffee Interlude This morning I made sure to get over to Hayes Valley about an hour before STRAW opened to get me another cuppa at Ritual Coffee (this time at their Quonset hut[1]-kinda shop across the street from Patricia's Green[2]). I just got what they were offering as their standard prepared Coffee, which happened to be La Soledad (another Guatemalan bean). Now, this was a good cuppa (as are alla their cuppas, and their Ethiopian roasts/blends are usually phenomenal, but they did not have any of those offered this morning), but I did not like it quite as much as yesterday's cuppa. While I was enjoying my cuppa, I saw several pupsters (with their human tag-a-longs) in the park and met one really cute little feisty girl (her humans told me that she was a Cairn Terrier-Schnauzer mix[3]... possibly... ). https://ritual.myshopify.com/collections/coffee-beans/products/soledad-guatemala
So, this was a salad with a coupla eggs on top. Not much to describe there. I would have rather had my eggs to have been poached, but I was told they do not prepare any poached eggs (no room in their kitchen in which to prepare them or something). The honey dijon-apple cider vinaigrette was really very good. One thing I might have done differently if I were making this salad myself (yeah, right), I think that pistachio seeds[4] in it would have been a much better flavour-combination and a bit more original (everyone always does salads with either beet-walnut or beet-pecan variations). STRAW only has Crystal®Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce for use as a condimentary supplement, which they have transferred into cruet-shaker-pourer things on each table (at least that was what they had in them the last time I ate there; I really did not bother to ask which hot sauce it might still be today). I just used some of my own Punch Drunk™Chocolate Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce (Thanks, Sean!) on top of the eggs. Surprisingly, this hot sauce mingled (mangled?) very nicely with their vinaigrette, too. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Ritual Coffee - La Soledad ~ 6.5; Seasonal Salad ~ 6.4 (I gave this an additional 0.2 GBS points each for the roasted beets, goat cheese, and very tasty vinaigrette; it was just a salad, after all) ___________________
1. a) How many of you were aware that these prefab-buildings were named after a U.S. Naval Station where they were first designed and built? http://varnumcontinentals.org/2016/04/the-quonset-hut-a-rhode-island-original/ b) Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day: The place name/word "Quonset" is from a southern New England Algonquian language and perhaps means "small, long place". 2. This smallish local park (only two blocks long and about a quarter-block wide) is named Patricia's Greenfor Patricia Walkup, a local activist who volunteered her time for many years to fight neighborhood crime, and co-led a campaign to tear down the remaining part of the Central Freeway that once ran through Hayes Valley. http://sfrecpark.org/destination/patricias-green-in-hayes-valley/patricias-green-in-hayes-valley-picnic-area/ 3. Which got me to a-thinkin'... if a Cocker Spaniel-Poodle mix-breed is called a "Cockapoo", a Pekingese-Poodle hybrid is a "Peekapoo", and a Labrador Retriever-Poodle crossbreed is a "Labradoodle", what the heck would the AKC call this little muttster? I threw out "Cairauzer" and "Schnairn" to her human escorts, but they did not seem to cotton to (nor polyester to) any of my intelligent suggestions. (I was gonna say they "poo-poo-ed" my ideas, but that silly joke would have only made sense if this little girl had any Poodle in her.) 4. As I have mentioned many times before, you would have to be nuts to think that pistachios are true botanical nuts. They are actually the seeds of the plant. And here is an extra freebie pseudo-horticultural pointer of the day: the pistachio tree is a member of the cashew family (and cashew "nuts" are not botanical nuts none neither).
https://www.kitteasf.com/ Place: KitTea Cat Cafe Location: 96 Gough Street (at Page Street) Hours: open Saturday and Sunday at 10:00am Meal: Figgy Cheese (Bubble Waffle Wrap) ~ sharp Cheddar + goat cheese + arugula + berries + fig drizzle + olive oil; and a potta Hojicha[1] (Green Tea) ~ roasted spring Sencha tea leaves gives this tea a buttery sunflower taste
(You were expecting "Hound Dog", perhaps?)
(Sorry for the quality ~ or lack thereof ~ of these photos of some of the cats. These were taken through the window separating the Cat Lounge area from the café dining area. I am not sure of the names of the two cats in the top photo. I was told that the big fluffy black cat staring at me in the bottom photo is named Steve; he is a full-time resident there. It was pretty funny as he almost blended into the big furry black ottoman in front of him.) Sometimes breakfast is not just about the food, but about the destination. A couple of weeks ago I saw something pop-up on the funny pages of defacedbook about a "Cat Café" in San Francisco. The idea intrigued me, so I made a mental note to check it out some day in the future. Well, today happened to be that mentally-noted future day. KitTea Cat Cafe has been open now since June 2015. It is the first Cat Café to open in San Francisco and the first ever established in the nation. The idea behind this unique place is pretty simple (as stated on their web-site): "We're a unique cafe experience dedicated to enriching the interactions between humans and felines in a relaxing environment. Slow down, sip on some tea, and support the welfare of cats. We provide high-quality care to our permanent resident rescue felines and work with local cat rescues, including San Francisco's Animal Care and Control, Toni's Kitty Rescue, and Wonder Cat Rescue to find our featured adoptable cat(s) a forever home at each cat's own pace." I did not count how many cats were in the Cat Lounge this morning, but there were anywhere from eight to ten "(permanent) resident cats" and about four or five "(adoptable) rescue kittens" lounging around inside. The actual café seating area (if you are just going for food/tea and not visiting the cats, like I did this morning) is not very large. It has just three tables for two people, one table for four(-ish) people, and five counter seats overlooking the window into the Cat Lounge area (which is where I should have sat, but stupidly took one of the two-seat tables against the opposite wall; I had to keep getting up to view the cats and kittens playing in their space). There are not a lot of items from which to choose in the breakfastary-mode, but there were still a few other waffle-ideas (in both the Belgian and Bubble categories) that I could have gone with. Plus, they do offer salads and sandwiches that I could have made into a light breakfast, too. Whereas their breakfast (and general eating) menu is not really that extensive, they do have a very prolific selection of teas from which to choose. I really liked the sound of their "Earl Grey Creme ~ Award-winning, fresh + fragrant vanilla Earl Grey tea with beautiful blue corn flowers, bergamot oil, and Ceylon black tea." From speaking with the lady working at the counter in the tearoom area (and watching her making a number of teas this morning), their most popular tea happens to be "Ceremonial Matcha~ Our Japanese Ceremonial Matcha is delicately sweet with underlying elements of green pea and mango. Made by slowly grinding shade-grown Sencha leaves from the first harvest of the year on a stone mill in Wazuka, Kyoto Japan. Matcha contains antioxidants and nutrients with many health benefits, including enhancing calmness and improving concentration."
I have only had this type of Japanese tea once before (see 'blog-entry from Monday, September 7th, 2015) and really enjoyed the smoky/nutty flavour of the one this morning. On the recommendation of the lady at the front counter, I used some milk in the first cuppa that I poured. However, on the subsequent (five or six) cuppas, I drank the tea plain all by itself; I preferred it better all on its ownsome. Due to the natural sweetness of this style of tea, no added sugar was needed or used.
Not that I really went there expecting some kinda 4-paw breakfast, but what I had turned out to be pretty good. They serve these egg puff/bubble waffles in a wire cone (kinda like you would see at a Belgian or French frites joint) and wrapped around the various ingredients. The berries in my wrap were blueberries (an actual botanical berry) and strawberries (not so much an actual botanical berry). I bet this would have been equally as good with either mint or basil leaves in place of the arugula. I also bet this would have been even better with some of the balsamic drizzle that they offer on a few of the other dishes; I am well aware that figs and strawberries go great with balsamic vinegar (and I would expect blueberries would, too). I had checked out their menu before heading over there and did not really see the need of bringing any of my own hot sauces with me for use as condimentary supplements. I suppose I could have used some fresh-cracked black pepper on top, but I only thought of that after I had finished the meal. I doubt that I will be getting back there any time soon for breakfast, but any time I am in the neighborhood, I will have to stop in for a cuppa or a potta and to check on all the kitties. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Figgy Cheese (Bubble Waffle Wrap) ~ 6.5; Hojicha (Green Tea) ~ 7.1; Cats and Kittens ~ 8.45 ___________________
https://www.strawsf.com/ Place: STRAW ~ Carnival Fare Location: 203 Octavia Boulevard (near the corner of Page Street) Hours: "Brunch" is featured under the Big Top Saturday & Sunday at 10:00am Meal: Rocky Mountain Madame ~ egg-in-the-hole brioche toast, prosciutto (which I ottantasei-ed, beninteso), Swiss, garlic ailoi, Cheddar Béchamel[1], home fries; a glassa STRAWberry-Basil Lemonade; and, aforehand, a cuppa Ritual Coffee - Yukro (Jimma, Ethiopia) https://ritual.myshopify.com/collections/coffee-beans/products/yukro-ethiopia
(Today's EweToobular juxtaselections are just a coupla new ones from Puddles.) I was in a carnie kinda mood, so I went back to STRAW ~ Carnival Fare (see last 'blog-entry from Saturday, October 29th, 2016). I sat outside for a change (because Monsieur Soleilwas out in full force and it was a gorgeous morning, and because I could). There are only four tables for two on the sidewalk area and they all filled up immediately this morning (and because I was the first idiot to get there early, I was assured of one of them at least). There really aren't an awful lotta items from which to choose on their "Brunch" menu. I counted only six egg dishes and two salads (which, I suppose, I could always have a poached egg or two added on top of). I think I have had five of the six "Eggs With Greg" dishes now (all without any of the dead, decaying animal products whenever they were included in the dishes). (I still think they are missing out on a great [read: stupid] opportunity and should call this section "Eggs with Gregg" [or, worse yet, "Egs with Greg"].)
I have had this dish once before a few years back (it may have been the first dish that I tried when they had first opened) and felt like checking it out again. I liked it then and still liked it today. However, I bet this would have been even better substituting their most excellent Ranchero sauce for the Béchamel sauce (Mornay sauce, whatever). Of course, I didn't think about that until after I had ordered and they had already brought it out to me; I had overheard another couple debating over ordering the Huevos Rancheros and that made me think of this. STRAW only has Crystal®Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce for use as a condimentary supplementation (which they have put into cruet-shaker-pourer things on each table). I went with some of my own Pepper PalaceChocolate Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the potatoes only. Because I had gotten to the neighborhood about an hour before STRAW opened, I purposely walked the three blocks over (and back) to Ritual Coffee to get a cuppa as a direct snubbery to the stupid coffeehouse that is located right next door to STRAW because of their sponsorage of the d*mn parklet out front. yet still another stupid d*mn parklets mini-rant even the stupid word "parklet" bugs me (it's just another completely madeuppery word!). Up next: A breakfastary roadtrip back to (Historic) Jack London Square, Oakland, CA; The Fat Lady sings again Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Rocky Mountain Madame ~ 6.5; Ritual Coffee - Yukro ~ 7.1; stupid d*mn parklets ~ 0.1 ___________________
1. Well, technically (or culinarily), a Béchamel sauce with cheese would be a Mornay sauce. I won't tell Emeril if you don't.
Another Mr. XV Pay-It-Forward Memorial Weekend ~ a continué
http://www.laboulangeriesf.com/ Place: La Boulangerie de San Francisco Location: 500 Hayes Street (on the corner of Octavia Street) Hours: open daily at 7:00am (peut-être; there are no times listed on their "official" web-site, so I am forced to go with what information is available from the Intro-Net, and we all know how reliable that might be) Meal: Arugula & Egg Sandwich ~ sunny side up egg, arugula pesto, aioli, on pain de mie, served with choice of Pommes Tots or (boring!) seasonal greens; a Lemon-Ginger Kouign-amann (for starters and also finished as a breakfast dessert); and a large bowla Equator Coffees & Teas™Equator Blend https://www.equatorcoffees.com/ My original plan of breakfastary attack this morning was going to be to head back to Mama♥s on Washington Square (in North Beach), but it was raining pretty hard (again) when I went out to my car and I figured I really didn't feel like standing in a line for an half-hour (or, more likely, longer) in the rain until they opened. So I quickly came up with "Breakfastary Attack ~ Plan B (not necessarily from Outer Space, though)" and decided to finally check out a new/old French-style bakery/café-joint, La Boulangerie de San Francisco. There are currently six locations[1] throughout town and I figured the easiest one to get to (and to find close/accessible parking) was the one in Hayes Valley. Of course, by the time I arrived in Hayes Valley, the rain had slowed down almost completely, but still... While I was at the front-counter paying for my meal, I made sure to "Pay-It-Forward" to the next person in line behind me. As fate would have it, the next person in line behind me happened to be a homeless-looking guy and I got him both a large Coffee and a pastry. (Later on, I asked the counter-server guy person if he would have gotten the Coffee and pastry for free normally anyway [some local places do this for their "regular irregulars"], and he said that the guy always pays.) There were several other good ideas from which to choose: Egg & Cheese Sandwich ~ scrambled eggs, Swiss cheese, tomato croissant(???), on honey whole wheat or pain de mie;
Marina Egg White Sandwich ~ scrambled egg whites, turkey (which I would have quatre-vingt six-ed, bien sûr), avocado, Provolone cheese, tomato, on honey whole wheat or whole wheat croissant;
Egg Scramble ~ w/ toasted organic peasant bread, Choose 1 ingredient from each category: 1. Swiss, Cheddar, Jack or Provolone, 2. spinach, tomato or mushroom, 3. bacon or turkey bacon, pork or chicken sausage, ham, turkey or avocado (I probably would have gone with: spinach, Swiss, and avocado); Hummus Tartine ~ avocado, cucumber, tomato, sprouts, organic peasant bread;
or maybe even
Baby Kale Salad ~ red rice, farro, toasted almonds, carrots, purple cabbage, dried cranberries, lemon vinaigrette (which I probably would have ordered with a sunny-side up egg placed on top).
Because it is a French-style bakery-joint, they have many other great-looking pastries on display at the front counter. They also had a Pear-Almond Kouign-amann that looked very tempting, too. Lately I would not usually be ordering any Coffee with breakfast because I have so much Coffee at home that I really need to drink-through, but I was soooooo happy that they no longer serve any of that St*rbucks cr*p, that I celebrated with what they did have to offer. It turned out to be a very large bowla Coffee, too. You can't really tell from the above photo, but it was easily 20-24 oz of Coffee.
After the first bite (attempt) while eating the sandwich, it proved to be a bit messy to pick up and eat hand-held, so I had to revert to the Pommy (not to be confused with the "pomme-y") tradition and eat the rest of it with a knife and fork (or a fork and knife, depending on how you like to hold your implements of eating-destruction). Of course, I opted for the potato side-dish over the boring old rabbit-food. The "Early Apples"[2] were very good, too, but I would have liked a bit more of them. In the way of hot sauce condimentary supplements, La Boulangerie de San Francisco only had Tabasco®Brand Hot Sauce (Original Red Sauce); however, they did have a large glass canister of nutella® that could be used on toast, which I found to be a very cool idea. I ended up using some of my own Dixie CrossroadsHot Habañero[ sic ]Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the sandwich and some Lucky Dog Medium Fire-Roasted Pepper Sauce (Thanks again, Brian!) on the potatoes. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Arugula & Egg Sandwich ~ 6.5 (this is factoring in the "Early Apples"); Lemon-Ginger Kouign-amann ~ 7.1; Equator Coffees & Teas™Equator Blend ~ 6.8; not having to patronise those smarmy, smug, greedy, corporate bastages at St*rbucks ~ priceless ___________________
1. The reason I say "new/old" is because the owner of these six locations had previously owned a bakery/café-business, under the name of La Boulange, at most of the same locations. However, back in 2012, the owner sold all of his bakery shops to the greedy corporate bastages of St*rbucks. Of course, like every other local business that those smarmy, smug, corporate bastages at St*rbucks get their greedy bastages hands on, they drained all they could from the business, took what they liked, and closed up all of the shops for good by 2015. (Yeah, they are such a great socially-conscious company!) Sometime last year, the old owner decided to re-open several shops that he used to run and bought back six of the locations from St*rbucks. 2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day: (partie a) In French, the word for "potato" is "(la) pomme de terre" (literally "apple of the earth"), and can be shortened to just "pommes" (in the plural). (partie b) In French, the word "tôt" means "early". Even Napoleon Dynamite would be smart enough to know that a much better translation for "Tater Tots" should have been "Mme Petits Enfants"...
