"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." ~ Groucho Marx "Mustard's no good without roast beef." ~ Chico Marx "*honk*, *honk*!" ~ Harpo Marx
https://cliffhouse.com/bistro/ Place: the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House Location: 1090 Point Lobos (at the end of the Earth/Ocean Beach) Hours: open for breakfast Monday - Saturday at 9:00am, Sunday at 8:30am Meal: Sautéed Vegetable Scramble(an off-menu item now) ~ scrambled eggs, red peppers, tomatoes, scallions, button mushrooms, melted goat cheese, served with fresh fruit and roasted potatoes; to drink, a glassa Ocean Beach ~ | Skyy Vodka | peach schnapps | pineapple | cranberry, which came with another neo-retro paper straw; and, of course, a basket (which included two this morning) of (World) Famous Cliff HousePopovers(!)
(Hey, Brian, just what the h*ck does Queen or "Bohemian Rhapsody" have anything to do with today's meal? Well, maybe Freddie Mercury and the rest of those Queenie-boys liked them some [World] Famous Cliff HousePopovers[!], too. And there is the fact that this song was prominently featured on their album named "A Night at the Opera". Mamma mia, now d'yer get it, Signore Galilei?!) Doubling-up/-down/-heading on all of the restaurants in my Breakfastary Starting Rotation, I returned to the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, November 3rd, 2019; so, basically, last week) again this morning.
Holy smoke (fog, whatever)! What a difference a week makes! Unlike last Sunday morning's gorgeous weather, the view out the window today was... well... almost nonexistent. The coastal fog was so thick that you could barely see Seal Rocks, which are only about one hundred yards offshore. (For a change, the blurriness of this photo is not really my fault or due to any intentional bokehocity.)
This particular item is no longer listed on their Breakfast menu. Luckily, Chris had informed me last week that it could still be ordered/made. Otherwise, the choice of items for st*pid vegetarians is very limited. This was always one of my favourite offerings of theirs, anyway. I suppose, in a pinch, I could always order a Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sandwich ~ ciabatta bread, red peppers, goat cheese, fresh basil, garlic fries; it is actually listed on their Lunch menu portion, but I was informed by my friendly waiter/server-person guy[1] that the Lunch menu items can also be ordered during breakfast hours. Cool! (Same as last weekend) Today's side of fruits included: watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, strawberry (one), and red grapes(two). Thankfully, the Ocean Beach did not taste anything like the Pacific Ocean. However, I thought there was a bit of grittiness when drinking it and coulda sworn there was some sand from outside in it. (Again, same as last weekend) For condimentary supplementation, the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House only has Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce). I used some of my own Dat'l Do-it®Spicy Jalapeno (noted sin virgulilla, Ms. Swinton) Hot Sauce (Thanks,Mom!) generously doused all over the scramble-mess and some Dragon's Lair Extra HotCayenne & Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks again,Mom!) on the potatoes. Additionally, I sprinkled a whole lotta McCormick®Grill Mates®Smokehouse MapleSeasoning all over everything... and I mean everything... including the fruits! (Well, I did not sprinkle any on the [World] Famous Cliff HousePopovers[!], 'cause that woulda just been sacrilegious!) Do not mock my fruit-spicening, this is a very common practice in Mexico with watermelon and mangoes.
Hollywoodland Spotlight of the Day I think this is a photo of Louis Feinberg, Moses Horwitz, and Jerome Horwitz ~ better known professionally as the Ritz Brothers. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Sautéed Vegetable Scramble ~ 6.7; Ocean Beach ~ 7.0; (World) Famous Cliff HousePopovers(!) ~ 8.2; the comedic antics of the Ritz Brothers ~ 8.5 (I would rate them higher, but everyone knows that the real humour-talent in that family belonged to Milton and Herbert.) ___________________ 1. Whose name I completely forget, but he has worked there for thirteen years now and always recognizes me as "the hot sauce guy" whenever I am there when he is working. He told me this morning that his favourite hot sauce is Marie Sharp's (original) Habanero Pepper Sauce. It is a good one. I like that one, too. https://www.mariesharps.bz/portfolio-item/original-fiery-hot/ He also told me that he was a D*dgers fan... at least he has good taste in hot sauces.
(World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!)... for what ails ye!
https://cliffhouse.com/bistro/ Place: the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House Location: 1090 Point Lobos (at the end of the Earth/Ocean Beach) Hours: open for breakfast Monday - Saturday at 9:00am, Sunday at 8:30am Meal: Shakshuka ~ two poached eggs on a bed of lightly spiced tomato and red pepper sauce with goat cheese & green onions served with warm pita bread, and also served with a side of fruit and roasted potatoes; to drink, a Ramos Fizz ~ Gordon's® Gin | sweet & sour | egg whites | cream | orange flower water (so, your basic Breakfast-themed beverage), which came with another neo-retro paper straw; and, of course, a basket (which included three this morning) of (World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!)
(Despite the contradictory themes in these two temporal-related songs by the Rollink Stonz boyz, I am sure that both Sir Mick and Kommoner Keef hate Daylight Saving Time [either the Start or the End] as much as I do.) When I woke up this morning, I was not sure that I was going to go out for a breakfastary repast. I think something that I ate yesterday did not agree with me (much like my family... except, with an upset stomach, I can always take some Pepto-Bismol™; unfortunately, they do not offer that for family get-togethers yet). It was quite possibly the Burger King®Impossible™Wh*pper® that I had yesterday for lunch. But then I got to thinking, if (World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!) can not quell my stomach woes, nothing could. So, (even though Baseball Season ended last week ~ Congratulations to the 2019 World Champion Washington Nationals!), to close out my Breakfastary Starting Rotation, I simply went back to the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, May 26th, 2019).
What a gorgeous Autumn day to be a seabird out on Seal Rocks! (This was the view from my seat this morning.)
This is a brand new item on their menu. It was not offered back in May on my last visit. My ever-informative waiter/server-guy, Chris, (who has been working there as long as I have been going there; I usually pester the H*ll outta him about some of the lesser-know Hollywoodland stars' photos on the walls) said that they just added this to their menu in the last four months. Chris also told me that the Shakshuka has become an instant hit with many of the patrons; he also told me that most patrons usually have to ask him just what the h*ck exactly is a "Shakshuka". At first, this did not look like an awful lotta food, but with the three (World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!), potatoes, and fruit, it ended up being almost too much for me to finish. I did "force" myself to eat the last bite of my (World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!), though. Needless to say, I fully enjoyed this version of Shakshuka. With the recent menu change, they no longer offer either Farmer's Scrambleor Sautéed Vegetable Scramble(which had been two of my stalwart favourites in past years). However, Chris astutely informed me that you can still order both of these items "off-menu", too. Seems like a decent menu trade-off to me. Today's side of fruits included: watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, strawberry (one), and red grapes (two). For condimentary supplementation, the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House only has Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce). I just used a little of my own H*ll's KitchenWhiskey Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on the potatoes and several grinds of The Spice & Tea Exchange®Earthly Delight Spice Blend (Thanks, Cindy!) on top of the Shakshuka and potatoes.
Hollywoodland Spotlight of the Day Positioned just over my left shoulder this morning was the above autographed photo of Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland. She is a two-time Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award winning actress ("To Each His Own" [1946] and "The Heiress" [1949] ~ both for Best Actress). Still alive today, at 103 years of age, she is among the last surviving movie stars of the Golden Age of Classical Hollywoodland. I think her younger sister acted in a few Hollywoodland movies, too. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000014/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1 Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Shakshuka ~ 7.2; Ramos Fizz ~ 7.1; (World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!) ~ 8.2
https://cliffhouse.com/bistro/ Place: the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House Location: 1090 Point Lobos (at the end of the Earth/Ocean Beach) Hours: open for breakfast Monday - Saturday at 9:00am, Sunday at 8:30am Meal: Thick Sliced Sourdough French Toast ~ maple syrup, crisp bacon (once again, they were nice enough to substitute the dead, decaying crispy porky-butt bits with some of their very good breakfast roasted potatoes), powdered sugar, and fresh apple compote; a basket of three (3) (World) Famous Cliff HousePopovers(!); and a glassa Cliff House Classic Bloody Mary ~ Skyy Vodka, house mix of tomato juice/chili sauce/clam juice (much like the dead, decaying crispy porky-butt bits, I made sure to request the drink without this item; besides, just what kinda satanic juicer/blender would be used to make this un-dogly ingredient?!)/horseradish (this came with a neo-retro paper straw; hence, the opening query and the following EweToobular song)
[1] As has been the norm for several years now, to close-out the mid-Spring workout of my Breakfastary Starting Rotation, I returned to the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, January 27th, 2019).
I had arrived at the Cliff House about twenty minutes before they were scheduled to open, so, to kill some time ("I swear it was in self-defense, your Honour!"), I decided to walk around the building to ward off the (extra) breezy and cold(-ish) weather this morning. I was pleasantly surprised by the sight of several large pods of Pelicans flying in nice Military V-formations (in honour of the Memorial Day weekend, perhaps?). Even with my sojourn around the perimeter of the building, I still ended up being the second "group" in line waiting. Because they were a little late to open this morning, I got to talking to the three people in front of me and one of the nice ladies even invited me to join them this morning for breakfast. I politely declined, but told them to try and get the "The Wizard of Oz" table (where there are autographed photos of both Frances Gumm and Francis Phillip Wuppermann on the wall over a specific table ~ this was also the same table at which I sat on my previous visit), and, as luck would have it, they were seated right at that table, too!
(Ooopsie! Looks like the Cliff House needs to House-train their pets.)
This drink was a veritable meal unto itself. It included the compulsatory celery stalk along with a pimiento-stuffed olive, a small Hungarian chilli (or close enough for varietal purposes), and a wedge of lime. It was already pleasantly spicy enough that I did not need to pep-it-up any with any shots from my own hot sauces.
After twenty-five-plus years of eating at the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House now, this might be only the second time that I have ordered this dish. Trust me, this was a major oversight on my part (perhaps, my breakfastary vision has been a bit myopic). This is a very good version of French toast, and by using thick slices of local sourdough, it not only gives it a distinctive flavour, but does not become over-soggified (it's a real word... look it up!) by the eggy-batter. Unfortunately, I think that this meal may have been a bit of a carboverload; what with the three (World) Famous Cliff HousePopovers(!), French toast, potatoes, and I am sure that there were some superfluous carbohydrates in the Bloody Mary, too. the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House only has Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) for use as a condimentary supplement. I used some of my own Peaks of Otter PeppersInca GoldHot Sauce (Thanks,Cindy & Greg!) on the potatoes and a few grinds of my grains of paradise grinder all over the potatoes... and a bit on top of the French toast, too. (Do not judge me for my taste-quirks! At least I did not use any of the hot sauce on top of the French toast... however, I did give it a thought as mango and pineapple are ingredients in that hot sauce, and might very well have complemented both the maple syrup and the apple compote.)
Hollywoodland Spotlight of the Day Although I did not score "the Wizard of Oz"-table myself, on the wall over the far side of my table was an autographed photograph of George Raft. Of course, George Raft was best known for his portrayal of gangster-toughguys in many movies in the 30's and 40's. He also happened to play a major role in one of my All-Time Favourite Movies of All-Time ~ "Some Like It Hot"[2]. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0706368/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Thick Sliced Sourdough French Toast ~ 7.0; Cliff House Classic Bloody Mary ~ 7.2; (World) Famous Cliff HousePopovers(!) ~ 8.2 ___________________
'blog-post-thing the One After 999 (plus) Raccoon Island Discovery Day ~ Anniversary the 5th
https://cliffhouse.com/bistro/ Place: the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House Location: 1090 Point Lobos (at the end of the Earth/Ocean Beach) Hours: open for breakfast Monday - Saturday at 9:00am, Sunday at 8:30am Meal: Joe's (not-really-so-very) Special (I-suppose-when-you-excise-the-dead-decaying-grinded-up-bovine-flesh) Scramble~ scrambled eggs with sautéed ground beef (which I made sure to have éighty-sixéd), onions, mushrooms, spinach, topped with Parmesan cheese, served with fresh fruit and roasted potatoes; once again, to drink, a Ramos Fizz ~ Gordon's gin | sweet & sour | egg whites | cream | orange flower water; and, as always, a basket of (World) Famous Cliff HousePopovers(!) with two hot, fresh outta the oven
I had not originally planned for my 1,000th 'blog-entry to include (World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!); however, when I saw that I was closing in on the ten-century mark, anyway, I made sure to adjust my breakfast trips so that this would indeed happen. Because of which, I ventured back to the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, September 16th, 2018) to close-out the early 2019 workout of my Breakfastary Starting Rotation. I arrived almost exactly at 8:30am this morning. I was the first one in line and was admitted as soon as they had opened, so I was assured of getting a great viewing table along the west-facing window-wall overlooking Seal Rocks and Ocean Beach. I have had all of their vegetarian-viable breakfast options many times over now and really have nothing to complain about as they are always worth reordering. However, I really wish they did still offered a Greek Scramble (it was one of the better versions in the city and was made with authentic Kalamata olives and Greek Feta); this exclusion is very strange, 'cause the owners of the restaurant are actually Greek themselves.
Today's scramble included a profusely perfect preponderance of spinach that would make even Popeye profoundly proud. Even though there were only two (World) Famous Cliff HousePopovers(!), those were sufficient for me this morning. I promptly ate both of them (with butter and marmalade on one and butter and strawberry jam on the other ~ "Get 'em while they're hot!") even before the meal had arrived. This morning's side of fresh fruits was/were: watermelon, (red) grapes, cantaloupe, and honeydew melon. Needless to say, it was all a very-good-portioned breakfast for my moderate appetite. Even so, after the meal, they had the "noive" to try and tempt me with any of their desserts!!! (Warm Triple Fudge Brownie [salted caramel sauce & Chantilly cream] or Peanut Butter Cheesecake [candied peanuts, fudge sauce & Chantilly cream], anyone?!) the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff Houseonly has Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) for use as a condimentary supplement. So I just used some of my own Tijuana Flats Tex-MexSmack My *ssand Call Me Santa (Thanks, Rick!) on the scramble-mess and some Laura Plantation Vidalia® Onion & Peach Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the potatoes.
Hollywoodland Spotlight of the Day This photo was just overlooking my right shoulder during breakfast. Of course, almost anyone that has been a child since 1939 knows that Frank Morgan (born Francis Phillip Wuppermann; June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949) played the titular character (along with a few other roles in the movie) in "the Wizard of Oz"[1]. I just love that his photo is directly above the one of Frances Gumm (the lesser-known of the Gumm Sisters, of course). https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0604656/
Raccoon Island Discovery Day Anniversary Strange Interlude ~ 2019 Those ungrateful little masked rat-bastages! On the fifth anniversary of my "discoverying" Raccoon Island, I had fully prepared to share with them some purloined (unsalted) roasted peanuts and illegal Zante currants! However, there were none to be found when I arrived at the shores across from Raccoon Island this morning after breakfast. (Okay, it was 9:30am, and they really all shoulda been asleep by then, anyway, but still... ) The only wildlife present were several Grey Squirrels (the top photo shows how large they can get when people keep incessantly feeding them). The middle photo is of a couple of female Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) that usually only show up in Golden Gate Park in Winter and early-Spring. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Joe's (not-really-so-very) Special (I-suppose-when-you-excise-the-dead-decaying-grinded-up-bovine-flesh) Scramble ~ 6.6; Ramos Fizz ~ 7.0; (World) Famous Cliff HousePopovers(!) ~ 8.22; Raccoon Island environs and its autochthonic wildlife ~ 8.5 ___________________
1. W. C. Fields was originally chosen for the role of the Wizard, but Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios ran out of patience after protracted haggling over his fee.
Where the Park (that would be Golden Gate) meets the Pacific (that would be Ocean)
https://www.beachchalet.com/ Place: Beach Chalet Location: 1000 Great Highway (@ Ocean Beach, between John F. Kennedy Drive and Lincoln Way) Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday + Sunday 10:00am Meal: Roasted Vegetable Frittata~ roasted mushrooms + cauliflower, caramelized onion, spinach, Cheddar, marinated tomatoes, little salad (oh, how that would really p*ss-off Elaine Marie Benes); a side order of Hash Brown Cakes; and (because it is a brewery-type joint, after all) a pinta Sea Serpent Foggy I.P.A.
(Hmmm?! Okay, so maybe I probably mighta shoulda waited to use the EweToobular juxtaselection and header quote from Friday's 'blog-entry here today instead. If anyone is wondering, I did not have a second pinta for dessert... but only 'cause I was too full.) In revisiting some places that I had not eaten breakfast ("Brunch", whatever) at in a while, I decided to revisit Beach Chalet (see previous 'blog-entry from Saturday, July 9th, 2011). It seems that in the past few years they have changed their name (and signage colours) from theBeach ChaletBrewery & Restaurant. Because I had arrived there about fifteen minutes before they had opened for the morning, I was one of the first people to get seated. (There were about twenty other people waiting in line ~ ahead of and behind me ~ before they started seating people.) I scored a primo window-seat looking out onto the Great (well, that is what they call it; it just seems kinda "Okay" in my book) Highway and Ocean Beach. I was seated right below an open vasistas[1], too. The table one over from me had a young family of five (Mom, Dad, and three kids ~ two girls and one younger boy, probably four or five years old). The restaurant supplies kids with a small box of crayons and kids menus where the reverse side is a picture that can be coloured. I found it funny that the little boy yelled out: "I call the 'seahorse'! I call the 'seahorse'!" I watched... all three pictures were 'seahorses'. There were still several other good ideas from which to choose on the "Brunch" menu (I am not sure what they may have had to offer on the kids menu, though, as no one thought to offer me a set of crayonsand a picture to colour ~ Harrumph!): Florentine Benny ~ toasted English muffin, sautéed spinach, roasted tomato, Hollandaise, poached eggs, Hash Brown Cakes; Honor Your Benny ~ sausage buttermilk biscuit, charred tomato relish, seared pork belly, poached farm eggs, sauce Choron[2], Hash Brown Cakes (I like the sound of both the charred tomato relish and Choron sauce; if this could be made vegetarian-friendly, I know I would like it); or Baked French Toast ~ thick sliced pain de mie bread, lavender honey, roasted local strawberries, maple syrup, applewood bacon (where I would 86 the dead, decaying porcine stuff and probably order a side of Hash Brown Cakes). They also have an item under the heading Snacks + Apps: Charred Brussels Sprouts ~ onion agro-dolce(???), cashews, lime, mint, Aleppo pepper. I know I would love that one, but I am not sure how to make it into a complete meal. Possibly ordering two poached eggs as a side?
("Beer for breakfast, Brian?!" Mind yo' own bees-wax! It is made with wheat, barley, and yeast ~ them's the ingredients in toast, anyway. Plus, this I.P.A. was very citrusy... that spells breakfastary to me!) Unfortunately, they did not have any special Oktoberfest Beers available yet for the season. I was initially just going to go with a standard Riptide Red Ale (I have had this one many times over the years and knew I liked it), but I saw the above Sea Serpent Foggy I.P.A. pull. The barkeep gave me a small tipple-taste of it and I was sold. This was a very decent rendition of an I.P.A.
They had me at "roasted cauliflower"[3]. I really enjoyed this traditionally-made frittata. And there were two different types of mushrooms (at least I think there were; I am not exactly sure which kinds of mushrooms they were, though) in the mess. The marinated tomatoes were halved cherry (or grape) tomatoes: purple, orange, and yellow, and served on top of the frittata, not added into the egg-mixture. The rabbit-food junk came piled on top of the frittata (which seems to be the ubiquitous way they are serving frittatas these days); I made sure to push it all off to the side out of the way. Another pleasant surprise were the Hash Brown Cakes. I was just expecting these to be served as some kinda hashbrowns patties. They turned out to be a trio of towering tater-tots! Now why have I not been back to this place in over seven years for breakfast ("Brunches", whatever)? (Probably due to their 10:00am opening time. I prefer to eat my breakfasts a lot earlier than that.) Hopefully I will make a return visit for breakfast sometime before the year 2025.
Their sister venue (their words on the web-site) in the back of the building, Park Chalet, does not open until even later for "Brunch" at 11:00am. That is wayyy too late for my liking. They do offer a whole different menu there, though. For condimentary supplementation, Beach Chalet offers the Standard San Francisco Triumvirate of Hot Sauces (Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce - Original Red Sauce; Tapatío®Salsa PicanteHot Sauce; and Cholula®Hot Sauce - Original). Even so, I still used some of my own Tijuana Flats Tex-MexSmack My*ssand Call Me Santa (Thanks, Rick!) on the frittata and Fan the FlamesSriracha Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on the tater tots on steroids. And to make even the boring ol' rabbit-food junk taste better, I sprinkled a little Charlie's Chili Stuff by Thyme Farm Vinegars (Thanks, Sharon!) all over it.
("Wait a minute, Brian... what does Emmylou Harris singing a Noel Yang song have anything to do with Beer or frittatas or Ocean Beach?"
Just keep reading... [buncha impatient jerks]) (not so) Strange Coffee Interlude On my way over to breakfast, I stopped by Marla Bakery and picked me uppa a small 12 oz cuppa Wrecking Ball Coffee RoastersEthiopia Guji Gr. 1 Uraga Tomme. I made sure to enjoy it while killing an hour-and-a-half ("I swear it was in self-defense, your Honour!") at various stopping places along the way westward in Golden Gate Park. https://www.wreckingballcoffee.com/ Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Roasted Vegetable Frittata~ 7.1; Sea Serpent Foggy I.P.A. ~ 7.2; Wrecking Ball Coffee RoastersEthiopia Guji Gr. 1 Uraga Tomme ~ 7.3 ___________________
1. I will let you all try to figure out that cunning linguist reference. (Hint: This is actually used as a French word, not a German word.) 2. Say wha'?! https://www.foodnetwork.com/terms/choron-sauce 3. Now this is an interesting factoid that I just learned yesterday. In a 100 gram/3.5 ounce serving of cauliflower, there is 58% of the Daily Value for Vitamin C. That is the same amount as in a 100 g/3.5 oz serving of pineapple. As a comparison, a 100 g/3.5 oz serving of oranges has a 64% DV, the same size serving of mangoes has a 44% DV, grapefruit ~ 40% DV, tomatoes ~ 17% DV, and cranberries ~ 16% DV. Now, I am not suggesting that Tropicana®, Welch's®, or Ocean Spray® start marketing cauliflower juice... not that I wouldn't try it... but that is a pretty impressive level of Vitamin C. Winter and flu season are approaching; so eat your cauliflower, kids! If you are wondering (and even if you weren't) just how high a level of Vitamin C a 100 g/3.5 oz serving of Brussels sprouts packs ~ there is a wh*pping 102% DV! Yowza! (Hmmm?! I wonder what the DV% of Vitamin C is in an I.P.A.)
