6th & B

What d'yer do when both your Back-up Plan #1 and Back-up Plan #2 fail?

It's scramble-time!

http://www.6thandb.com/


Place: 6th & B

Location: 452 Balboa Street
(on the corner of 6th Avenue)

Hours: open Thursday - Monday at 8:00am

Meal: soft scramble with avocado ~ two eggs, spinach, mushroom, tomatoes, French country bread, house potatoes; and, to drink, a glassa Watermelon Man (which is simply a whole lotta fresh watermelon juiced, man!)

([You can basically skip the first minute or so of the first song, it is just Adele explaining why she wrote the song. And, yes, that is over 100 million views already on this particular live version. You wanna see something amazing, Gracie? Check out Adele's original version of this same song... over one-point-three Billion views... 1,300,000,000 views! Oh, and that second song... it has garnered merely one-point-five Billion views all on its ownsome! Holy cr*poli, Batman!]

There really is/are no EweToobular juxtaselection/s with these songs this morning. The house-stereo [restaurant-stereo, whatever] just happened to be playing the first song while I was eating.

See? Sometimes when the fat lady sings, it ain't always necessarily a foreshadowing of failure... )


Do not get me wrong. I have absolutely no qualms about going back to 6th & B (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, March 10th, 2019) for breakfast. In fact, this great little (and very local) place is even very Breakfastary Starting Rotation-worthy. However, due to the Escape from Alcatraz℠ Triathlon which would be gumming-up the traffic around my neighborhood all morning, I thought it best to keep it as local as possible (accessible by foot or by bus straight down Geary Boulevard). So, my original plan of attack this morning was just to go back to Royal Ground Coffee (see last 'blog-entry from Saturday, February 16th, 2019). When I arrived there around 8:20am (they open daily at 6:30am, but I have found that they usually are not prepared to serve any sort of actual cooked breakfasts until well after 7:30am and recently not until after 8:00am), I was informed that their kitchen is now closed (temporarily or for good... immano).

Strike One ~ swing and a miss!

Unfortunately, I was then forced to come up with some sorta viable (and hopefully still local) Back-up Plan. Simples! Knowing that there is a relatively new bagel shop, the Bagel Bakery Cafe[1], just on the other corner a block away, which I have been meaning to check-out one of these days, anyway, I walked back down the block to it. However, for some undogly reason, they are not open on Sunday. Wha'?! Really?!  What kinda bagelry worth its (Kosher) salt is not open on a Sunday?! 

Strike Two ~ right down the middle!

Fine... thusly, on to Back-up Plan #2!  Frena Bakery & Cafe (see initial 'blog-entry from Sunday, February 10th, 2019) which is only two blocks further away. Now I know that these guys are open on Sundays, because they are an official-type Kosher bakery-place and are closed from sundown on Friday nights and all day on Saturdays.... except today... there was a note on the front door saying that they are closed today and Monday. (I did not bother reading what it was ~ possibly some kinda Jewish holiday?) 

Strike Three ~ looking!

Next batter-up!

At this point, I was really running outta early morning local-ish options/ideas and, despite what my brother Sean might have ridiculed me for, I even gave a thought of going right back to Breadbelly. (What the hey?! I was already in the neighborhood and it would have been just a short six block walk back over there from Frena and I am planning on revisiting there again soon, anyway.) 

I bet that even Edward Davis Wood Jr. had a "Plan 10 From Outer Space" in his back pocket.

Finally(?!)... on to Back-up Plan #3! It had been a few months since my last visit to 6th & B. So, I just hopped on the bus, Gus (no need to discuss this much more with myself), and got off five stops away (which, thankfully, drops you off exactly at 6th Avenue).

I like that this dish is offered as either an omelette or soft scramble. I have had it previously as an omelette with cheese instead of with avocado already once before, and I felt that it would work nicely in scramble-form (and would provide me with a st*pid titular joke). I really liked the amount of fresh, sliced avocado (well, if'n an avocado ain't fresh, there ain't no ways-no how that you're gonna be able to slice that bad-boy) that was fanned atop the scramble heap; there had to be at least a whole halfa avocado on it.

I also liked that the French country bread toast was prepared either on the top of the grill or possibly in a salamander.

Plus (and it is exactly pluses like this why I can fully see putting 6th & B into my Breakfastary Starting Rotation if the need ever be some day), they make some rockin'-good homefries! These include not only fried pieces of julienned carrots, but fried bits of kale, too (trust me, this was no plain ol' parsley, Rosemary; I sagely asked in time).

As far as condimentary supplements go, 6th & B has Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce), Tapatío® Salsa Picante Hot Sauce, and Frank's® RedHot (Original). I used some of my own Thyme Farm Vinegars Charlie's Chili Stuff (aka Old Narragansett® Bay Seasoning?!) (Thanks, Sha'!) generously dusted all over the homefries (about two forkfuls) and even a pinch on top of my Watermelon Man[2], and several shakes of 
Peaks of Otter Peppers Cremation Drops Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on top of the avocado and scrambled mess. Additionally, I used up the last few grinds from my grains of paradise grinder... looks like I need to make a trip "all the way over" to Fisherman's Wharf to get me some more grains of paradise (and, just relax, I was not st*pid enough to grind any of it into my Watermelon Man, man... Hmmmm?! Next time?).

I had always presumed (and, yes, I am well-aware of the old saying: "When you 'presume' something, it makes a 'pres' out of 'u' and 'me'... ") that the manager/owner-lady was Korean. I asked her as I was leaving today (fully expecting to say "고맙습니다!" ["Gomabseubnida!"] to her on my way out), but she told me that she was actually Chinese/Taiwanese. Luckily, I asked first, at least then I could correctly say "謝謝 !" ("Xièxiè!") to her as I was leaving.

This morning's meal ended up being the case where unexpected Back-up Plan #3 turned out to be even better'n the originally scheduled Plan.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
soft scramble with avocado ~ 6.6 (this was really a 6.5, but I am giving it an additional 0.1 Glen Bacon Scale points for being open and for the awesome homefries);
Watermelon Man ~ 7.0

___________________

1. I am not sure how this bagel shop is related to a bagelry with the exact same name and logo-design based out of Monterey, California. I used to go to their shops all the time back when I was living in Monterey and Pacific Grove.

http://www.thebagelbakery.com/

The above web-site does not list any official locations in San Francisco, though.

2. If nothing else than to prove a "heated" argument over the virtues and good flavouring of Old Bay® Seasoning from earlier this morning on defacedbook.

Dave Durkin ~ A Tributary

Dave Durkin died suddenly on December 28th, 2014.

I am not really sure what the specific cause was, as his wife had posted only a short message on defacedbook. 

Dave was an old Air Force (that would be the United States one) buddy of mine from way back. In fact, I first met the "Old Man" in Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base[1] on November 3rd, 1977 on my very first day of official Active Duty. His bed/bunk/cot (whatever you want to call a basic metal frame and mattress) was just across the aisle from mine and down one.

Just to keep this all on the up-and-up, here's a breakfastary story tie-in. One time, Dave, a few others, and myself went to breakfast up to Santa Cruz, CA (it is about a forty-five minutes drive due north along Highway One from Monterey, CA) at a place called "Omelets, Omelets, Omelets" (or something to that effect). Of course, the restaurant specialized in many different stuffed egg dishes. So what does Dave go and order? Pancakes! His reasoning was entirely sound, "I don't like f*cking omelettes." Of course, he could have just said that before we all decided on eating at a place called "Omelets, Omelets, Omelets" (or something to that effect).

Anyway, back to our euphony of Dave Durkin. 

We started calling Durkin "Old Man" back in Basic Training early on. He was only twenty-one at the time (and just three years older than me), but he always looked so much older and more tired than the rest of us. My first impression after I had initially met him was that he was some kinda dim-witted red-neck from the South. I am glad to say that after getting to know him, I was completely wrong and found him to be just a dim-witted bohunk from da 'Burgh (my apologies to all the dim-witted red-necks from the South out there).

After Basic Training, several of us were lucky enough to get a "Delay Enroute/Leave" (which was just Military-speak for "vacation") before our technical training course started at the Defense Language Institute (DLI for short), Presidio of Monterey, CA. This was mainly because our Basic Training had ended a few days before Christmas and most Air Force
technical schools were closed for the week between Christmas and New Year, anyway. The next week, I even ran into the "Old Man" at San Francisco International Airport and we were on the same flight down to Monterey. What are the odds? (And anyone that knew Dave or knows me, knows that "odd" is the key word there.)

Dave was not only known as "Old Man", there was his simply nicknamed "Durk" and also "Groucho". While we were at DLI, there was a pseudo-fraternity we had of Marx Brothers. It all started out as there were four members from my Basic Training Flight that were assigned to the Presidio of Monterey and, as luck would have it, all happened to be in the same Basic Russkij class: Durkin, Glen Bacon ~ as in the eponymous inventor of the Glen Bacon Scale, Wayne Vernon, and myself. As we had already known each other from spending the past six weeks together at Lackluster AFB, TX, we all hung out together when we first arrived in Montereyski. I am not sure how it came about that we started calling ourselves "the Marx Brothers", but it was soon after we had arrived there ~ there may have been alcohol involved (and probably massive quantities if you knew those guys), or it may have just been that my sometime-nickname in high school was already "Harpo". So, Durkin ended up as "Groucho", Glen was "Zeppo", Wayne was "Chico", and I was… well, still "Harpo". As time went on ~ Language School training lasts anywhere from six months to a year, depending on the language being taught ~ we started gathering more "Marx Brothers" into our little "fraternity". There was: Al Guinee ~ "Gummo"; Warren Treadway ~ "Alpo"; Brent Smith ~ "Bozo"; Chuck Bunge ~ "Bungo"; Ed Drake ~ "Wo-Bung-Lo"; Marcia York ~ "Elbo"; Roisin Gormley ~ "Kuno" (which was later changed to "Karla" once she found out what "kuno" meant in Persian-Farsi); etc-o. As can be seen, the nicknames were normally all in the grande Marx Brothers tradition of ending in an "o"; Wayne even named his car "Ringo" ('cause it was a VW "Beatle"); and Durkin's VW van was called "Gonzo".

I only mention the name of Groucho's vehicle, "Gonzo", because there was a funny story involving it. (And it's only funny now because no one was actually injured ~ miraculously ~ during the filming of this story.) One night Dave and a couple other "brothers" ~ I think that Brad "Brado" Noah (okay, so not all of these are such well-thought-out nicknames) and at least one other person were in the van with Durkin ~ were driving home one night (and I should probably mention that it was after closing hour, so there may have been one or two libations consumed that evening) from downtown Monterey by way of winding Route 68, which was the roundabout back way to the Presidio from downtown. Well, apparently on one of the tight turns, Durk flipped the van completely upside-down and it continued traveling for a few hundred feet on its roof. Dave said he remembers seeing confused drivers in cars heading in the opposite direction. And the strangest thing was that through all this, while upside-down, Durk said he was still trying to control the direction of the car with the steering wheel. Luckily no one was even hurt more than a few bumps and bruises, but the van ended up totaled… it was "gonzo", if you will.

Durkin had a strange way of calling things (it may have been his 'Burgh-ish upbringing and the way they talk; yinz know what I mean). There was a particular bar that he liked to go to that was named "The Rogue", for reasons known only to him, he always called it "The Groin". I remember one summer evening after leaving "The Groin" (we may have been thrown out, I really don’t remember the details), it was getting late and Dave wanted to hit one last bar before last call, so we headed over to a bar on Cannery Row. Well, the particular establishment that we happened into had an Asian/Chinese bartender behind the counter and Durk saunters directly up to him and says "What time do you all crose?" Well, we didn't last more than the time it took for the poor bartender to let it sink in that Dave was insulting him and he chased us all out of there screaming and yelling. 

I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression here that alcohol played a major role in off-duty Air Force
activities… heck, I know there were many times when we were all drunk on duty, too.

Dave and I went on to our classified/technical training together down in Goodfellow AFB and also portions of our Airborne Survival Training schools in Fairchild AFB (in Spokane, WA) and Homestead AFB (just outside Miami, FL). So, in all, we had spent about a year and a half together of our first enlistment. Dave then got stationed up in Mildenhall AB (about two hours outside London, the one in England) and I got a chance to visit him up there in the Spring of 1980, while I was stationed at Hellenikon AB (just outside Athens, the one in Greece, not Georgia).

We kept in touch as best as possible before the days of the Intro-Net and e-mail stuff; phone calls once in a while, usually just the occasional Christmas card or semi-yearly letter. We both got out of the Air Force
around 1986: me ~ just because I needed a change of pace; Durkin ~ due to a Medical Separation/Discharge (seems like some guys just can't take a little heart attack now and then). I moved to California and he moved to Houston, Texas attaining a decent job with Compaq (and then with Hewlett-Packard after they had enveloped Compaq). He got the chance to travel for conventions and such and we saw each other several times over a twenty year period out here in San Francisco. We made sure to do a weekend roadtrip down to Monterey to check out some of the old haunts (I don't think we were tossed from any bars, but Durkin did get into an argument with, of all things, an English bartender about not knowing how to make a "propa 'arf-n-'arf").

The last time I actually saw Dave and got together with him was probably within the past ten years ago or so (when you have known someone for over thirty-seven years, ten years seems like yesterday and twenty years only seems like the day-before yesterday); he was in town once again for business. However, since the advent of defacedbook, it had been much easier keeping in touch with him.

So, let's all raise a frosty mug of Montana Redbird[2] and toast to David "Dave/Durk/Old man/Groucho" Durkin one last time before "crosing time"!

1. That would be at the 3703 BMTS (Basic Military Training Squadron).

2. This is actually called a "Montana Red Beer", but I am calling it a "Montana Redbird" as that was what I first (mis)heard it called back in the Summer of '78, or at least that was what I think I heard it called; either way, I am sticking with my name for it. 

This is made from just a Beer (usually a Lager*, and a really cheap one at that ~ no reason to ruin a perfectly good Beer, after all) mixed with equal parts tomato juice, and I think you can add a few splashes of your favourite hot sauce, too. 

*(Durk's choice of Lager that Summer happened to be Lucky Lager®, which may have been the cheapest Beer available back then and the most affordable on a low-ranking Airman's salary. I don't think Lucky Lager® is even produced any more; it was really that bad.)

Tzatziki

"I opened up a yogurt, underneath the lid it said, 'Please try again.' because they were having a contest that I was unaware of. I thought maybe I opened the yogurt wrong… Or maybe Yoplait® was trying to inspire me… 'Come on, Mitchell, don't give up!' An inspirational message from your friends at Yoplait®, fruit on the bottom, hope on top." ~ Mitch Hedberg


I just wanted to do a quick 'blog-entry on one of the World's Best Condimentary Supplementations ever invented in the World ~ nay, one of the World's Best Foods ever invented in the World: Τζατζίκι (Tzatziki)! I had done a previous 'blog-entry on the merits of Curryketchup over "the vile white goop" ~ also known as the national anthem of France: "Le Mayonnaise" (see previous 'blog-entry from June 10th, 2012), and I figured that Τζατζίκι more than deserved its very own 'blog-entry (much like Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee did).

Stupid, Useless Cunning Linguist Pointer of the Day:

"Τζατζίκι" derives from the Turkish word "Cacik" (pronounced somewhat like "djadjik"). "ژاژ (jaj)" in Persian, and "cacix" in Armenian and Kurdish, refers to herbs like dill, mint, parsley, thyme, etc. (sorry, no sage or rosemary that I know of, Art and Paul); the added suffix "-ik" comes from Turkish.

Most people only know Τζατζίκι as the white sauce that is usually on top of gyros (or souvlakis) or döner kebaps, but in Greece and Turkey and many other countries in the Middle East, Τζατζίκι is generally served as an appetiser/side dish/dip. This was how I was first introduced to it ("It is so very nice to have made your acquaintance, Ms. Τζατζίκι!"). Τζατζίκι was one of the first Greek dishes that I ever had when I first moved to Greece; it was presented as a dip to be used with some fresh-baked peasant bread (ψωμί), pita bread (πίτα), or (the best use of all) with some French fried/steak fries (πατάτες τηγανητές).

There are many different versions of Τζατζίκι or Cacik found throughout the Middle East (mainly due to the Ottoman Empire's influence), and the Indian dish of raita is also very similar. The Greek version of Τζατζίκι is my ultimate favourite. It is made with strained yoghurt (usually from sheep or goat milk), mixed with cucumbers (diced or shredded and then drained/strained of most of their excess water), garlic (a friend's wife used to crush it in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt to get it to the right consistency of paste), olive oil, and a little acidity/flavour from fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The Turkish version of Cacik will usually have most of these same ingredients, but with the addition of either dill or mint (I prefer neither extra herb, but it is still pretty good with them added in) and with or without the cucumbers (the cucumbers really add a nice texture to it, though). Greek Τζατζίκι will usually be a lot thicker and dippier than Turkish Cacik. 

I once had a roommate when I was going to school at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California that liked it so much that she would eat it for breakfast even. (Hey, Pam!) One morning before class, I caught her sneaking a few spoonfuls out of the batch that we used to keep in the refrigerator (both myself and our other roommate ~ Hey, Jordan! ~ had been stationed in Greece together and had introduced her to this most excellent dish). However, after Pam explained it to me, it all made perfect sense. What is not to like about Τζατζίκι for a breakfastary repast? It has yoghurt in it ~ very healthy and good for you (and a breakfastary staple with a lot of people); cucumbers ~ very refreshing (and while not a normal breakfastary item, it is technically a fruit); olive oil ~ another healthy and very tasty ingredient; and, last but not in the very leastest, garlic (which probably deserves its very own 'blog-entry one of these days, too). So, who am I to argue with such indisputably sound ratiocination?

Also, while living in Berlin (the one in Germany, not the more famous one in Massachusetts), I introduced another old Air Force buddy (who we shall just call "Doug DePraved" for informational purposes) to Τζατζίκι. We were out on the weekend in what was then called West Germany (or "the Mainland" to those of us that were living on the "Island of Democracy" of West Berlin). Doug let me choose the place for dinner the first night in Celle. I happened to notice a Greek restaurant just around the corner from where our Gasthaus (basically Deutsch for "bed & breakfast") was located. Now, there are two things you need to know about Herr DePraved: 1) he had never had Greek food before (or he wasn't very familiar with it, I don't exactly remember which), and 2) he was a very persnickety eater. As was my normal custom when eating Greek food, I ordered some Τζατζίκι to start the meal with. Doug took one look at it and sneered, saying, "What the heck is that junk?" So, I explained to him it was just a yoghurt, cucumber, and garlic dip. To which he replied, "I hate yoghurt… and garlic." But he tried some all the same (maybe he really liked cucumbers). Well… apparently he didn't hate yoghurt and garlic as much as he thought he did, or maybe the combination of both negated out his hatred for each other (♪ "Put da lime in da coconut…" ♪ ???). He ended up loving the junk and made us go back the next night for dinner at the same place and ordered his own side of Τζατζίκι, too. Ever after that, Doug would bug me at least once or twice a month to go out for some "Greeky food", as he put it.

Τζατζίκι, it's not just for breakfast any more, Pam…


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Τζατζίκι ~ 7.5-8.5

Original Buffalo Wings (OBW)

Happy Cat in the Hat Day!

http://www.originalbuffalowings.biz/ 

 

 

(Yes. Three EweToob videos this morning.

The first one is in reference to Cat in the Hat Day. Today is the anniversary of the birthday of Theodore Geisel, aka Doctor Seuss. March 2nd has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day in his honor.

I would also just like to point out that if you look at the album cover artwork for "Year of the Cat", you can see that Al Stewart was the original inspiration for Grumpy Cat.

The connection with the next two songs can be figured out easily enough if you actually waste your time and read along through today's 'blog-entry. You can consider this your contribution to National Read Across America Day, but I will expect everyone to contribute and Pay It Forward on their own.)


In keeping with my self-imposed 2013 breakfastary restrictions, I decide to go to Original Buffalo Wings (OBW) on Lombard Street (on the corner of Divisadero Street) this morning. They open up plenty early enough at 7:00am everyday, and do not do "Brunch". They are a small local chain and have six or seven Bay Area locations (depending on which part of their official web-site you look at).

OBW is located in the space that once housed the Not Yet World Famous Clown Alley. I think that the Lombard Street restaurant of that particular hamburger joint had already closed by the time I had moved to San Francisco in 1986, but the main location on Columbus Street remained open for a few more years yet.

I distinctly remember the first time that I went to the Not Yet World  Famous Clown Alley. Back in February 1978 when I was stationed at the Defense Language Institute/Presidio of Monterey, a friend of mine (Hey, Wayne!) had just bought a new (used) VW Bug and wanted to test it out on a road trip up to San Francisco. Of course, he only came up with this great idea at 11:00pm on a Friday night (alcohol may have been involved in this decision). However, this didn't stop us (that would be Wayne, myself, and Glen Bacon ~ no relation to the illustrious inventor of the Glen Bacon Scale) from jumping in the car and arriving at the Golden Gate Bridge around 1:00am on Saturday morning. After driving across the bridge (and running out of gas, but that's a "whole nuther" story for some other time), we decided to get something to eat.

Unfortunately, the only place nearby that was open at 2:30am happened to be Clown Alley. At that early/late hour, we shared the place with a bunch of (other) drunks and hookers. After grabbing a bite to eat, we decided that maybe we should find a place to crash for a few hours before playing touristas in San Francisco for the rest of day before heading back to Montereyski. We ended up finding a nearby flea-bag motel right along Lombard Street.

As we were stupid, poor Air Force Airmen, we really couldn't afford a room each to ourselves, so we got one room between the three of us. However, there were only two large beds in the room, so I chose to sleep on the floor between the two beds. Sure, I had just been through six weeks of Basic Training with both of these guys and had seen both of them naked many times before (meh?!), but when Wayne said there was plenty of room in the bed for the both of us, I told him: "No thanks. Why do you think they are called 'Queen-sized' beds?" Of course, Glen was already sound asleep by this time and could have cared less where I slept.

The Wild Parrots of San Francisco Interlude

This morning I once again parked over by the Lombard Gate of the Presidio. I heard at least a few dozen of my little feathered buddies, but they were way up in the tops of the eucalyptus trees and I really didn't see any of them flying overhead.

Pay It Forward Weekend… or bugger off! ~ Part III
(To get this reference, please see 'blog-entries from March 3rd, 2012 and March 5th, 2011.)

After breakfast, I walked over to Chestnut Street and was planning on "Paying It Forward" at the Peet's there. However, along the way (and just a half-block from reaching my destination) I passed a table set up on the sidewalk by some Girl Scouts. Now, I am a sucker for this time of year and always like to buy a few boxes of cookies in support. So I bought four boxes of Girl Scout Cookies (two boxes of samoas® ~ the toasted coconut/caramel/striped chocolate ones, which are my favourite, I bought one for now and the other I have to hide from myself so that I can enjoy them later for my birthday in June ~ yes, I really am that manic; one box of savanah smiles™ ~ lemon wedge cookies; and one box of thank u berry much™ ~ with cranberries and white fudge chips) and instead of getting the $4.00 change back from my $20.00 bill, I just told them to give a free box of cookies to the next customer that came along. I told them that if the person questioned this act of unbridled kindness to say that the free box of cookies was "on Scott".

I didn't have a bag to carry all the boxes, as I really wasn't figuring on buying any Girl Scout Cookies today, but the mother-lady gave me a large paper bag (the kind with handles) to carry all of them. So, the five boxes really only cost me $19.90 (to get that joke, you have to understand that San Francisco has a new stupid law that people have to use their own bags at all stores or get charged 10¢ per bag).

R.I.P. Mr. XV!

Anyway, back to the breakfast part of this breakfast 'blog…

I know what you are thinking, "Buffalo Wings for breakfast?" Well, they taste just like chicken, Jessica. Actually, they offer a pretty decent selection of breakfast items on the menu. I ordered the Garden Omelette ~ avocado, green bell peppers, onions, spinach, tomatoes, and Monterey Jack cheese; served with hashbrowns and a choice of toast (I had English muffins this morning). I also had a cuppa their house coffee, which was America's Best Coffee (that is just their claim, they are not really).
 

The omelette was really nothing special, it just had lots of avocado and spinach in it, which is always nice. Surprisingly, the coffee was actually not that bad for a greasy-spoon diner/hot wings joint.

OBW only has as condimentary supplementation Tapatío® (you'd think that as a "Buffalo Wings" place that they would at least have some Frank's® RedHot). But as Stevie Nicks' dad, Max[1], would say, it was lucky that I  had brought some of my own bottles with me; I used some Cherry Republic® KaBOB's Kick'en Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the hashbrowns and just six drops total (I counted; this stuff is pretty "nukular") of BIG PAPI En Fuego Hot Sauce Grand Slam XXXtra Hot (Thanks, Kerry! At this rate, I should be able to use up the bottle in another hundred or so uses) on the omelette.

 
"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck…" on Lombard Street again.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Garden Omelette ~ 5.8; The Cat in the Hat/Doctor Seuss ~ 8.5; Girl Scout Cookies ~ 6.0-7.0


1. You really thought that you could get through another one of my 'blog-entries (and especially one with references to DLI) without a stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day? Well, here is the stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer des Tages:

"Macht nichts" (which sounds a bit like "Max Nicks") is German for "It makes no difference" or "No matter". I think the direct translation is "It makes nothing".

Jim’s Restaurant

Otra plácido domingo en la Misíon.

(No official web-site.)

2420 Mission Street (at 20th Street)

phonicular contact: (415) 285-6020

(Today happens to be Día de la Bandera in Mexico ~ that means "Flag Day"”, it's not Melanie Griffith's husband's birthday. So to honour our neighbor to the south, I am including these two EweToob videos for your enjoyment.

When is Canadia's Flag Day, you ask? Who cares? Besides, it's not as if any Canadianlander hosers have ever provided anything to the World of Rock-and/or-Roll like those great 'mericans: Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Sarah McLachlan.)


I went to Jim's Restaurant in the Mission this morning for desayuno. This was just a coincidence and had nothing to do with Antonio Banderas Day. I am not sure if there is even a "Jim" still involved with the place. They open at 7:00am every day of the week and have a very large, open area with lots of seating: 12-13 booths that can seat four people or more, plus twelve diner-counter stools.

After breakfast, as it was really a very nice morning and still pretty early, I strolled down Mission Street for a bit and came across this pretty cool Superhero Mural (with both DC™ and Marvel characters in it; I am just sorry that Spider-Man appears to be coming out of a garbage can, Tim Rice) on the corner of 19th and Mission Streets.

Jim's Restaurant offers all of the standard diner breakfast fare. There were several items from which I could even choose. I was debating on either the Vegetarian Omelet or Vegetarian Eggs Benedict, but ended up ordering the Avocado, Onion, & Cheese Omelet ~ served with hash browns (You win again, as they have this as two words, Señor Gátès.) and toast (you can substitute fruit for the hashbrowns for an additional charge, but why would you ever want to do that?). I also had a cuppa coffee.

There are several options for cheese and I went with (Monterey) Jack[1] cheese, and sourdough toast as my bread choice. The omelette was made with lots of grilled (white) onions and fresh avocado; the grilled onions really added a lot of flavour and there was at least a half an avocado inside.

Jim's Restaurant just offers as bottled condimentary supplements Crystal® and Tapatío®, but they have their own keeler homemade Tomatillo Salsa and I made sure to use it con liberalidad on the omelette. Homemade salsa is always the best (this is la Misíon, after all)! I also used some of my own HP™ Guinness® (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the hashbrowns.

There was nothing really spectacular about this morning's meal, but I wouldn't hesitate either recommending this place or going back again sometime. It was good, honest diner-style breakfast food and the service was extremely polite and friendly for so early on another peaceful Sunday morning.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Avocado, Onion, & Cheese Omelet ~ 6.0; Homemade Tomatillo Salsa ~ 7.2


1. In case you don't know jack about cheese:

Monterey Jack cheese is an American semihard cow's milk cheese and used to be made by the Mexican Franciscan friars of Monterey, California in the early 19th Century ~ hence the first part of the name. Later on, Californian businessman and dairy owner, David Jack, began producing this cheese commercially ~ and there you have the second part of the name.

I suppose it could have ended up being called California David cheese, too.

Flipper’s Gourmet Burgers

"I'll have the tuna-free pancakes, please!"

(No official web-site. Which is strange, as they are a local mini-chain with other restaurants in Oakland/Piedmont and Novato.)

482 Hayes Street

Phonicular contact: (415) 552-8880

 

I went back over to Hayes Valley and ate at Flipper's Gourmet Burgers this morning; and I was very happy to see that they were actually open by the time I got there (which was after 9:00am today). Flipper's is basically a burger joint (which is where I assume they get their name) and offer eighteen types of burgers (which all can be substituted with either chicken breasts, turkey-burgers, or veggie-burgers); they do also have a pretty decent breakfastary menu from which to order. There is an outdoor patio café that has a Royal Ground kiosk[1] in it along with about 12-15 tables for four (which is probably as many seats as there are inside); it was still just a little overcast when I got there (and no other idiots were out there yet), so I opted (read: wimped-out) for a table indoors.

This is a photo of a fountain in the outdoor patio depicting some dolphins (or porpoises, I didn't get close enough to discern).

'Smart Fish' Rant:

This reminds me of a story about one time when I had lunch at Tillie Gort's in Pacific Grove (which is the town right next door to Monterey). Tillie Gort's is mainly a vegetarian restaurant and I have been going there since 1978 when I was stationed at the Presidio of Monterey. It's one of my favourite places for lunch on the Monterey Peninsula. I think it was started by some old hippies in the 70's as an alternative coffee house.

Anyway, this one time while I was there with some friends (and so as not to embarrass them any further, I will just call them "Greg" and "Cindy") I happened to overhear some stupid tourist at the next table ask the waitress if the tuna salad sandwich was "dolphin-free". When it came time for us to order, I made sure to ask the waitress if my No-meatloaf was "dolphin-free", also. I then went on to say to "Greg" and "Cindy" that "if dolphins are supposed to be so damned smart, why do they hang out with the stupid tunas? If Flipper truly was 'faster than lightening', how the hell does he get caught in the tuna nets? I say just eat the damn dolphin meat ~ have it canned and produced by StarKist®, and market it as 'the Beef of the Sea'. Don't even get me started on those stupid baby seals with their 'cute puppy-dog eyes'; I say just club 'em all and get it over with!" By which point, the poor tourists at the next table over were appalled, but I am pretty sure they will think twice about ever eating at my favourite restaurant again; heck, they probably have never been back to California since.

I suppose my main point was that it's okay to eat the poor tuna, but not the 'smart fish', Mr. Costanza?

http://www.tilliegortscafe.com/

Anyway, back to this morning's breakfast (this is supposed to be a stupid breakfast 'blog, after all). Flipper's has a pretty decent breakfast menu and I was leaning towards ordering the Morning Charge ~ 2 eggs your style, shredded potatoes grilled with bell peppers, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, cilantro, and a mixture of cheeses; topped with sour cream and tomatoes; I really like breakfasts where potatoes are the main focus. However, I also happened to notice they have a Greek Omelet ~ Spinach, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, onion, and Feta cheese; Kalamata olives and Feta cheese were the deciding factors for me. This was served with toast (I chose sourdough this morning) and grilled potatoes. I also had a very good cuppa Royal Ground coffee (which I am happy to point out was also "tuna- and dolphin-free").

It was nice to see that they spelled "omelet" correctly on the menu (well, one of the correct alternative spellings), and didn't mispel it as "omellet" or "ommelet" (see last week's 'blog-entry on Stacks' for stupid reference). The omelette not only had authentic Kalamata olives in it, there were at least 12-13 olives included; most places you are just lucky to get 5-6 olives. The omelette also had a lot of fresh spinach (again, fresh spinach is so much better than the frozen stuff in an omelette) and Feta in it; all of which are very good and why I ordered it.

Flipper's condimentary supplementation is/are Tabasco® (the standard red) and Tapatío®. I used some of my own Cholula® (Thanks, Brian!) on the omelette and Youk's Hot Sauce (Thanks again, Brian!) on the potatoes.

I did make sure to order a piece of Seal Flipper Pie for dessert, though, Sandy.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Greek Omelet ~ 7.0; Royal Ground coffee ~ 6.7; Tillie Gort's Dolphin-Free No-meatloaf ~ 7.5


[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist/etymological pointer of the day:
 
"Kiosk" comes from French "kiosque" (meaning "a stand in a public park, open pavilion, bandstand"), which comes from Turkish "köşk" (meaning "pavilion, palace, villa"), which comes from Persian "kushk" (meaning "palace, villa, portico").

I am not sure how to say "dolphin-free" in Farsi, though.