Town's End restaurant & bakery

http://www.townsendrb.com/


Place: Town's End restaurant & bakery
Location: 2 Townsend (Now what are the odds of that?!) Street (at the Embarcadero)
Hours: open Monday-Friday at 7:30am for breakfast; open Saturday-Sunday at 8:00am for "Brunch" (they can be forgiven for that snooty-assed moniker because they open up plenty early enough for this meal to still be considered breakfast by the best of us... meaning me, of course)
Meal: 3 Chile Scramble ~  roasted red peppers, yellow Gypsy[1] & chipotle chiles & grilled red onions, scrambled with 3 eggs, queso fresco, handmade corn tortilla, red & green salsas & guacamole; and a glassa freshly squeezed orange juice

(You may ask yourself: "Just what the h-e-double-hockeysticks are today's EweToobular juxtaselections supposed to mean, Brian?" 

Simples. Who doesn't know that ol' Petey-boy[2] grew up in Post-WWII Chiswick, London above a bakery?

The second song has nothing what-so-ever to do with either bakeries, or London, or even the English Beat. Any day is a good day for Lucinda Williams. That's all.)


It's been over two years since I last visited Town's End restaurant & bakery (see last 'blog-entry from February 8th, 2014) and I knew that this weekend would be the perfect chance to do so because the San Francisco Giants are on-the-road-again and I would have no problem finding a nearby parking space (and I did so this morning basically in front of the joint, so that worked well for me). I have never had a bad meal at this place, and I have been going there now for probably twenty-five years or more (mostly for breakfasts, but there have been a few lunches thrown in before heading across the street to an afternoon Giants game). 

Their "Brunch" menu changes seasonally, but there always are a few other good ideas from which to choose (for both those that partake of dead, decaying vegetation or you meatetarians out there). The other meals that caught my eye (just the left one, there was some dirt in my right eye) this morning: Toybox[3] Scramble (organic toybox tomatoes, white Chanterelles, grilled leeks, basil, Italian sheep's milk Mozzarella); Mary's Special (two Swedish oatmeal pancakes [organic peaches & almonds in the pancakes], two eggs scrambled with mushrooms, green onions, garlic & Cheddar); or Spinach, Tomato & Mushroom Omelette (they don't state what exactly might be inside this omelette, though; served with a choice of potato-carrot pancakes [with apple compote & sour cream], grilled polenta, or fresh fruit; I know from past experiences that both the potato-carrot pancakes and grilled polenta are decent breakfastary side-choices; even I can prepare "fresh fruit" at home... or at least buy it at the grocery store already prepared and ready to go).

"Each meal begins with our housemade baked goods — mini muffins and scones at breakfast and brunch..."

Today's miniature bakery goods offerings were two banana-walnut mini-muffins, two blueberry mini-muffin, and one mini-raisin scone (that would be a small scone, the raisins in it were of the standard size).

The scrambled mess was kinda like an upscaley version of Huevos Rancheros. Everything was piled on top of one of their very good homemade (bakery-made, whatever) corn tortillas. Like yesterday's breakfast entry, this was also a bit on the smallish side, but, again, thankfully, it was muy grande en sabor. I liked the green salsa the best of the two salsas; it was a tomatillo-based salsa, and the red salsa was a fresh (very chunky) pico de gallo. I would liked to have had a few more of the homemade (bakery-made, whatever) corn tortillas on the side; I bet these would have gone very nicely with butter and the homemade (restaurant-made, whatever) jam that they have on every table. As it was, there was just enough food for my appetite once again, but that was only due to the complimentary (complementary) mini-baked goods.

Because they only offer Mr. Espresso® as their house Coffee, I waited until I got home to brew me up (well, actually, drip me down) some of my own De La Paz Graceland. Now, don't get me wrong, I like Mr. Espresso® as much as the next guy (especially if the next guy's last name happens to be "Espresso"), but I just had that brand yesterday at breakfast and knew that De La Paz Graceland is much better ~ even with my usual crummy attempts at making Coffee at home.

http://fourbarrelcoffee.com/shop/de-la-paz-graceland-2/

For condimentary supplements, Town's End has both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Cholula® Hot Sauce (Original). I really did not find it necessary to espicy-up my meal with any bottled hot sauces (I had brought three or four of my own with me, too, just in case).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: 
3 Chile Scramble ~ 6.6;
mini-muffins & mini-scone ~ 6.7;
De La Paz Graceland ~ 7.3

___________________

1. I had to look up just what this chilli varietal was:

http://www.pepperscale.com/gypsy-pepper/

2. And can anyone tell me just why the h-e-double-hockeysticks Mr. Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend has never received a Knighthoodsmanship like many other faithful British Rock-and/or-Roll subjects already have? (Exempla gratiā, Sir George Ivan Morrison, OBE; Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE; Sir Michael Philip Jagger, KBE; or Dame Elton Hercules John, CBE.)

3. This is just another new, completely madeuppery word to explain a new tomato varietal:

http://www.greenleafsf.com/product/produce/tomatoes/toybox-cherry-tomatoes-3

Le Marais Bakery

http://www.lemaraisbakery.com/#bistro 


Place: Le Marais[1] Bakery
Location: 2066 Chestnut Street (between Mallorca Way and Pierce Street)
Hours: Monday - Sunday open at 7:00am; however, la cuisine doesn't open for le petit déjeuner until 8:00am (or five minutes or so later)
Meal: Cr'q Forestier ~ mushrooms[2], Gruyère, salade; for a breakfastary dessert, a Kouign-Amann[3] (which had just piqued[4] my interest at last Sunday's breakfast destination); and a cuppa (and one refilla) Stumptown Coffee Roasters Holler Mountain

https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/products/holler-mountain

(I am continuing yesterday's EweToobular non-juxtaselections with some more Lucinda Williams songs because I can.

If youse got a problem wiff that, start yer own 'd*mn 'blog-thing!)


I had passed Le Marais Bakery last weekend when I was heading to La PanotiQ Bakery Café. I have been meaning to check them out ("out which to check them"?), too. It's nice to see two decent French bakeries battling it out in the Marina (and just two blocks apart on the same side of the street). Le Marais Bakery is a littler older and has been open for just over three years now (end of June 2013). They currently have two locations (this one and another nearby shop in Ghirardelli Square) and are opening another in the Castro very soon. The restaurant/bistro area is small-to-medium-sized (but with very high ceilings to give the place an open-aired feel to it almost) and has seating of thirteen tables for two and two large bench-style tables for six-to-eight people; additionally, there are six small, round tables for two people each located on the sidewalk outside (because an inside sidewalk makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever, even for a French bakery/bistro).

(This painting of persimmons[5] was above my table this morning.)


Quelques autres idées pour le petit déjeuner: Breakfast Board (you get to choose five different items [I suppose you can choose five of all the same item, but that would be pretty boring] from a long list of pastries/croissants, eggs, yoghurt, and fruits and such; if I get back there again [one of these days/years], I will probably go for this choice); Quiche (they offer both vegetarian or ham versions; this comes with a side of petite salade, aussi); Avocado Toast (sunny-side egg, crème fraîche [which I was very glad to see spelled la manière française correcte; you'd be surprised how many so-called "Frenchy" places do not bother to use the actual diacritics]; I see this dish more and more often on menus); or even Shakshouka (eggs poached in tomato stew; I have had versions of this Middle Eastern dish at a few other restaurants).

My breakfast sandwich was off the "Sur Le Pouce" section of their menu. "Sur Le Pouce" (which literally translates as "on the thumb") basically means "On-the-Go". "Croque" means "crunch" and comes from the French verb "crouquer" meaning "to eat noisily". (I am throwing in those two stupid, useless cunning linguist pointers sans frais supplémentaires.)

My sandwich this morning was really chock-fulla (sautéed/grillé) mushrooms (definitely not for any of you fungiphobes out there) and about as cheesy as you could expect (definitely not for any of you lactophobes, either). I have always wanted to try a "Croque"-style sandwich, but most of the offerings that I have ever seen are made with dead, decaying animal flesh (usually of the porky variety) of some sort. If I had ever ordered this sandwich sans les morts chair animale en décomposition, I suppose that would just be like a French version of "un lapin gallois"[6]. 

The "petite salade" was really very simple and nothing special. It was your typical mesclun with some cherry (grape?) tomatoes, and it had the lightest (if any) of dressing on it. Even so, it went well with the heavier sandwich and I finished it all off.

I am glad I got a chance to try the Kouign-Amman. I liked it. It was a sweetened square of puff-pastry dealie.

I didn't bother to see what (if any) condimentary supplementation they may have had to offer. I figured it being a French bakery kinda place and all, I wouldn't need any of my own bottles of hot sauce. If I ever get back there again, I might bring some with me just in case I decide to go with any kind of eggy-dish or potatoes side.

Now which of these new French bakery places located in the Marina did I like better? I did really like the fingerling potatoes side last weekend; however, these two places offer different breakfast fares, and both places offer very good Coffee choices. So, it's really a coin-toss (or is that "un €-jet"?). 


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: 
Cr'q Forestier ~ 6.7;
Kouign-Amman ~ 6.4;
Stumptown Coffee Roasters Holler Mountain ~ 7.2

___________________

1. Le stupide, inutile cunning linguist pointer of the day, première partie:

"Le marais" means either "the swamp" or "the marsh" in French. I like the former translation better for the upscaley Marina neighborhood. 

(Or for you Red Sox fans out there, "le marais" can also be translated as "fen". [Just how much does a fen weigh, anyway?!])

I don't think that this "swamp" (or "marsh") is in reference to the Marina District being built on swampland/landfill. Apparently, Le Marais is an historic neighborhood in Paris (the one in France, not Texas).

2. Le stupide, inutile cunning linguist pointer of the day, deuxième partie:

The word for "mushroom" in French is "(le) champignon".

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kouign-amann

4. Le stupide, inutile cunning linguist pointer of the day, numéro trois:

Sorry, I could not locate the specific French word for "piqued".

5. Le stupide, inutile cunning linguist pointer of the day, numéro quatre:

The French word for "persimmon" is "(le) plaqueminier".

6. I will let you do your own translation of that phrase to get the stupid, useless cunning linguistic pun.

I also noticed that on the weekends pour "Le Brunch", they even offer an Australian grilled/baked sandwich version made with kangaroo meat that is called a Croque-Dundee*...


*(I am truly sorry for that horrible last joke there, but if I didn't include it here, I am sure that either my brother Nick or old Air Force buddy Karl Brandt would have done so on my defacedbook Timeline-thing.)

Gallardo's ~ Mexican Restaurant

(No hay ninguna página web oficial. 
[They used to have one, but it no longer seems to be in effect.])


Place: Gallardo's ~ Mexican Restaurant
Location: 3248 18th Street 
(on the corner of Shotwell Street)
Hours: open every day of the week at 7:00am
Meal: Papas con huevo ~ scrambled eggs w/ potato, onion, tomato, & bell peppers, served w/ rice, beans, & tortillas; and a large glassa Jugo Mixto (1/2-orange juice and 1/2-carrot juice ~ a San Francisco Giants fan favourite)

(I have no EweToobular juxtaselectionary ratiocination for including these Lucinda Williams[1] songs today. I just feel that she thoroughly inspires an overwhelming feeling of reverence and admiration[2]. I particularly like her live rendition of the first song where she completely muffs it at the start and has the good humour to laugh at herself.)


I was planning on finally heading back to Fattoush (see previous 'blog-entry from June 28th, 2014) this weekend. Now here is where it pays to plan ahead sometimes, kids. I checked out their web-site last night to make sure when they opened in the morning and saw that they had closed recently (well, a quick Intro-Net search shows probably as far back as mid-November): "Due to smoke damage from an unfortunate event, Fattoush will be closed until further notice." ("Unfortunate event"? If it was from a fire, why not just state such?) Too bad, too, as I was looking forward to ordering the Corn Flake Crusted French Toast. 

¿Cómo se dice "back-up plan" en español? 

So, instead, I just went back to Gallardo's ~ Mexican Restaurant (see last 'blog-entry from March 15th, 2015) where I knew I would get another desayuno muy sabroso.

There are still otras buenas ideas para desayuno: Huevos a la Mexicana (scrambled eggs w/ onion, tomato, & bell pepper); Huevos Rancheros (fried eggs on a tortilla topped w/ salsa ranchera & Monterey Jack cheese); Torta de huevo (scrambled eggs w/ onion, tomato, & bell pepper cooked in a crepe style); or Nopales Omelette (filled w/ melted cheese, onion, tomato, bell pepper, & cactus [that would be the nopales]). And, possibly one of these days, when I am in a more (or very) adventurous mood: Banana Omelette (I kid you not); they have this listed as "filled w/ melted cheese & banana[3]".

(This photo does not do the orange neon colour any justice. It was truly cornea-burning; I almost had to put on my sunglasses.)

I knew that I was going to like this meal a lot right from the start. Whenever potatoes are the central figure in a breakfastary option, I know that it will be a good choice for me in earnest, Papa Hemingway. This was made with huge chunks of potatoes, tomatoes, and white onions (and that is all a good thing, unless your name happens to be Greg Kipe or you are a Golden 
Retriever). This really didn't need any extra espiciness, but I probably shoulda asked to have one jalapeño or serrano chilli added to the scrambled mess.

There were three (3, tres) warm, fresh, homemade (restaurant-made, whatever) corn tortillas provided this morning. It all made for a good amount of food with the rest of the meal, but I made sure to force myself to finish all three with the meal, anyway.

I have no idea what Gallardo's ~ Mexican Restaurant may have had to offer in the way of pre-bottled hot sauces (none were asked for and none were needed), because they have their own very good salsa fresca in jars on all the tables. I used up almost half of the jar that was on my table by adding some (well, a lot) to the frijoles refritos, rice, and scrambled pile.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: 
Papas con huevo ~ 6.6

___________________

1. If you have never seen Lucinda Williams perform live, I suggest that you do so if you ever get the chance.

http://lucindawilliams.com/?fp=true

2. I had originally typed that as "She's totally awesome!" However, in an effort to be less vernacular, Misters Howard, Fine, and Howard, I rewrote that sentence. I am also happy to note that no doibies were dropped during the rewrite.

3. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-botanical pointer of the day:

In Spanish, the word for both "banana" and "plantain" is "plátano". So, I am not sure which of those berries they use to make this omelette. (What have I said before about bananas botanically being berries? ["Bananas botanically being berries"? Try saying that ten times fast.]) This may have just been some kinda translational error on the menu... or, at least, I hope so. 

I have no idea what that might taste like. I suppose if they actually use fried plantains and not sweet bananas, it might not be half-bad (which, of course, means it's only half-good).

Mimi’s Cafe

A breakfastary roadtrip:
San Mateo, CA

http://www.mimiscafe.com/


Place: Mimi's Cafe
Location: 2208 Bridgepointe Parkway, San Mateo 
(in the Bridgepointe Shopping Center)
Hours: open 7:00am every day (maybe a little later tomorrow and on other holidays, though)
Meal: Potato Cake Eggs Benedict ~ hickory-smoked bacon, spinach, tomatoes, poached eggs, and Hollandaise, with mixed fruit (instead of potatoes); and a cuppa (and one refilla) whatever the house Coffee was

(Yeah, well, it was a bit overcast and cloudy ~ and it even rained for a few seconds along 280 ~ on the way down to San Mateo early this morning, so I just figured these would be sufficient EweToobular juxtaselections.  I am pretty sure that I have posted that little Robbie Zimmerman cover once before, but I like it, so tough!)


The other day on defacedbook, an old Air Force
buddy (Hey, Karl!) happened to mention that he was having dinner at a local Tucson restaurant called Mimi's Cafe[1]. It turns out that Mimi's Cafe is a chain of restaurants and there are even a few in the Bay Area. As I am wont to do (i.e. Nosey Parker that I am), I had to check out their menu to see what they offered breakfastarily; I liked the looks of their Breakfast Menu and decided I would have to get down there one of these days. Today happened to be one of these days.

I was not familiar with this particular family-style restaurant chain. I think they are mostly located in the southwestern and southern States. They could be considered something like a Frenchified bistro version of Applebee's, I suppose. The closest chapter to San Francisco happens to be located in a shopping centre/strip mall place on the demarcation line of San Mateo and Foster City. This was a very large place with seating for at least 100-150 people. There is even an outdoor patio seating area; plus, another covered/enclosed fresh-air patio area. Inside there are lots of maroon vinyl-covered booths, which are large enough for four to six people each; that way, most everyone can enjoy the whole booth experience other than just ol' Abie Lincoln.

By the décor, I assumed that the place may have originally been an old Mexican chain restaurant (on the lines of Chevy's, etc). However, according to my friendly, knowledgeable waitress/server-lady, Nancy, they have been at this same location for seventeen years now (shows you how often I get down to that part of San Mateo-Foster City) and are still in the original building that was built specifically for their chain.

As I stated above, I liked the looks of their Breakfast Menu and there were a few other good ideas that caught my eye (both of them, actually): Orange Crème French Toast (brioche Pain Perdu toast with orange marmalade cream cheese; comes with two eggs served any style [I like mine of the chicken-style], mixed fruit, and your choice of hickory-smoked bacon, pork or turkey sausage, or hickory-smoked ham; I don't really expect I‘ll be getting back there for another seventeen years or so, but if I ever do, this will definitely be my choice); Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles (with strawberry-rhubarb butter; comes with two eggs, mixed fruit, and your choice of hickory-smoked bacon, pork or turkey sausage, or hickory-smoked ham; this also sounded very interesting); Egg White & Veggie Omelet (open-faced three egg white omelet with spinach, mushrooms, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and goat cheese, with mixed fruit [instead of potatoes]; I expect this would be somewhat frittata-style); and because they are a Frenchified bistro kinda joint, they also offer several different Crêpes (and I was happy to see that they use the correct cîrcûmflêxêd "ê" in the spelling, too).

This was a very decent take on your standard Eggs Benedict dish. I particularly like the use of potato cakes as the base (potato cakes are wayyyy better than those faux English crumpets that Mr. Thomas puts out). And, for the originality of which, I am giving them an extra 0.1 on the Glen Bacon Scale. Of course, I ordered this dish without any of that hickory-smoked dead, decaying porky junk (I am trying to cut down on my hickory smoking). I even substituted a side of herbed roasted potatoes (instead of mixed fruit); there is no such thing as too many carbohydrates as far as I am concerned. 

The house Coffee was nothing much of which to speak; just your typical diner-quality stuff. The refilla seemed a little better than the first cuppa, but that may have been due to a new potta being served or I just may have become used to the mediocriocity of the flavour by then. I really didn't feel it necessary to ask for a second refilla, though.

Upon request, Mimi's Cafe has to offer Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Cholula® Hot Sauce (Original). I used some of my own Hot Licks® Serrano Hot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on top of the Hollandaise and both eggs and some Fairhope Favorites, Inc. Moonshine Hot Sauce XXX (Thanks, Phyllis!) on the potatoes. Nancy was pretty hot sauce-savvy herself and we talked for a bit about hot sauces (the place was still pretty empty that early in the morning and she could waste her time humouring me).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Potato Cake Eggs Benedict ~ 6.4


________________

1. While they state on their web-site that they are a "French-Inspired" restaurant, and they seem to have no problem with the correct accented spellings of "crème" and "crepês", for some reason, they don't want to use l'accent aigu ("é") in the "Café" part of their name. I just found that rather strangé.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

"Never let a gift horse in the house." 
~ Leo Rosten

(No official web-site.)


Place: Breakfast at Tiffany's
Location: 2499 San Bruno Avenue (at Thornton Avenue); phonicular contact: (415) 468-8805
Hours: open Monday - Friday at 7:00am; Saturday and Sunday at 8:00am
Meal: Veggie Tater-Tot Skillet ~ kale, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, bells [sic], black olives, avocado, and Jack; with two over-medium eggs laid on top of the pile; and a cuppa America's Best Coffee Roasting Company (and a coupla refillas; they don't specify which roast/blend they serve, though)

http://www.ambestcoffee.com/

(There is really no EweToobular juxtaselection for today's video/songs; at least, I don't think these songs reference either "Tiffany's" or "Breakfast" or even "Audrey Hepburn" in any way. Once again, I just came across this new-ish Swedish singer last weekend while quarrying over on EweToob. I really liked her cover of Lucinda Williams' "Big Red Sun Blues".)


I have been looking forward to checking out the newly reopened Breakfast at Tiffany's (see last 'blog-entry from February 12th, 2012) and I finally got around to eating there. They had closed back in October 2013 and recently reopened under new ownership in November 2014. From what I could see, it looks like the new owners are a Mexican family. The place has been remodeled a bit with new tables, newly painted walls, etc. One noticeable difference is that they now do all the cooking in a back kitchen (which used to be a backroom storage area, I believe) and have removed the diner-grill from behind the counter. Plus, there are no longer any photos or paintings of "the delicate Belgian flower" herself on any of the walls.

The seating is still at a minimum. There are currently ten diner-counter seats, six tables for two, four or five tables for four, and one large table for eight. I was seated right away when I arrived (just a little after 8:00am); however, by 8:30am there was already a small line to get in and people had to do the sign-in sheet waiting list.

I was happy to see that the old menu remained mostly intact (with a few new additions, but generally the same as before) and, more specifically, that they still offer both Hash Browns de la Casa (Cheddar cheese, sour cream) and Hash Browns Stella (green chile, tomatoes, Cheddar and Jack, sour cream); this old dish was a big hit with me in the past and one of the reasons I went back again. They also have a good amount of omelettes from which to choose; both San Bruno Ave (spinach, mushrooms, Jack) and Veggie (kale, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, bells, black olives, avocado, and Jack; which were all of the same ingredients in the Tater-Tot Skillet that I got this morning) appealed to me. They also offer five different versions of Eggs Benedict dishes. It was nice to see that they even kept the "Good Morning, San Francisco" chalk/blackboard with ten additional specials on the wall (it's been moved from over the diner-grill to the back wall by the kitchen now).

This was an absolute HUGE pile o' tater tots (but it came in a bowl, not in a cast iron skillet like I was hoping) and made with lots of fresh "veggies" (I really do hate that nomenclature. How hard is it to just write "vegetables" instead? Do they get charged by the letter?), which is always a plus. My one minor complaint (uno quibblito) is that I really would have liked a bit more kale (there was hardly any noticeable amount of it; I guess you could say that they "went lightly, Holly" with the kale), and it was listed as the first ingredient, after all. Plus, they forgot the black olives completely (which is forgivable, as they probably just use the standard, tasteless canned kind, anyway). It took me a while to figure out that by "bells", they actually meant "bell peppers". I was expecting some kinda tintinnabulation while swallowing. The "bells" were of the red, green, and yellow variety.

For condimentary supplements, Breakfast at Tiffany's has the Standard San Francisco Triumvirate of Hot Sauces: Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (the standard red), Cholula® Hot Sauce Original, and Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce; and I also noticed some Huy Fong Foods, Inc. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. I just used some of my own The Wiltshire Chilli Farm Hell Mouth and Winter chilli sauce on separate halves of the mess (Thanks for both, Cindy & Greg!). (Like the Chipotle from yesterday, I am making a decent dent in the bottle of Winter, too; that is, if one could actually dent a glass bottle without breaking it.)

While this new place lacks the old school "Mom & Pop"-ish charm of the original joint (this is like comparing the latter version of the Three Stooges ~ with Joe Besser or "Curly" Joe DeRita ~ to the classic version ~ with either Shemp Howard or Curly Howard), I am sure that in thirty to forty years loyal customers will be lamenting the closure of this "Mamacita y Papacito" place, too.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Veggie Tater-Tot Skillet ~ 6.5 (this would probably have been a 6.6 with more discernable kalocity to it)

Cafe Rain Tree

"Take a walk on the mild side…"[1]

(No official web-site; well, it might be www.caferaintree.com, but when I tried that link, nothing came up.)

654 Irving Street (on the corner of 8th Avenue)

phonicular contact: (415) 665-3633

(The first EweToob song somewhat goes along with the name of this morning's restaurant; this is a Bob Dylan cover duet by Tom Russell and Lucinda Williams, both of whom I have seen perform live a few times ~ Thanks, Skip! The second song is just a very strange cover and I like it, and the title to today's 'blog-entry sorta relates to it.)


I have passed by Cafe Rain Tree[2] many times (it's right next door to a funny-book store ~ not that I would ever frequent such an establishment, Dr. Cooper), but this was the first time I have ever eaten at this location. From what I can tell, there is a second/sister restaurant on West Portal Avenue (see 'blog-entry from November 6th, 2010). So, which came first: the chicken on Irving Street or the egg on West Portal?

They open early enough to be called a real "breakfast" place, as they open at 7:00am daily. Maybe if you are looking to get a Five-Star "Brunch" meal, you will have to wait four more hours and go across the street to Pasión. For seating, Cafe Rain Tree has five tables for four; two tables for two; and eleven diner counter seats (replete with the requisite red/burgundy vinyl covering) ~ these were the 360° spinning kind, but had backs to them and weren't just round stools. There is easy parking just a block away in Golden Gate Park, which is always nice.

Cafe Rain Tree has your typical diner-ish breakfast menu, but they do offer a few specials, too. I am sure those of you that partake of the dead, decaying animal flesh would like the Irish Breakfast ~ 2 Irish bacon, 2 Irish sausage, 2 eggs & homefries (they didn't specify if these were of Irish origin or not), black & white pudding, grilled tomatoes, & toast (for some reason, no baked beans, though). I had the California Omelette ~ with tomato, avocado, spinach, (the Oxford comma was provided courtesy of me, and at no extra charge) & Jack cheese; served with home fried potatoes and toast or English muffin. I also had a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice (with lots of pulpy goodness ~ if you want your orange juice pulp-free, drink Fanta®).

The omelette was good enough and contained lots of spinach, but not really enough avocado for my liking, though. I went with sourdough as my choice of toast. Their homefries are made with green and yellow bell peppers and white onions.

For condimentary supplementation, Cafe Rain Tree offers both Tapatío® and Crystal® Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce on the tables. I used some of my own Cholula® Hot Sauce on the potatoes (Thanks, Brian! That was the last of that bottle. Now I only have about seventeen more to use up in my refrigerator.) and a little Serious Food… Silly Prices Mango Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the omelette.

My French model girlfriend always says, don't believe what you read on yelp* (or the rest of the Intro-Net even, especially in this 'blog). In doing a little research before going (back) to Cafe Rain Tree (what time they open, what they might offer on their menu, etc.), I read a lot (I mean A LOT) of negative reviews on yelp* and the like. I am pig-headed[3] enough to reserve my own opinion (and foist it upon people here) until I have actually tried a place. I don't know what all of the brouhaha was on yelp*. This was a decent enough place to eat. Would I recommend it to people or go back again someday? Sure, it's not as if you need to run right out and visit it, but it's a fine enough place to eat if you are hungry and are already on Irving Street (and Crepevine, Irving Street Cafe, or Art's Cafe aren't open yet; I have no idea whether the food at Pasión is any good or not, as I have never waited until 11:00am to eat there for "Brunch").

I skipped a cuppa at the restaurant, as I figured anything I can make at home had to be as good or better than standard diner coffee. So I am enjoying a very decent cuppa fresh-dripped Peet's® Ethiopian Fancy.

http://www.peets.com/coffee/coffee-shop-by-category-africa-arabia/ethiopian-fancy.html

I also asked my French model girlfriend what she thought would be the name of a good Chinese-French fusion restaurant? But of course ~ "Měi Wèi"[4].


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: California Omelette ~ 5.9; Peet's® Ethiopian Fancy ~ 7.1


1. This motto was used by a local musical group, the Dinos. They were active in the late 80's and early 90's. They mainly were a kitschy lounge-lizard combo group that played a buncha hokey songs (their Tom Jones tribute was hilarious: "It's Not Unusual"/"Delilah"/"What's New Pussycat?"). They used to play every Thursday night at the old Club Paradise (on the corner of Folsom and 11th Streets). They used to joke that they would be playing there every Thursday night until the end of time ~ and that then you'd probably catch them playing twice a night on Thursdays in Hell afterward, too.

The lead singer was (Little) Roger Clark. He used to have a band in the 70's called Little Roger and the Goosebumps. Their claim to fame was a novelty song called "Stairway to Gilligan's Island". It got a lot of airplay on the Dr. Demento Show and the like.

Supposedly, Lead Dirigible threatened to sue them for using this song. Of course, that publicity only "lead" to its appeal. Apparently, Roger Plant found it pretty funny, though. It was also said that Sherwood Schwartz (creator of "Gilligan's Island" and he co-wrote the theme song to it, too) absolutely hated this parody.

There is no truth to the tale that if you play this backward that it plays "The Brady Bunch" theme song.

2. If you are like me and are about as botanical as Monsanto (I am getting to where I can tell the difference between some types of flowers at least), you wouldn't know a "Rain Tree" from a "Eucalyptus" unless there were koalas climbing all over them (luckily, we have eradicated most of the marsupial scourge in this part of California). So I actually looked up what a "Rain Tree" was. It's some kinda tree that is native to the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil.

Why the owners chose "Rain Tree" as a name for the restaurant, I do not know. As far as I could tell, the place is owned by an Asian family.

3. As a vegetarian, maybe I should call myself "cauliflower-headed" instead.

4. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day:

When I first came up with that joke, I just figured it would be funny because "mais oui" in French (pronounced "may we") simply means "but" or "but yes". Now here is the truly strange part (sometimes I amaze even myself): the Chinese sound-alike words "美" (close enough to "may"/"mais") and "位" (close enough to "we"/"oui") together mean "beautiful place".