Loma Brewing Company/Loma Coffee Bar

A(nother) Breakfastary Roadtrip:
the (Spanish) Kitty-Cats, CA[1]

https://www.lomabrew.com/


Place: Loma Brewing Co. & Loma Coffee Bar[2]

Location:  130 N Santa Cruz Avenue, Los Gatos, CA
(in the ♥ of Los Gatos)

Hours: (brewery/restaurant) open for "Brunch" Tuesday - Sunday at 11:30am (however, they had special hours today and tomorrow and were open at 10:00am);
(Coffee bar) serving breakfast Wednesday - Sunday at 7:30am (well, I had arrived there around 8:30am and was told that they really don't start serving any kinda hot food items until 8:00am usually)

Meal: (me) Breakfast Flatbread ~  bacon (Really, Kevin?! Ain't that kinda non-כַּשְׁרוּת?), spinach, caramelized onion, Mozzarella, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, sunny side egg, salsa roja;
(Dave) McLoma Sandwich ~  chili Beer brined ham, sharp Cheddar, folded eggs, housemade English muffin, tropical fruit cup;
to drink:
(me) two cuppas Ethiopia Guji Heirloom and a 13-ounce glassa Youks Kolsch[3];
(Dave) a Cappuccino (made with Youk! - Loma Espresso Blend) and also a 13-ounce glassa Youks Kolsch

(... 'cause everyone knows that the "[Greek-Jewish] King of Swing" is better'n any ol' "Sultana of Squat" [aka "the Babe-beano"].)


An old Air Force buddy of mine (Thanks, Karl! [Even if he is one of "those" D*dgers fans.]) had sent me a recent news-article[4] last week on defacedbook that former RED SOX star-player Kevin ("Youk's on First? Idunno's on Third!") Youkilis had opened a local brewery/restaurant in near(enough)by Los Gatos. 
I figured I would have to check it out sometime in the future... well, apparently today is the future, Doc Brown.

Just so as to not make it a totally solitary trip "all the way down there", I invited another old Air Force buddy Dave (who lives about thirty-five minutes south of Los Gatos and was closer to it than me, anyway) to join me there for breakfast. As it turned out, the new brewery is in the same location as the old Los Gatos Brewing Company, which, coincidentally enough, Dave used to work at way back in 1994-1995 (Dave is very old!). I think that the last time that I was actually down Los Gatos-way was to meet Dave there for lunch, too. I think it was probably back in 1998 or 1999 (Dave is very old!).

Any true red-blooded RED SOX fan of the past twenty years worth his salt, is well-aware of exactly who this Yoooooouk! guy is. Quick bio: After playing nine quality seasons with the GOOD GUYS (and winning two World Series Championships with them in that span ~ which is one more World Series Championship than the D*mn Y*nkees have won in the entire Millennium so far!), Kevin played one more season of MLB with the Chicago South-siders in 2012. Of course, as all faithful and knowledgeable RED SOX fans know, Youk took the entire 2013 Season off... He is a 3-Time All-Star (2008, 2009, & 2011); Gold Glove Award (2007) recipient; and a member of both the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame and the Boston RED SOX Hall of Fame. (I think that I read somewhere that Youk's brother-in-law is also some kinda sports-player; I think he plays Soccer in Massachusetts or sumpthin'... )

Just in case the Big Guy was there this morning hisd*mnself, I made sure to arrive at the restaurant clad head-to-toe (literally) in RED SOX items of clothing: (head-) RED SOX baseball cap (natch') (I went with an old one of mine that is exactly twenty years old this week/month; I bought it back in 1999 during the All-Star festivities in Boston in a sports-shop across the street from Fenway Park; which is one of four 
RED SOX caps that I own); (to-) RED SOX long-sleeve t-shirt (I have way too many different RED SOX t-shirts to really count); and (toe) RED SOX socks 
(I own three different pairs). I do own two different RED SOX jackets/windbreakers, but I did not want to "over-do" it, so I was just wearing a nondenominational red-and-blue sweatshirt. (I do not own a pair of 
RED SOX skivvies, or I mighta also been wearing those this morning... I would just not have been able to show them off to anyone at the brew pub/Coffee bar.)

As Dave and I were the first idiots to walk in just as they were opening (right on the nose, Mr. Durante!) at 10:00am, we had our choice of seats. It is a fairly large restaurant and there are many tables that can seat two-to-eight people. The place filled up pretty quickly, too.

As for the food, I have never met a Breakfast Pizza (Flatbread, whatever) that I did not like. Of course, in honour of Kevin Youkilis' Jewish heritage, I made sure to have them 86 the dead, decaying porky-butt bits from my meal. It was a single-serving Pizza (Flatbread, whatever), but it was just about all that I could do to finish it. (Actually, I "forced" Dave to try a slice of it.)

The McLoma Sandwich looked much tastier than (and was easily twice the size of) whatever that clown Ronald McJ*ter could ever come up with ("... up with could come... "? Nah! That just don't sound right.). The "folded eggs" sounded confusing in the menu, but it was just flattened scrambled eggs ("folded" in between the slices of English muffin). Plus, they make their own (over-sized) English muffins fresh daily. When I had first arrived this morning, they had just finished baking up a batch of these English muffins. I was even thinking of ordering this one myself (again, just making it kosher-likeⓊ).

Loma Brewing Co. had just Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Huy Fong Foods Inc. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce for use as condimentary supplementation. I did not really feel like schlepping any of my own hot sauces "all the way down there" this morning, but, as it turned out, their salsa roja was flavourful (and picante) enough, anyway.

Why the two cuppas of Ethiopia Guji Heirloom? I bought one cuppa when I first got into town. I purposefully got to the place an hour before I was planning on meeting Dave there so that I could walk around Los Gatos for a bit and the second cuppa was for-with breakfast. Plus, 'cause I decided to buy a bagga (it is either a 12 oz or 1-pounder) the Ethiopia Guji Heirloom to take-with-home, I got the second cuppa as a freebie! (They were not being extra nice to me, that is just what they do for anyone buying a bagga.) The Coffee was very good. Ethiopian Coffee is one of my favourites.

I would really have liked to have tried several of their Beers, but, sadly, I did have to drive the hour-or-so back home in the afternoon and thought it best to just try the eponymous brew that I did. It was also very good. I have been a fan of Kölsch-style Beers since living in Deutschland. Dave and I were both stationed together in Berlin-town back in 1983-1985 (Man, that Dave is really old!).

Before breakfast, while waiting for Dave to finally show up, I walked around the area a bit and happened across a local gelato-joint a few blocks down the street from the brewery. I was amazed that they were open for business before 9:00am. Of course, I had to sample a few of their flavours... Well, after breakfast ("Brunch", whatever), I went back over there and got a small cup with two flavours: half-cuppa Sambuca and half-cuppa Horchata. 

http://www.dolcespazio.com/

All in all, this morning turned out to be a very good one breakfastarily for me:

Coffee! Beer!! Pizza!!! Ice Cream!!!!

The only two items missing from the Five Major Food Groups this morning were Potatoes and Chocolate. 

(Hmmmm?! I wonder if'n I should try some Chocolate-dipped French Fries for dinner?!)

Glen Bacon Scale Rating:

Breakfast Flatbread ~  6.7;

(I did not bother asking Dave what he might rate his McLoma Sandwich; he seemed to have liked it well enough to clean his plate; so I would guess it was upwards of a 6.5, too);

Ethiopia Guji Heirloom ~ 7.4;

Youks Kolsch ~ 6.9;

Ice Cream ~ 7.0 (cumulative; the Sambuca-one was probably a 7.2 all on its ownsome)

Kevin Edmund Youkilis ~ .281

(I would just like to point out that Glen Bacon ~ 

he of the above named "Scale" ~ is also a long-time RED SOX fan.)

___________________

1. https://www.losgatosca.gov/

The "town" of Los Gatos is about fifty miles (well, according to Google Map, it is 54.1 miles) south of my apartment in San Francisco and about one hour travel time down there (almost 'zackly ~ I left my apartment at 7:30am and arrived at 8:30am [well, I would have arrived then if I had not missed my exit off Highway 17 and then had to back-track for about five minutes... 

but still... )

I found this titbit of information pretty interesting. Both Olivia de Havilland and her kid sister went to Los Gatos High School.

2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, número uno:

I do not know why the joint is called "Loma" (I asked one of the baristarettes, but she did not know either), but the word "Loma" en español simply means "hill" or "knoll", Chuck.

(Perhaps, "Loma" has an entirely different meaning in Romanian or Greek.)*

*(Ha! This cunning linguistic stuff kills me.

Just on a lark [there were no Wild Parrots of San Francisco nearby], I Google Translate-d "Loma" under "Detect Language" and it came up that "Loma" in Finnish also means "holiday" and "Λόμαξ" [pronounced "LOmax"] in Greek-speak actually means "hilltop". It did not list anything under Romanian, though.)

3. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-brewista pointer of the day, Nummer zwei:

Kölsch is a style of Beer originating in Cologne, Germany. "Kölsch" simply means "from Cologne" auf Deutsch.

4. https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/06/25/kevin-youkilis-boston-red-sox-loma-brewing-company

Garlic ~ Part Too

"Roses?! We don' need no stinkin' roses!"[1]

(Sorry, you try finding decent garlic-studded songs. Besides, you know you all wanna give "garlic gumbo gravy guava" a go-go.)


garlic[2]
noun | gar-lic | \ˈgär-lik\

1 : a European allium (Allium sativum) widely cultivated for its pungent compound bulbs much used in cookery; broadly : ALLIUM
2 : a bulb of garlic

— garlicky \ˈgär-li-kē\ adjective


This is just a quick follow-up on garlic (see previous 'blog-entry from Wednesday, February 11th, 2015). This is the kinda thing that pops into my head late at night (well, 3:00am early in the morning) when I can not sleep.

While garlic may not necessarily be a mandatory ingredient for the first meal of the day (and just how come those smarmy bastages at the Pancake Home of Internationality [better known as "PHOI®", of course] have never come up with a decent "Garlic Pancake"?), it really does enhance most breakfastary dishes. Any decent homefries/country potatoes worth its merits should include at least a little (or, like the truly Excellent! Roasted Home Potatoes at Eats, a lot) of this tasty underground fruit. ("But... Brian... garlic is not really a 'fruit' is it?" Seriously?! This is a silly li'l 'blog-post about "garlic", fercryinoutloud, and you are actually questioning my botanical authentification. Besides, if you don't believe me, you can check with those monkey-experts at Scopes.com [see, they don't just fight smelly bad-breath now-a-days, they fight smelly bad-breathtaking rumours, too].)

Most of the great cuisines of the World utilize garlic to some extent in their dishes (with the exception of certain sects of Buddhism[3]): Chinese, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Indian (the Hindu-type, I am not sure about the Native American take on garlic, but I bet it would be great with fry-bread), Burmese (Myanmarese, too), Vietnamese, French, German, Korean, Japanese, Turkish, Arab, Israeli (and also European/American Jewish), Ethiopian and Eritrean, Russian, Afghani, Cuban, Jamaican, and Irish[4].

Garlic always goes great in/with some of my favourite foods: Pizza (and, yes, in my family Pizza is a traditional breakfast dish, d*mmit!), potatoes (in the chips form and most all forms), etc. I have even had Garlic Ice Cream (once) and it wasn't that bad (of course, it was late in the afternoon at the Gilroy Garlic Festival[5] and by that time everything tasted like garlic anyway). Not to mention... Τζατζίκι! (and do not try and tell me that Tzatziki is not a true breakfast dish; it has yoghurt in it, right?) However, I do draw the line at garlic-Coffee and garlic-Beer.

And just another good reason that garlic is a great breakfast addition ~ not that I expect people will run out to their local Garlic Julius® tomorrow to start drinking up this stuff ~ but a 3.5 oz/100g serving of garlic has 38% of your Daily Value of Vitamin C (okay, sure, the equivalent serving of oranges pack a 64% of Vitamin C, but when was the last time you asked for extra oranges on your Pizza Margherita?).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Garlic (plain) ~ 6.8;
Garlic (roasted) ~ 7.2;
Τζατζίκι ~ 7.2-8.2

___________________

1. http://www.garlic-central.com/stinking-rose.html

First off, I am impressed that there is an actual web-site dedicated to garlic. 

Secondly, while garlic is not actually a member of the Rose-family, it is interesting to point out that apples (as well as pears, quinces, apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, raspberries, loquats, strawberries, and almonds) are. How do you like them roses?!

2. Definitionary results courtesy of little Miss Mary-Anne Webster.

3. Do you really wanna know the complete arbitrariness of that particular dietary restriction? You can read my somewhat explanation in my initial garlic 'blog-entry. The ban also includes not using onions, leeks, and a few other good-tasting stuff. H*ck, different Buddhist sects can not even agree as to exactly why this is. 

Trust me, this Buddha guy would not last a week on the food network.

4. No, "Irish Cuisine" is not a culinaristic oxymoron.

Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day:

For any of you wise-a-guy pun-dits wondering just what the word for "garlic" in Gaelic might be, it is "gairleog". 

5. https://gilroygarlicfestival.com/

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 17

(Sunday, October 8th, 2017)


(Sorry, there are no corresponding photos of either any of the performances or of any of the actual food consumed. Someone decided it would be too much excess weight to pack an 8 oz small camera in his backpack. Of course, that same someone had no problem making sure to pack three frozen packs in with the bottles of Beer and water to keep them cold. Well, at least that someone had his priorities in order.)

http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2017/


Place: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 17

Location: Golden Gate Park
(Helman Hollow, Marx Meadow, and Lindley Meadow)

Hours: 12:00pm-7:00pm (Friday, October 6th, 2017); 11:00am-7:00pm (Saturday, October 7th, 2017); and 11:00am-7:00pm (Sunday, October 8th, 2017)

Meal[1]: (these are pretty much in the order of my eating all this stuff) Broccoli Rabe - Mac & Cheese; Fried Cauliflower & Waffle (with warm maple syrup poured all on top of the waffle; Cajun seasoning sprinkled all over the cauliflower florets and also on the waffle ~ trust me; some barbecue sauce on one of the cauliflower florets; and they even threw in some freebie turnip greens on the side); (popsicle) pop nation ~ Bourbon Peach; (another popsicle, but from some u/i vendor) Corn Flakes Frozen Custard Pop (yes, this was made with corn flakes and I loved it); a slice of cheese Pizza; and two Tootsie Pops® Miniatures ~ Orange and Cherry (I think these were what put me over the limit; unfortunately, there was not an Indian [Native American, whatever] Chief on either lollipop label)
(to drink) a 12 oz bottle of Ballast® Point Pumpkin Down Scottish Ale with Pumpkin; and a 16.9 oz bottle of Arrowhead® Brand Mountain Spring Water ~ Sparkling Watermelon Lime

https://www.thepopnation.com/flavors

https://www.ballastpoint.com/beers/limited/

https://www.arrowheadwater.com/7-days-of-sparkling/

Of course, all the food is secondary in this-here silly 'blog-entry.

With six stages spaced out over a half-mile area in Golden Gate Park and thirty-seven acts throughout the day, it was impossible to be able to see (or hear) all the great music that was offered. I made a plan to specifically try to catch some of my favourites: Dave Alvin & the Guilty Ones[2], the Flatlanders[3], and Lucinda Williams[4]. 

There were also a few other groups that I caught peripherally while walking around and waiting for those three acts to play, to include: Hot Tuna Electric (they were already playing when I scoped out a good spot at the Banjo Stage to await two-plus hours of back-to-back music with Dave and the Flatlanders) and Cheap Trick ("Cheap Trick?! at a Bluegrass festival, Brian?!" ~ Yes, that would be where the "Hardly Strictly" part of the name comes in; they were playing at the next stage over while I waited for Lucinda Williams to come on and it was loud enough to hear every song of theirs, too.).

I have seen Dave Alvin perform many times now over the years: from the first time I caught him at the Guinness® Fleadh (which is pronounced "Flah" in Irish) back in 1999, to solo shows at Slim's and Freight & Salvage, to performing with the Blasters, and several other Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 
festivals (I think I have been to about twelve or more of the seventeen they have run now) ~ where I always make an effort to see him play. Dave's voice is sounding a little rougher year-by-year, but his shows are always entertaining. I was a little disappointed that Dave didn't play either "Marie, Marie" (which is almost always his closer), "King of California", or "Blackjack David" (all three are some of my favourites of his). I was also disappointed that his brothers Simon and Theodore couldn't join him for this show...

I have seen the Flatlanders perform a few times at other Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festivals, too. I have also seen them perform together at Slim's and also a few solo Jimmie Dale Gilmore performances. If you ever get the chance to catch a Jimmie Dale Gilmore show (or with the Flatlanders), I highly recommend doing so. This so-called "Texas Tenor Whippoorwill" is always a fun show.

Lucinda Williams has been one of my favourite female singer/songwriters for over fifteen years now. I had seen her perform only twice before (once at the Warfield [Thanks, Skip!] and another freebie show at Stern Grove). I think this was only her second appearance at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. I hope she attends many more, though.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Andytown Coffee Roasters - Ethiopia Natural Banko Fuafuate ~ 8.2;
Ballast® Point Pumpkin Down ~ 7.0;
Dave Alvin & the Guilty Ones ~ 7.4;
the Flatlanders ~ 6.9;
Jimmie Dale Gilmore (solo) ~ 7.3;
Lucinda Williams ~ 7.6

(I didn't bother rating any of the food today. It was all good, but the music and festival were much better... 
and free.)

___________________

1. I skipped any breakfast because I knew I was going to be eating a ton of junk... er... festival foods. I did start the morning earlier with a most excellent cuppa Andytown Coffee Roasters ~ Ethiopia Natural Banko Fuafuate (see previous 'blog-entry from Saturday, September 30th, 2017) made in my kitchen* via the single-cuppa pour-over/drip method. This particular roast/blend is now my current local favourite. It is even probably in my Top Ten All-Time Best Coffees of All-Time now (and quite possibly in the Top Five).

http://www.andytownsf.com/purchase/ethiopia-natural-banko-fuafuate

*(To all you nay-sayers† that think I do not know how to "cook", even I can boil water without burning it. Well, most times.)

†(And, d*mmit, stop saying "nay" so much unless your diet consists of oats and hay.)

2. http://www.davealvin.net/

3. http://www.theflatlanders.com/

4. http://www.lucindawilliams.com/

Ella's

"The one with the vegetarian open faced omelette with roasted tomatoes, basil, caramelized shallots, topped with parmigiano reggiano cheese."


(Here is where I would normally have a photo of the joint in question to start out the 'stupid 'blog-thing; however, it was raining this morning and I really didn't feel like standing outside any longer than I had to. If you really must "see" a crummy photo of the place, just look through one of the many, many, many other crummy photos in the 'blog-entries that I already have on Ella's.)

http://www.ellassanfrancisco.com/

Place: Ella's Neo Classical American Cooking
Location: 500 Presidio Avenue (on the corner of California Street)
Hours: open for breakfast Monday through Friday at 7:00am; open for "Brunch" Saturday and Sunday at 8:30am
Meal: vegetarian open faced omelette with roasted tomatoes, basil, caramelized shallots, topped with parmigiano reggiano cheese ~ served with potatoes and a choice of toast (all house baked: white, wheat, sourdough, rye, honey oat raisin, or buttermilk biscuit); and a glassa Ginger Orange Juice Punch

(Here are just a couple of seasonal songs from Lady Ella. 

"'Seasonal', Brian? What's so 'seasonal' about 'Stormy Weather'?" 

Well, if you listen closely, you can hear Lady Ella sing:
"Since my man and I ain't together,
Just add a pinch of cardamom to everything, 
if it be sweet or savoury, whether..."

Sure, the second song is generally considered a "Christmas song"; however, it never mentions the "C"-word anywhere it in. Besides, just two days ago was the "12th Day of C-word", anyhow.)


New year, new early-season work-out of my Breakfastary Starting Rotation. Today's rotator was back to Ella's Neo Classical American Cooking 
(see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, September 18th, 2016).

There was a sign in their window that stated that Ella's will have new ownership soon. I asked my waitress/server lady-person (who I know has worked there for at least twenty years now) if they would be maintaining the same menu format (and, hopefully, the fresh-baked baked goods items). She did not know, but said that she would be meeting with the new ownership later today and that was one of the questions she will have for them (as well as if they will be keeping the current work-staff). Who knows? Maybe they will now do "Neo Neo Classical American Cooking". (And maybe they will now call the early first meal of the weekends "Breakfast", too... but I won't hold my breath for that simple moniker change.) I have never had a bad meal at Ella's yet, and I hope that doesn't change with my next visit there. If so, there are always many Rookies out there looking for a chance at a shot at the Bigs, anyway.

I didn't really copy down what else might be available on the weekend "Brunch" menu (which changes weekly). For some reason (which I am blaming on the new ownership for no reason), they have not updated the on-line version of this weekend's menu yet. I did remember that there was a potato scramble that had some kinda dead, decaying spiced and grounded-up porky product, so that choice was off the books (off the menu, whatever) for me, anyway.

They call this an "open faced omelette", but it's basically a frittata. The tomatoes in this were roasted cherry (or possibly grape) tomatoes ~ which I thought was a great idea. I liked this a lot (basil and tomatoes are a favourite combination of mine). This was kinda like a Pizza Margherita frittata... with shallots (lots and lots of shallots). 

I went with a buttermilk biscuit as my choice of toast (even though it's really not a toasty kinda choice). I normally get their honey oat raisin, which is really very good, but felt like a buttermilk biscuit this morning (which is kinda funny, as I think I looked more like 
honey oat raisin). This proved to be a good receptacle onto which to spoon some (well, a good amount of some) of their homemade (restaurant-made, whatever) jelly (which might have been either raspberry, blackberry, or strawberry, or a combination of each; I did not bother to ask this morning). 

Ella's only has Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce 
(both Original Red Sauce and Green Jalapeño Sauce) for use as a condimentary supplementation. Once again, I came armed with a few of the newest hot sauces in my arsenal that I had just received for Christmas, and used a little Dat'l Do-It® Zesty Chipotle Hot Sauce[1] (Thanks, Mom!) on top of the omelette/frittata-thing and some Laura Plantation Vidalia® Onion & Peach Hot Sauce[2] (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the potatoes.

Strange Coffee Interlude

I skipped any Coffee with breakfast ("Brunch", whatever), once again, because I still need to work my way through all of the new Coffees that I had received for Christmas. So I simply made myself a cuppa Bettys Christmas Blend (Thanks, Greg & Cindy! [These two are in no way related to the above "Cindy & Greg" of the hot sauce "Thanks!"]) to enjoy while I was keyboarding up today's 'blog-entry thing.

https://www.bettys.co.uk/christmas-coffee-pack


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: 
vegetarian open faced omelette with roasted tomatoes, basil, caramelized shallots, topped with parmigiano reggiano cheese ~ 6.9;
Bettys Christmas Blend ~ 7.6 
(I know that I rated this at 7.5 just last weekend, but after a few more tastes, I am increasing my GBS Rating a bit more; this year's blend/roast is a darker roast than they normally have and is extremely good)

___________________

1. This was one of the new bottles of hot sauces that I had received in a 5-Pack "Pepper Patch". I will be trying out the remaining four over the next few weekends, too.

http://www.datildoit.com/

This one was not too espicy even though it contains both red and orange habanero peppers, as well as the eponymous chipotle peppers.

If you are a-wonderin' on the name of this particular hot sauce company, here is some more information on the (mostly) St. Augustine (the one in Floridaland, not the much older and famouser city in Illinois) produced Datil chilli:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mv113

2. This hot sauce was also not unbearably hot; even though for chilli-potency it included: red chili puree, jalapeño peppers, cayenne pepper, and capsicum oil. I love how Vidalia® (onion) is an actual registered Certification Mark of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

http://lauraplantation.com/product_details.php?p_id=142

For additional reading (if you like reading additionally):

http://www.lauraplantation.com/

"My Favourites" of 2015

Once again this year, instead of calling my end-of-year compilation list for 2015 a "Best of" (which is just my opinion, anyway... even if I am 100% correct), I am calling this "My Favourites" (which is still my opinion, but no one can say that they aren't my favourites... well, they can, but they'd be 100% wrong).

Keeping with the "Top Ten" format of the past few years, the easiest way to rank these was just to go back through all my 'blog-entries from 2015 and see which ones had the highest Glen Bacon Scale Rating. Simples!


1) As strange as it may seem for someone that normally prefers "savoury" over "sweet" dishes for breakfast, for the fourth year in a row, the top honours go to le Pain Perdu at Baker Street Bistro (see last 'blog-entry from April 19th ~ et aussi January 3rd). As I have stated many, many, many, many times in the past, this is not only one of the best versions of French toast in all of San Francisco, it may also be one of the best in the entire U.S. of A., mais bien sûr.

2) Zucchini Cakes at Dottie's True blue café (see 'blog-entry from January 4th). These really are a great "invention". I always like to explain this to people as simply Eggs Benedict in una versione italiana (o Uova di Benedetto).

3) Farro & Beet Hash at the Fat Lady (see 'blog-entry from May 24th). Additionally, I am claiming the Fat Lady as "My Favourite" New Find of 2015.

4) breakfast vegetarian griddle cake at Buttermilk ~ Southern Kitchen (see 'blog-entry from August 9th). While this ain't yo' mama's standardized IHOP® kinda sweet pancake, I will have to claim it as "My Favourite" Pancake Dish of 2015, mainly because it had a high GBS Rating (and also because it was the only pancake dish in the Top Ten this year).

5) potato scramble (with grilled asparagus, roasted Brussel[sic] sprouts, carrots, and Havarti cheese, and eggs added) at Ella's (see 'blog-entry from April 12th). Asparagus AND Brussels (which is the correct spelling, Mademoiselle Audrey Kathleen Ruston) sprouts?! Oh, yeah! That is why it is rated so high.

6) Oeufs Baker Street Bistro at Baker Street Bistro (see 'blog-entry from September 5th). Where do they come up with these complicated names for all these dishes?! Coincidentally enough, this great take on Eggs Benedict was also ranked #6 for 2014.

7) new mexican homestyle frittata at green chile kitchen (see 'blog entry from January 25th). I am not sure if this dish is meant to be named as if it comes from Santa Fe or Albuquerque (or Tucumcari, even), or if it is because it is una nueva cocina de México; either way, it was very tasty.

8) Caramel Sea Salt Waffle at Dolce Amore (see 'blog-entry from December 19th). This was another great dish from this "sweet" little place.

9) Artichoke-Spinach Scramble at Cafe Golo (see 'blog-entry from January 18th). Not only did this included a couple of my favourite (or "My Favourite") green vegetables in it, it also had a good amount of sun-dried tomatoes. The extra added bonus of having a choice of their country potatoes (which include standard potatoes and sweet potatoes) as a side dish and their most excellent pastries/baked goods really make the difference.

10) Mumbai (Benediction) at LaLe (see 'blog-entry from February 1st). Another very interesting take on Eggs Benedict ~ and for those keeping count here, that makes three out of the Top Ten being some kind of Eggs Benedict dish this year (2014's list had four different versions of the eggy "lost bread" thing, too). Can you say "beets/mushroom/lentils-patty" (in place of any of Mr. Thomas'[1] plain ol' boring faux-crumpets)?


2015 Specific Categories (& Honourable Mentions)

"My Favourite" New Potatoey Side Dish Find ~ homefries at Cafe Mason (see last 'blog-entry from June 27th); these are definitely good enough to be considered a main dish even, just lay an egg or two on top of them (that is, if you happen to be a chicken). GBS Rating: 7.4. (Of course, it goes without saying that the Excellent! Roasted Home Potatoes at Eats are still "My Favourite" Potatoey Side Dish; GBS Rating: 7.5.) 

"My Favourite" Breakfastary Potato Main Dish Not Named "potato scramble (with grilled asparagus, roasted Brussel[sic] sprouts, carrots, and Havarti cheese, and eggs added)" ~ Temple O' Spuds (with) Lay an egg on top! at Boogaloos (see 'blog-entry from February 8th) and also gypzy hashish at homeskillet (see 'blog-entry from November 29th). GBS Rating: (both) 7.1.

"My Favourite" Homemade (Restaurant-made, whatever) Hot Sauce ~ Habanero Sauce at Boogaloos (also see 'blog-entry from February 8th). GBS Rating: 7.2.

"My Favourite" Mexican-ish Breakfastary Dish Not Named "new mexican homestyle frittata" ~ Chile Relleno at the Little Chihuahua (see 'blog-entry from June 28th). GBS Rating: 7.1.

"My Favourite" Breakfast Burrito of 2015 ~ Veggie Breakfast Burrito at japonica (see 'blog-entry from November 28th). In all honesty, I think that this was the only Breakfast Burrito that I had all year, so it made for an easy choice. Additionally, this little coffeehouse is also a gift shop with many great gift ideas (I should know, I spent about $200.00 there this year for Christmas). GBS Rating: Veggie Breakfast Burrito ~ 6.6; Cool Gift Ideas ~ 8.5.

"My Favourite" Breakfast Pizza of 2015 ~ Mushroom Spinach Pizza at Caffé DeLucchi (or Café DeLucchi or Caffè DeLucchi; take your pick) (see 'blog-entry from March 8th). Again, I think that this was the only Breakfast Pizza that I had all year, but it was still pretty good, anyway. GBS Rating: 6.5.

"My Favourite" New Coffee Find of 2015 ~ Snowbird Coffee (as featured at ★ The ★ Richfield; see 'blog-entry from October 17th). They normally offer three different blends/roasts of Coffee to be made as pour-over Coffee.  I tried Southpaw (a delicious blend of an heirloom Burundi and Yirgaceffe ~ mandarin, rhubarb, honey sweetness) with my breakfast at 
★ The ★ Richfield and I purchased a 12 oz bag of Zatarra (a special blend of 3 Africans [ sic ] Coffees ~ apricots, maple syrup, roasted hazelnut) to make for myself at home. I have also been back for a cuppa or two and have tried Myanmar Pyin Oo Lwin (a very earthy and herbal Coffee from the Shan State ~ toffee, orange, brown sugar). GBS Rating: Myanmar Pyin Oo Lwin ~ 7.5; Southpaw ~ 7.3; Zatarra ~ 7.2.

http://snowbirdcoffee.com/

"My Favourite" Bready/Toasty Side ~ (World) Famous Cliff House Popovers(!) at the Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House (this is an exact duplicate of 2014's choice and should be no surprise; as long as they keep making 'em, I will keep eating 'em; see last 'blog-entry from September 27th). GBS Rating: 8.2.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: 
Pain Perdu at Baker Street Bistro ~ 8.2; 
Zucchini Cakes at Dottie's True blue café ~ 7.6; 
Farro & Beet Hash at the Fat Lady ~ 7.5;
breakfast vegetarian griddle cake at Buttermilk ~ Southern Kitchen ~ 7.4;
potato scramble (with grilled asparagus, roasted Brussel[sic] sprouts, carrots, and Havarti cheese, and eggs added) at Ella's ~ 7.3;
Oeufs Baker Street Bistro at Baker Street Bistro ~ 7.2;
new mexican homestyle frittata at green chile kitchen ~ 7.2;
Caramel Sea Salt Waffle at Dolce Amore ~ 7.2;
Artichoke-Spinach Scramble at Cafe Golo ~ 7.1;
Mumbai (Benediction) at LaLe ~ 7.1

___________________

1. Was anyone else aware that this 'merican version of an English muffin is now owned by the Mexican mega-corporation Bimbo? Think about this for a minute: American... English muffins... owned by a Mexican bakery company.

And they always told me that "Military Intelligence" was an oxymoron.