PoTRERO GRiLL

Airport Breakfastary Food - Part V
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
(Saturday, 07/14/2018)


https://www.flysfo.com/content/potrero-grill


Place: PoTRERO GRiLL

Location:  International Terminal, Main Hall Food Court (near Boarding Area G), SFO

Hours: open daily at 6:00am

Meal: Garden Omelet ~ zucchini, bell peppers (red, green, & yellow), mushrooms, onions, served with toast & potatoes; and a medium cuppa Jamaica Blue Mountain from Roasting Plant Coffee

https://roastingplant.com/


An army may travel best on its stomach, but I much prefer travelling in an airplane. (And what kinda silly army marches along like a worm, anyway?) As such, on my most recent trip back to Massachusetts (and Cape Cod and the like), I had to pass through San Francisco International Airport once again. My initial intent was to eat at Samovar® (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, July 1st, 2018). However, I rudely found out after heading all the way over to the International Terminal, Main Hall Food Court (via AirTrain from Terminal 2) that they do not open for breakfast until... well, according to their web-site, they may not even be open for breakfast or lunch or dinner without a reservation. A reservation for an airport food-joint? Really?!

Anyway, as long as I was already in the International Terminal, Main Hall Food Court, I decided to make do with whatever else might be open before 7:00am. Luckily, that whatever else was PoTRERO GRiLL and they were open and serving breakfast... without any reservations! I had specifically gone to this food court because the choices are normally better and offer more from which to choose than at the other terminals. I even made sure to get to the airport two hours early to make sure I had enough time to get there and have a decent breakfast before the six hour non-stop plane-ride.

This turned out to be a pretty simple ~ but surprisingly good (for airport grub-fare) ~ omelette. All of the "garden" vegetables were grilled before putting them inside the omelette. 

I went with whole wheat as my toast choice. Once again I was mysteriously served three halves of toast. I do not know why, though.

The potatoes were of the homefries variety and were also very good. These were also made with bell peppers (red, green, & yellow) and onions in them.

For condimentary supplementation, PoTRERO GRiLL offered Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce 
(Original Red Sauce) and two different brands of Sriracha hot sauces: Huy Fong Foods Inc. (in squeeze-bottles) and Shing Kee® (in single use packets). I singularly used three packets of the Shing Kee® on the homefries.

(not so) Strange Coffee Interlude

The major discovery at the International Terminal, Main Hall Food Court was a new(-ish?) Coffee joint called Roasting Plant Coffee. Not only do they make every cuppa fresh-ground for you, they have some very excellent varieties from which to choose. For only $2.00 more per cuppa, they even offer a Jamaica Blue Mountain (and if you know how much a standard pound of this stuff goes for, $2.00 extra per cuppa is a great bargain). Now this particular blend/roast may not have been as tasty as what Bettys sells, but it was far superior to most other Coffees which you might find at your local coffeehouse (especially if your local coffeehouse starts with an "S" and ends with "ucks"). So this more than made up for not making reservations for tea...


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Garden Omelet ~ 6.3 (this is factoring in their very good homefries);
Roasting Plant Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain ~ 7.7

Connecticut Y*nkee

http://www.pourguys.com/connecticut-y*nkee/

(Okay, so maybe you will need to add the bowdlerised "a" back into that Uniform Resource Locator yourself for an uninterrupted hyperlink kinda thing. I refuse to allow any kinda d*mn anti-Red Sox swear-words on this here 'blog-thing!)


Place: Connecticut Y*nkee

Location: 100 Connecticut Street (on the corner of 17th Street)

Hours: open Saturday & Sunday for "Brunch" at 10:00am

Meal: Shakshuka ~ baked eggs, tomatoes, peppers, onion, cilantro, grilled polenta cakes, sunny egg, queso fresco; a side order of Breakfast Potatoes (homefries); and a glassa grapefruit juice

(You were expectin' "Sweet Caroline", maybe?)


I used to work directly across the street from Connecticut Y*nkee for about twelve to thirteen years. I ate many lunches and dinners there over the years (and, yeah, drank many Beers, too), but I never had a breakfast (nor "Brunch") there. This place is under new ownership (for the past two years now); I don't think it used to be open on the weekends for a breakfast (nor "Brunch") meal.

(Sadly, this mural has seen better days. The bottom photo there used to be one Orenthal James Simpson ~ who grew up "on the Hill" ~ but has now since been excised from the good graces of the neighborhood for some reason...)


The previous ownership was a couple of ex-Patriated New Englanders (hence the name of the joint ~ and, what are the odds, it is located on Connecticut Street) and the theme of the menu used to be all-inclusive Boston/New England sports teams. Now, there is an entirely new menu, and it seems to be mostly Patriots-influenced. The "Brunch" menu does not really offer a lot of options for stupid vegetarians. The only other items I might have chosen:

Potato Cakes ~ sour cream, apple sauce, fresh herbs;

or

French Toast ~ brioche, toasted pecans, dried blueberries (why they don't use fresh blueberries, Imano), maple butter.

Do not worry, there are more choices for you meatetarians and/or pescetarians out there:

Biscuit & Brady ~ house made sausage patty (I wonder if the sausage is made from GOAT-meat), buttermilk biscuit, fried egg, country gravy;

Croquette Benedict ~ cod, poached eggs, arugula, gremolata, Hollandaise sauce (yeah, I think that the Hollandaise sauce renders this non-KosherⓊ, too, Karl);

or

Y*nkee Breakfast ~ two eggs, bacon, toast (which basically sounds like it could also be enjoyed by any Johnny Reb, too).

I am not quite sure how authentically New England (or Olde England, even) Shakshuka is as a breakfastary fare (even if you happen to be from Westernmost Connecticut). Maybe if you added some succotash to it or poured some maple syrup over the top of it...

This was a decent enough meal; however, I have had other versions of Shakshuka that I liked a bit more (coincidentally enough, the very last time that I ate breakfast on Potrero Hill [almost two years ago now, see 'blog-entry from Monday, January 16th, 2016], I had a similar dish to Shakshuka). I liked the addition of the queso fresco (again, I am not sure if that was made from GOAT-milk or not) and there was a lot of both red and green bell peppers in it. The major minuses (another "Military Intelligence" kinda oxymoron, Mr. Brandt?) were that this was all a bit on the watery side (the Shakshuka dishes that I have had in the past were always more of a thick tomato stew) and I would liked to have had more of the grilled polenta cakes; this might have made up for the watery sauce a bit and been used to soak it all up more.

For condimentary supplementation, Connecticut Y*nkee had both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce 
(Original Red Sauce) and Huy Fong Foods Inc. Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce. Additionally, and most notably, they had bottles of their own homemade (well, restaurant-made) Ol' Man Steve's Hot Sauce on all of the tables; this hot sauce reminded me of Cholula® or Tapatío®, but just fresher tasting. I used some of their tasty (but not too) hot sauce on top of the eggs and some of my own Palo Alto Fire Fighters XXX Ghost Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the potatoes. 

After-Breakfast ("Brunch", whatever) Coffee Interlude

The real find this weekend was during a return visit to Andytown[1] Coffee Roasters after breakfast on my way home. This time I went to their newest shop on Taraval Street (just two blocks from Ocean Beach). I had a single cuppa (pour-over style) of their 
Special Release: Columbia Wush Wush. I liked it so much that I am renaming it Columbia "Woot-Woot!". This was juuuust a bit pricey (as in $12.00 a cuppa, and they charge $40.00 per 8 oz bagga... Ouch!... but it came with a free homemade [roastery/bakery-made, whatever] biscotti [and the biscotti was very good, too]... which was nice... so, I had that going for me), though. I am just calling this an early Christmas gift to myself. Surprisingly enough, as good as this (very expensive) cuppa was, I still think that their 
Ethiopia Natural Banko Fuafuate is even better (and not exactly that cheap itself at $25.00/pound).

http://www.andytownsf.com/purchase/colombia-wush-wush


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:
Shakshuka ~ 6.4;
Ol' Man Steve's Hot Sauce ~ 6.7;
Andytown Coffee Roasters Special Release: Columbia "Woot-Woot!" ~ 8.0 
(whereas Ethiopia Natural Banko Fuafuate ~ 8.3)

___________________

1. I finally asked what the meaning of the name of the place was. I was told that "Andytown" is the nickname of a town in Northern Ireland where one of the owners hails from. Andersonstown is a suburb in West Belfast.

Market & Rye

Do civil rights-minded Vegans have to celebrate Almond-MLK Day?

http://marketandrye.net/


Place: Market & Rye
Location: 300 De Haro[1] Street (on the corner of 16th Street)
Hours: open daily at 8:00am
Meal: Baked Eggs ~ charred tomato sauce, crispy polenta, kale, goat cheese, and basil pesto; a side of Breakfast Potatoes (homefries); and a cuppa (but just one refilla ~ I didn't wanna be up all day) Mr. Espresso® (don't know/didn't ask which blend/roast)

http://mrespresso.com/


It's not often that I get to do a three-fer breakfast weekend, but thanks to having today off (Thanks, Marty!), I had the chance to get back to Market & Rye (see previous 'blog-entry from February 16th, 2014). This is a great spot (if not a bit on "the other side of town"-ish; unfortunately, their West Portal location has been closed for about a year or so now; that was much easier to get to for me) in which to break one's fast. 

There are still a few more interesting-sounding dishes (for both those that partake of the dead, decaying animal flesh and stupid vegetarians ~ or civil rights-minded Vegans, too) that I do want to get back and try one of these days (of course, that probably means in another two years or so). If I had been in a "Sweet"-er mood this morning, this would have definitely been my choice: Custard Battered French Toast ~ house-made sweet dough bread, caramel pears, pomegranates, and spiced pear butter. Otherwise, my "Savoury" back-up plan was going to be Fall Veggie Benedict ~ poached eggs, roasted tomato, kale, roasted delicata squash[2], Hollandaise, pesto, Parmesan, and house-made English muffin.

Ha! It pays to eat locally sometimes (or, at least, it costs 20% less). Because it happened to be a Monday (Thanks again, Marty!), I got their 20% discount LOCAL LOVE. (I had to ask the counter-server guy if it still applied to me because I thought this might have been mislabeled and only applied to low-calorie dishes.) So that saved me about $3.00 right there (because of which, I am claiming the side o' potatoes were a freebie now).

If I did have one minor complaint (well, okay I do have one minor complaint) this morning, it would be that most of their tables are a bit too high (or, perhaps, their chairs are a bit too low). These all seemed about 3-6" too high (or the chairs were 3-6" too low). Maybe that is just 20% higher than non-local tables?!

I liked this dish a lot. So that makes three-for-three now there (and in Baseball terms, I think that is called "Batting .300"... or something like that). I would have rather had the polenta sticks on the side and not already sitting half-submerged in the red gravy; that way I could have used them to better advantage with which to sop up more of the tomato sauce (which was very tasty on its own and even had a little speziatura to it).

Since my visit there two years ago, they have changed their potatoes from fingerling to standard (white or red) potatoes, which is still okay with me, but I liked the originality of the fingerling choice. (Besides, these were a freebie today, anyway.)

After I had already finished eating, I saw that a guy at another table had ordered a side of Crispy Brussels (and coodoes to them as they even had this spelded kerrectly, unlike so many other restorants) Sprouts (lemon, Calabrian chili[3], and Parmesan). Had I known that I could order those as a breakfastary side, it would have been a forgone conclusion that I would have forewent the side of potatoes (as good as they were, I can normally get potato sides at most places for breakfast).

Knowing from my past two visits that Market & Rye has a pretty decent selection for condimentary supplementation, I didn't even bother bringing any of my own hot sauces with me this morning. They had less variety from which to choose than in the past, but there were still probably eight to ten different types. I used some La Victoria® Green Taco Sauce Mild on half of the potatoes and some El Yucateco® Hot Sauce Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero (the red version) on the other half of the potatoes.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Baked Eggs ~ 6.8

___________________

1. In case you were wondering just who the heck some of these streets are named after in San Francisco:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Haro

(I am not sure who 16th Street was named after, though. Maybe Joe Montana?)

2. Yeah, I had no idea what this was and had to look it up, too:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delicata_squash

3. Also known as peperoncino (singular) or peperoncini (plural):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peperoncino

UNIVERSAL cafe

"Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling."  
~ Margaret Lee Runbeck

(Just my luck, my train would blow by that station, anyway.)

http://www.universalcafe.net/


Place: UNIVERSAL cafe
Location: 2814 19th Street (between Bryant and Florida Streets)
Hours: open for "Brunch" Wednesday-Friday at 11:30am and Saturday-Sunday at 9:00am
Meal: Soft Scrambled Eggs ~ (?) with some kinda mushrooms and some kinda cheese and maybe one or two other ingredients (I didn't write down the exact ingredients as I figured I could just check on their web-site for this weekend's "Brunch" menu items; however, I figured wrong; they do not have the Weekend "Brunch" Menu updated correctly; kids, let this be a lesson to you, always take copious notes ~ and if Copious isn't around to steal his notes, just cheat off of Plentiful's test), toast, lettuces; a side of Garlic-herb Potatoes; and a cuppa (or, more likely, a "keep 'em coming" refilla) Equator Coffees & Teas™ Mocha Java Blend

http://www.equatorcoffees.com/coffee/all-coffees/mocha-java-blend

(Sure, I could have used the EweToobular juxtaselection of the original song by the Beatles, but Fiona Apple is much cuter than John, or even Sir Paul. Now just who the heck is this "Jack Groovy" guy that Fiona is singing a paean to? Om! 

The secondary song is mainly a nod to one Jerome John Garcia, who would have been 72 years old on Friday. I just like Tim Pretty & the Homewreckers' version better than the Grateful Dead's.)


I went back to UNIVERSAL cafe (see last 'blog-entry from June 30th, 2012) for breakfast this morning (well, they have it listed as "Brunch", but they open early enough on the weekends for me to still call it by its less snootified name). This place really isn't in the Mission or Potrero Hill neighborhoods, it's kind of an in-between land (something like the "Gaza Strip" of San Francisco ~ if the Mission were "Israel" and Potrero Hill were "Egypt" ~ I wonder if that would make all the neighborhood Hipster Doofi "Hamas-holes"?); maybe we can come up with yet still another stupid, useless neighborhood acronym/designator ~ "MiPoH"?!

UNIVERSAL cafe is not that large of a place and their seating situation is: eight bar-stool/counter seats; fifteen tables for two (which can always be combined into tables for four, six, etc.); and a sidewalk patio area seating with four tables for four and two tables for two (this being the middle of the Summer in San Francisco, I opted to sit inside where it was a lot less overcast and chilly).

There were only two or three viable choices on this weekend's menu for stupid vegetarians, which really put a rimple in my breakfastary plans. The other two possible ideas: Grilled Flatbread (aka "thin-crust Pizza"; now, this may or may not have been topped with spinach, black olives, padron peppers, Pecorino, and Mozzarella ~ see above explanatory excuses for not having any idea what this weekend's "Brunch" menu really entailed; someone at the next table over ordered this and it looked very good) or French Toast (again, this may or may not have been with blueberry-strawberry compote, candied pecans and almonds and Chantilly cream).

Soft scrambled eggs: pretty hard to mess up really. I mean, these were good, but, other than the fresh mushrooms and cheese, I probably could have made these just as well at home… if I ever had any eggs, too. The side of "lettuces" was just a buncha rabbit food junk; also something that I could probably cook just as well at home myself. Their version of homefries was very decent, though.

Of particular breakfastary note, the Coffee was an excellent cuppa this morning. I have had Equator Coffees & Teas™ (a local roastery out of San Rafael) before and usually enjoy it, but today's was truly an exemplary one (and I mean that in a very positive way, I am not making an example out of a bad experience). I must have had three to four cuppas (that would be two to three refillas) of the stuff. It always surprises me how a professional restaurant or coffeehouse could mess up brewing Coffee. If I want bad Coffee made from good brands, I can always make my own at home. 

I didn't really bother to ask what UNIVERSAL cafe had to offer for condimentary supplements, but the last time I ate there they had both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (the standard red) and Cholula® Hot Sauce. I used some of my own El Yucateco® XXXtra Hot Sauce Salsa Kutbil-ik® de Chile Habanero (Thanks, Brian!) on the scrambled mess and some Fat Cat® Chairman Meow's Revenge (Scorpion Pepper Sauce) (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the potatoes. While this could very easily be an extremely painful hot sauce, Fat Cat®'s is actually not that bad (see yesterday's 'blog-entry for an extreme ridiculousness) and can be used with a little heavier hand than might be thought possible.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Soft Scrambled Eggs (including Garden-herb Potatoes) ~ 6.3; Equator™ Mocha Java Blend  ~ 7.3 

Mission Rock Resort

Pay It Forward Weekend… or bugger off! 
~ Part IV[1]

http://missionrockresort.com/


Place: Mission Rock Resort
Location: 817 Terry Francois Boulevard (Between Illinois and 16th Streets)
Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday & Sunday 10:00am
Meal: Eggs Florentine[2] ~ spinach & tomato, served with Hollandaise sauce & crispy breakfast potatoes (well, crispy "Brunch" potatoes); and a cuppa (and a coupla refillas) Mr. Espresso® Coffee 

(Okay, so I couldn't really figure in any good "Pay", "Forward", or "Bugger Off" EweToob juxtaselections[3].)


I had breakfast (well, they call it "Brunch" ~ "you say 'crispy breakfast potatoes', I say 'crispy Brunch potahtoes'…") this morning at Mission Rock Resort. It is located right along the "scenic" San Francisco Bay, which came in very handy this morning as there was a respite in this week's rains and the Sun was actually out. Mission Rock Resort isn't really a "resort", it's just a restaurant/bar & grill. It is now a part of Golden Bear Restaurant Group (which also includes MoMo's, Pedro's Cantina, and Pete's Tavern; all of these other three restaurants are directly across the street from AT&T Park ~ Home of Your San Francisco Giants).

http://goldenbearrestaurants.com/

There was plenty of street parking early in the morning, and, for some reason, it is all free on the opposite side of the street (where I parked), but there is metered parking on the same side as the restaurant. Mission Rock Resort is a two-story building, with the bar area downstairs and the main restaurant seating upstairs. I actually sat outside on the upper, open-air pier deck (I was the only idiot out there for most of my meal; I was joined by two other hardy idiots about half-way through) as the weather actually turned out to be very nice (it had rained most of the early morning); however, I still kept my jacket on, anyway. It is a very large deck area with about twenty to twenty-four unfinished wooden tables that seat four people each (or, in my case, one idiot each). 

♪ "On a clear day, you can see… Oakland forever…" ♪

There is a pretty minimalistic "Brunch" menu. The only other breakfastary ideas that sounded somewhat interesting to me were: Huevos Rancheros or Breakfast Biscuit Sandwich (Cheddar biscuit, scrambled eggs, sausage patty ~ which I would have foregone, Cheddar cheese; also served with crispy breakfast potatoes ~ well, crispy "Brunch" potatoes). 

This was a decent enough rendition of Eggs Florentine (and much better than I would ever be able to make ~ there is no way I am ever going to attempt a Hollandaise sauce, let alone poach any eggs). I also liked that this had both tomato slices and lots of spinach in it. There was this very interesting (and tasty) green pesto-stuff on top of the crispy breakfast potatoes (well, crispy "Brunch" potatoes). The cuppa(s) Mr. Espresso® was (were) prepared excellently. The server-waitress-lady, Meghan (or Megan… or maybe even Meggan, this is San Francisco, after all), told me that sometimes when they make the Coffee it can be either a bit too weak or too strong (no such thing), but she knew her stuff and it was perfect this morning.

For condimentary supplementation, Mission Rock Resort only offers: Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (both the standard red and green jalapeño) and Tapatío®. As normal, I had come prepared with some of my own and used a good amount of Born to Hula presents Devon Allman's All Natural Hot Sauce Chipotle Blues (Thanks, Kerry!) on the crispy breakfast potatoes (crispy "Brunch" potatoes, whatever) and some Serious Food… Silly Prices Chunky Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on top of the eggs, mixed in with the Hollandaise sauce. I was glad to see that Meghan (or Megan, or Meggan) seemed to know her hot sauces, too, as she asked me about both of my bottles.

"Today you, tamales me…"


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Eggs Florentine ~ 6.3


1. In case you are wondering just what the heck this whole "Pay It Forward Weekend" is all about, please read the following article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/magazine/06lives-t.html?_r=2&

And if you would like even more explanations, see previous 'blog-entries from March 2nd, 2013; March 3rd, 2012; and March 5th, 2011.

Now this doesn't necessarily have to be only strangers that you are nice to this weekend. You can actually surprise your friends and family and  be nice to them for a change, too. 

So, pay it forward, before it's too late… it's never too late to "Bugger off!", though.

2. Have you ever wondered just what the history of Eggs Benedict was? Well, even if you haven't, the friendly people at Wikipedia have this explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_Benedict

3. Okay, so this is just another made up portmanteau (as opposed to those actual existing portmanteaus), where I have combined "juxtaposition" with "selection". Deal with it, Mr. Dodgson.

Slow Club

"If you wish to make an apple pie truly from scratch, you must first invent the Universe." ~ Carl Sagan

http://www.slowclub.com/


Place: Slow Club
Location: 2501 Mariposa Street (on the corner of Hampshire Street ~ the signs don't specify "New’" or "Old", though)
Hours: "Brunch" is served on Saturday and Sunday at 10:00am
Meal: bourbon french toast ~ spiced roasted pears, candied walnuts & bourbon maple syrup; a side order of homefries; and a cuppa Mr. Espresso® Organic Seven Bridges[1] Blend (formerly Organic Special Blend)

("Slow" Club ~ "Fast"ball/"Frequency"… get it?! 

Well, I really don't care if you like my musical juxta-selections or not, I couldn't think of any good lack of speed or velocity songs.

Would you believe me if I said I chose those songs because they have a Bo Diddley[2] beat?)


I went back to Slow Club (see previous 'blog-entry from June 4th, 2011) for "Brunch" (their terminology, not mine) this morning. They are supposed to open at 10:00am, but they were running a little late this morning and didn't open until 10:05am (someone must not have read my mini-Rant last weekend), which really isn't that bad, and they more than made up for it by their expediency in taking my order (around 10:10am) and bringing out the food in a less than slow manner (probably by 10:25am or sooner). It really wasn't that busy yet when they first opened, but it did fill up rather quickly.

Slow Club is located just a block down the street from KQED. There is lots of available (read: free) street parking in this neighborhood on the weekends. I thought it was funny that where I parked the sign stated "12 HOURS LIMIT"; luckily, I only planned on eating breakfast for 11 hours tops. 

Slow Club is a medium-sized restaurant and they have two tall tables with four or five high stools for seating, three tables dedicated specifically for four people, and fourteen tables for two. They also have five sidewalk tables for two people each that can be enjoyed on sunny days (like today); these were mostly filled when I had finished and left.

Stupid Pet (mainly Dog) Owners mini-Rant of the Day

It is understood that animals (of any type and size) are not allowed in many stores or restaurants (as well as most places that are open to the human public), right? So, what would ever make you think that your sweet, little… mangy, flea-infested, disease-carrying mongrel is any better than anyone else's pet?! "But I didn't want to leave the poor thing unattended while I was inside eating." Well, shouldn't you have considered that this morning before you decided to schlep the mutt with you?! And it's not as if I am a dog-hater. I love the massively drooling, butt-licking fools, but just outside, not inside where I am trying to enjoy a meal.

(Thus endeth the mini-Rant for today. Idiots!)

Slow Club doesn't have that extensive of a "Brunch" menu, but I did see a few other items that looked good: frittata ~ or fritatta even ~ (spinach, king trumpet mushrooms, red onion, swiss cheese & balsamic reduction served with greens), but this was almost the same as the weekend special frittata ~ or fritatta ~ that I had there on my last visit and I wanted to try something different; or grilled flatbread (montasio[3], arugula, yukon gold potatoes, bacon, caramelized onions & a fried egg), which I saw someone at another table had ordered and it looked like a pretty decent version of a breakfastary Pizza ~ solo senza sugo rosso.

The French toast came as three large slices (and about ¾-inch thick each). My one minor complaint would be that they had already poured the bourbon maple syrup on the French toast before bringing it out to me. I would much rather have them bring out a little syrup pitcher and be able to use as much or little of the stuff as I liked and pour it on myself (well, to be able to pour it on the French toast, not on my body… Hmmm?! That doesn't sound that bad either.). And in this case, it would have been "as much as" as the bourbon maple syrup was really very good. This is easily the Best French Toast that I have had this year… after Baker Street Bistro's Pain Perdu, of course.

The potatoes were also good and had lots of caramelised red onions, and they came with some kind of herbed aioli/mayonnaise stuff to dip the potatoes in.

The Coffee seemed rather weak at first, but, by the third cuppa (the second refilla), it was much better and probably from a newly brewed batch.

I only noticed Cholula® Hot Sauce for condimentary supplementation on all of the tables. I used some of my own hot sauces on different areas of the potatoes: just five to six (and believe me, you want to count how much you use of this stupid stuff; I was given this 5 oz. bottle over two years ago and have barely made a dent in its volume; and this isn't even the absolute hottest of their brand) drops of Blair's After Death® sauce with Liquid Fire (Thanks a lot, Sean! ~ with requisite sarcasm) and some (this one I went a lot more liberally with) Mama Africa's™ Zulu Sauces Chilli Mint (Thanks, Kerry! ~ without any real sarcasm noted there). The aioli/mayonnaise stuff seemed to temper the Blair's a bit, which was nice. 

Between the large portion of French toast and potatoes, I am so full now that I may not eat again until tomorrow morning's breakfast…


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: bourbon french toast ~ 7.2


1. Off the top of my head, I could only name six bridges in the Bay Area:

Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, San Rafael Bridge, Carquinez Bridge, San Mateo Bridge, and Dumbarton Bridge.

The one that I couldn't think of was "that other 680 Bridge", which is actually called Congressman George Miller/Benicia-Martinez Bridge.

2. a) see previous 'blog-entry from June 4th, 2011 to get that reference;

b) the name "Diddley" isn't recognized by the Nazi Microsoft Auto-spellchecker thingy. Apparently, Billy-boy doesn't know Jack… or Bo!

3. Montasio is a type of Italian Alpine cheese. It is named for the Jôf di Montasio peak in the Julian Alps.

http://www.formaggiomontasio.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jof_di_Montasio

the Ramp

Is a semaphore equal to a pair of flags? 

http://www.theramprestaurant.com/


Place: the Ramp
Location: 855 Terry Francois Street (at the end of Mariposa Street)
Hours: open for "Brunch" on Saturdays & Sundays at 9:30am
Meal: Sam's Scram (a vegetarian scramble; served w/ homefries and a hearty slice of 9-grain toast); and a cuppa (well, and two refillas) America's Best Coffee 

(The first EweToob link is just a cover of the second classic. I like the backup singers in the first video, but that lead singer really needs some work.)


This was the perfect November Saturday morning to go to the Ramp for a breakfastary (well, "Brunchiary") repast; the Sun was out and shining brightly, and there was just a slight breeze off the Bay. The Ramp is technically right on the border of the Mission Bay and Dogpatch neighborhoods (Mariposa Street being the bordering decision); however, less than twenty years ago, this would just have been called Potrero Hill or Central Basin. I got there a few minutes before they opened this morning, so I walked along the public shore to get the best out of the day.

(Just to let you know that the eponymous name of the restaurant isn't superfluous, here is an actual photo of the boat ramp that runs next to the place.)

The majority of the seating is outside in the fresh air on the huge patio (probably 30-40 tables for two to four people) with a great view of Oakland, Alameda, and the Bay. The Ramp has live music on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons/evenings. They even have an outdoor "Tiki Bar" with a corrugated tin roof (but I don't know if the drinks are all free or not).

(This was the view from my table.)

They really don't have that extensive of a "Brunch" menu, but there were a few other items that sounded interesting: Daniela's Scram (Chorizo, Jack cheese, green chillies, & green onions) or Molly's Brioche French Toast (topped with nutella® and strawberries).

My scramble was okay, but nothing really special. It was just tomatoes and mushrooms (the standard button/small crimini/immature Portobello ~ take your pick ~ variety). I really would liked to have seen a few other vegetables in it at least; maybe some bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, or something (anything) else. I know they have green chillies and green onions as they are available in the Daniela's Scram ~ vegetarianism doesn't mean tastelessness. Luckily the homefries were very good ~ made with lots of caramelized (white) onions, which I ended up mixing into the scramble to subsidize the lack of items in it.

For condimentary supplementation the Ramp offers both Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce and Cholula® Hot Sauce (two-thirds of the San Francisco Restaurant Hot Sauce Triumvirate). I ended up using some of my own Nando's® Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce (Thanks, Kerry!) with the Scram and some Serious Food… Silly Prices Mango Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cynthia Ann and Gregory Alan!) on the potatoes.

I wonder if Mr. Redding ever ate breakfast (or "Brunch") while watching the ships roll in and then watch 'em roll away again, yeah…

Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Sam's Scram ~ 5.9 (this is figuring in the homefries); Million $$$ Views & Atmosphere ~ 8.5 (Mother Nature had something to do with today's beautiful weather, so I will begrudge her a few GBS points)

Sally’s Restaurant & Deli

"I put instant coffee in a microwave and almost went back in time." ~ Steven Wright (the comedian and Boston Red Sox fan, not the Boston Red Sox Knuckleballer)

(No official web-site)

phonicular contact: (415) 626-6006

(Tomorrow is National Coffee Day; hence, the second EweToob-ular video. I have no real reason for the first song, though.)


Place: Sally's Restaurant & Deli
Location: 300 De Haro[1] Street (on the corner of 16th Street)
Hours: Saturday and Sunday open at 7:00am
Meal: Greek Omelet ~ Feta, spinach, Kalamata olive, and tomato; served with toast and homefries; and a pretty decent cuppa coffee


I wanted to try a new (old) place for breakfast this morning so I went to Sally's Restaurant & Deli. I used to eat here once in a while for breakfast or lunch when I worked just a few blocks away several years ago now. However, I am not sure if there is an actual "Sally" involved with the business or not, Mr. Brown. 

There is nothing fancy about the joint at all (and I mean that in a good way). It is in a kind of a Quonset[2] hut/tin roof (but the meals weren't free) building. Sally's is in the same building as Market & Rye (see 'blog-entry from January 20th, 2013). It is a large space with lots of seating (about 50-60 seats inside and another four to five outside sidewalk tables). Parking is very easy in the neighborhood on the weekends; plus, they have their own small parking lot (shared with a few other businesses) for 14-15 cars. They are also just two blocks downhill from Anchor Brewing Company[3].

I got there about two hours after they had opened but they didn't put up their Specials board until I was almost done with my meal. Pity, as there were some good choices from which to choose. French Toast ~ with caramelized bananas, chocolate whipped cream, candied pecans, and brownie brittle; that sounds like a lot of flavours (What exactly is "chocolate whipped cream" do you think?). Corn Cakes Benedict ~ with ground pork, ranchera sauce, Hollandaise sauce, micro cilantro, with side greens; but I just had versions of Eggs Benedict the past few weekends, so I probably wouldn't have gone for that, anyway. However, the Tofu Hash looked most interesting ~ (Korean-style) with shiitake mushrooms[4], edamame[5], onions, spinach, cilantro, rice, and a fried egg; I know that is exactly what I would have ordered.

Not seeing the aforementioned Specials board, I just ordered off the standard printed menu. You order and pay first at the front counter/cash register and they call out your name when it is ready. They offer many different eggy dishes, five types of Eggs Benedict, and eight omelettes. When in doubt, I will usually defer to the Greek Omelet (or Omelette) if it is offered on a menu. 

I was very happy to see that this was made with lots of fresh spinach and (authentic) Kalamata olives; however, it could have used a little more Feta in it (but I usually say this). I went with sourdough toast this morning. The coffee was from America's Best Coffee; it is self-serve and they give you choices of either House Blend (which I went with) or French Roast.

Sally's has a good selection for condimentary supplementation: Tapatío® which they have on all the tables; and they also have available Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (standard red); Frank's® RedHot; Crystal® Hot Sauce; and Huy Fong Foods Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. I went with some of my own Mama Africa's™ Zulu Sauces Chilli Mint (Thanks, Kerry!) on the potatoes; and some Big Papi En Fuego Hot Sauce Off The Wall Triple Hot (Thanks again, Kerry!) on the omelette.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Greek Omelet ~ 6.5


1. Who the heck is this De Haro guy, and why does he get a street named after him?

Francisco de Haro was the first Alcalde (Mayor) of Yerba Buena (later named San Francisco ~ no relation to Señor de Haro, though) in 1834.

2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, number one:

The word "Quonset" comes from a southern New England Algonquian language and probably means "small, long place". The name "Quonset hut" comes from Quonset Point, Rhode Island where they were first manufactured during World War II. 

3. http://www.anchorbrewing.com/

4. While I am glad to see that they spelled "shiitake" correctly, as I have mentioned here many times before, the "mushrooms" part is just redundantly redundant redundancy. It is like saying "Sahara Dessert".

5. Oh, jeez, seriously? The stupid Spell-check Nazis at Microsoft do not recognize this word. Doesn't Wild Bill Gates ever go out to eat Japanese food?

Which brings us to stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, number 二:

"Edamame" ("枝豆") in Japanese literally means "twig bean" ("eda" = "twig" + "mame" = "bean").