"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://www.eatsrestaurantsf.com/ Place: Eats Location: 50 Clement Street (on the corner of 2nd Avenue) Hours: open Monday - Sunday at 8:00am Meal: (one) Waffle Berries & Crème (v) ~ homemade waffle(s) topped with honey butter, whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and dusted with powdered sugar; a side of Excellent! Homefries; and a large glassa Refresher ~ cucumber, pineapple, romaine[1] to drink
(Maybe this song woulda made more sense if today's date happened to be October 17th [and thirty years ago]. Close enough for government [and 'blog-] work.) For a weekend Double-Header (or Double-Play) for the Post-Season Workout of my Breakfastary Starting Rotation, I went back to Eats (see last 'blog-entry from Saturday, October 19th, 2019... so, yesterday) again this morning.
I sat inside again this morning. I probably coulda sat outside (it was a bit on the cool side, but I did have on a sweatshirt and another sweat-jacket-thing), but I had gotten there just as they were opening and had no problem getting one of the inside small tables for two (which, surprisingly, also seats one).
There was really nothing extra-special about the single waffle (I went with a one waffle choice because I knew that I also wanted to order their Excellent! Homefries and would not have been able to finish a two waffles and potatoes order), but I did like all the fruits (which included two different types of berries [that would be: blueberries and bananas] and strawberries) and whipped cream on top. Now, as usual, their version of homefries was truly Excellent! (hence my nickname for this menu item). Today's pile included six nicely roasted and caramelized garlic cloves and lotsa fresh rosemary sprigs. I woulda liked the potatoes to have been a little bit more on the crispied-up side, but I had gotten there kinda early in the morning and the grill may not have had time to sufficiently brown them up yet. As for the Refresher drink, yeah, its nookular colour and ingredients do look and sound kinda disgusting, but the cucumbers and romaine lettuce actually worked well enough with the freshly-juiced pineapples. If I were ever to make a similar juiced-up drink myself at home (well, of course, I would first need to buy some cucumbers, romaine lettuce, and a pineapple... and probably an actual juicer of some sort), I might think about adding another element or two. I bet some fresh ginger (which I would also need to buy) or some fresh rosemary (which I could easily steal from a number of gardens or front yards in my neighborhood; 'round these parts, the stuff grows like a weed... albeit, a very nice, aromatic weed) would be nice flavour additions. For condimentary supplementation, Eats has... well, same as yesterday... I did get to try some of the ?new? Mead and Mead Maple Syrup on my waffle. The waffle dish probably really did not need any extra sweetening, but it was authentic New Englander 100% maple syrup, after all. I did use a good amount of my own H*ll's KitchenSriracha Chili Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) and also several grinds from my The Spice & Tea Exchange®Florida Sunshine Spice Blend (Thanks, Cindy!) on the homefries. http://meadandmeads.com/ Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Waffle Berries & Crème ~ 6.4; Excellent! Homefries ~ 7.66 ___________________ 1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-botanical pointer of the day (stolen... er... borrowed directly from the friendly folks at WikipediA): In British English, it is commonly known as “cos” lettuce, and in North America as “romaine” lettuce. Many dictionaries trace the word cos to the name of the Greek island of Cos, from which the lettuce was presumably introduced. Other authorities trace cos to the Arabic word for lettuce, khus خس [xus]. It apparently reached Western Europe via Rome, as in Italian it is called lattuga romana and in French laitue romaine, both meaning “Roman lettuce”. Hence the name “romaine”, the common term in North American English.
♪ "I'm headin' down Clement Street Lookin' for the breakfast get-a-way... " ♫
https://www.eatsrestaurantsf.com/ Place: Eats Location: 50 Clement Street (on the corner of 2nd Avenue) Hours: open Monday - Sunday at 8:00am Meal: Spicy Kale Skillet (v) (okay, technically, they have this dish listed as "Spicy Tomato Skillet (v)" on their menu, but I just calls 'em as I tastes 'em) ~ kale, onions, potatoes, bell peppers, sunny up eggs, Parmesan, grilled bread; and, to drink, a large(-ish) glassa Power C ~ a mixture of orange, pineapple, and grapefruit juices
(I have it on good authority that both Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson are big kale fans, too. However, I think that Fred Schneider hates just about everything if it is not from Idaho or Claire.) Continuing along with a Post-Season Workout of my Breakfastary Starting Rotation, I went back to Eats (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, May 19th, 2019) this morning.
This dish (skillet, whatever) is probably my favourite one that they offer due to the amount of kale added to it (Sorry, Sean!). They even added extrakale in it for me this morning because they had misunderstood me when I said that I had renamed their dish "Spicy Kale Skillet" due to all the great kale-ocity in it. ("B-b-but, Brian, can you just go and change the established names of dishes at local restaurant?" Well, I just did!) However, I think that I have come up with even a mo' betta' name for this one now: "Kale-ifornia Shakshouka"[1]. ("B-b-but, Brian... " Shut-up and just go with it already!) Unfortunately, I had to explain what a "Shakshouka" was to my confused waiter-person-guy, though. (So now maybe you will get the above EweToobular juxtaselection.) For condimentary supplementation, Eats offers not only the Standard San Francisco Triumvirate of Hot Sauces(Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce [Original Red Sauce], Cholula®Hot Sauce [Original], and Tapatío®Salsa PicanteHot Sauce), but also Huy Fong Foods, Inc.Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce; additionally, I spied on a few of the tables El Yucateco® three ways (Salsa Picante Roja de Chile Habanero, Salsa Picante Verde de Chile Habanero, and XXXtra Picante Salsa Kutbil-Ik® de Chile Habanero). I used some of my own Dixie CrossroadsHot Habañero [which is appareñtly how they mispelz it in Floridialañd] Pepper Sauce (Thañks, Mom añd Briañ!) on top of one egg and a good amount o' sprinklage from my McCormick®Grill Mates®Smokehouse MapleSeasoning all over everything in the skillet.
They also now have on every table bottles of a new(?) maple syrup ~ Mead and Mead Maple Syrup. (I'd tap that!) Unfortunately, I did not have any items on which to try it this morning (but do not think that I was not tempted to pour just a little over the top of one of the eggs... ). Perhaps tomorrow. http://meadandmeads.com/ Crafty Coffee Confabulation Interlude I broke into another (and the last of, finally, my) Christmas (yes, Christmas) Coffee gift this morning. Before heading out to breakfast, I dripped me down (via the pour-over method) a mighty strong cuppa Lineage Coffee Roasting 431° Espresso. The package notes state: "A Classic Profile with a Heavier Roast Designed for Approachability[2] & Consistency"... whatever the h*ck that is supposed to mean. "Approachability", really?! It is just d*mn Coffee, not some kinda up-and-coming, hot, new Hollywoodland Starlet. Sheesh! Anyway... this was a decent enough roast/blend. I was expecting a bit of a darker roast from an Espresso and with a bit more kick to it, but I also did not prepare it with an actual Espresso-maker-thing. (Thanks, Barry! [even though he gets all of these "gifts" as freebie discards from his employer ~ Whole Paychecks®]) https://www.lineageroasting.com/products/northern-italian-espresso Here's hoping that your tin roof never rusts! Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Kale-ifornia Shakshouka ~ 7.5; Lineage Coffee Roasting 431° Espresso ~ 6.9 ___________________ 1. Ho-yeah! http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/shakshouka-2/ 2. I checked. "Approachability" is a completely madeuppery word.
(No official-type web-site.) Place: the Art Bistro Location: 2960 Clement Street (on the corner of 31st Avenue); phonicular contact: (415) 379-7119 Hours: open Monday to Friday at 7:00am; open at 8:30am every other day of the week (well, supposably)[1] Meal: All Seeded[ sic ] Bagel with Cream Cheese and Tomatoes; and a small cuppa Organic French Roast Coffee (whichever brand it might have been)[2]
(I just figured that the first Bruddah Iz song would be the perfect EweToobular juxtaselection to welcome a new/old business back to the 'hood. Besides, Bruddah Iz iz always cool to listen to on a placid Sunday morn, anyway, be you haole or native Hawai'ianese.) the Art Bistro (see previous 'blog-entry from Sunday, July 26th, 2015) just recently reopened on August 19th at their new location on Clement Street. They had closed their old Geary Boulevard location (my guess is that the rent was just too d*rn high) about two months ago now. I was greeted this morning by (whom I can only assume is) the owner/manager-lady that was always at the old location. I had always thought that she was Korean, but she informed me that she and most of the workers are Thai. Not knowing many Thai words or phrases, I had to ask her how to say "Thank you!"; she told me it is "ขอบคุณ!", which sounds something like "Kapoon!" (to my untrained Siamese cat-ears). They have moved only three blocks away into the space that used to house Saltroot Café (insert frowny-face emoji here)[3]. The good news is that the Art Bistro will still now be selling their (very good) Brazilian Cheese Popups (Gorgonzola and Guava are my two favourite flavours, but they are all very tasty) in frozen boxes of ten each. This is a much smaller space than they used to occupy (by about one-third, I would guess) and a bit more off the beaten path (and Geary Boulevard is a well-worn, beaten path) than the previous location. One nice thing about their new location is that I got to sit outside at one of the two small round two-seater tables along the Clement Street sidewalk. The old Geary Boulevard location did not have any space to offer any outside seating. Fortunately, the Sun was out this morning and shining brightly, but it was still a little breezy and I had to keep rescuing my errant napkins. I thought it was kinda funny that they still have the old ★Intelligentsia Coffee sign up on a back wall in the kitchen area. Apparently, when the painters had repainted the walls during the recent renovation, they painted around the sign instead of removing it. So now if the coffeeshop were ever to remove the sign, there will be an off-colour spot on the wall. (Hmmm?! Maybe the Art Bistro could start selling ★Intelligentsia Coffee instead of "Some Guy Coffee"... ) I had gotten there too early this morning and they were all outta eggs. The owner/manager-lady told me that she had sent someone to a nearby grocery store to pick up some for the day, but she had not returned yet. Otherwise, there is not really a whole lotta choices for breakfastary items (or food in general). I was actually planning on getting a bagel or croissant sandwich with eggs (they only prepare the eggs one way: nuked-scrambled), cheese, tomatoes, and onions. Oh, well, maybe next time...
There was nothing special about this meal, but I did not really expect anything more, anyway. I mean, it was just a toasted bagel (all-seeded and such; which, as best as I can tell, include: sesame and poppy [Sorry, Elaine.] seeds, at least) with cream cheese schmeared on it and some sliced tomatoes. As for the Coffee (it is a coffeehouse, after all), it was pretty good. However, I did not discern any l'orange or ส้ม in the French Roast... They change the blend/roast that is offered over the counter as their standard drip Coffee every so often. I think that I liked the Colombian Coffee that I had there last week a little more, though. I have no idea what they might have had to offer in the way of any condimentary supplementation (it is just a coffeehouse, not a restaurant, after all). I had come prepared and used some of my brand-spanking (If it is unbranded, does it not need corporal punishment?) new Sassy Mama Cuisine Fire Roasted Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Kerry!) and a coupla good twists from my The Spice & Tea Exchange®Italian Street Fair Spice Blend (Thanks, Cindy!) grinder-thing on the inside of the bagel. This was my first time trying out this hot sauce (on anything other than a spoon when I had first opened it to test it out a few weeks back). I liked it a lot; it was not overly espicy, but had a decent roasted habanero flavour. https://www.sassymamacuisine.com/ https://www.spiceandtea.com/seasonings-blends-rubs/italian-street-fair-spice-blend.html Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Bagel with etc. ~ 6.0; Coffee ~ 6.8; Bruddah Iz ~ 7.9 (on the Glen Bacon Scale... but fuggedaboudit on a standard weight-scale, it just don't go that high; you would need a truck-scale to do that) ___________________ 1. I had stopped by there last Monday (as in Labor Day), and they had not opened yet for the morning at around 8:50am; no biggie, I figured I would just check them out on another day... as it is only three blocks away. "But, Brian, maybe they were closed to observe the labourious 'merican holiday?!" Nah, sorry. I had just stopped by there on the Saturday before and the owner/manager-lady told me they would be open at 8:30am on Sunday and Monday. 2. I asked the owner/manager-lady where they got their Coffee. Her reply: "Some guy." Of course, now knowing that she is Thai, she mighta been saying that they get their Coffee from a roaster named "Orange Chicken"*... *(Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer/joke-explainer of the day: Unfortunately, my "knowledge" of the Thai language is limited to only those few items that I have seen on menus at local restaurants. There is a Thai restaurant in my neighborhood [very good, by the way] that is named "Bai Som" ["ใบ ส้ม" in Thai], which the best that I can figure means "orange leaf"[?]. I was also aware that the Thai word for "chicken" is "gai/kai" ["ไก่"] [this word is very similar in Chinese, Lao, and Vietnamese, too]. So, I jokingly added the two words together which sound somewhat like "Some Guy" in 'merican-speak.) http://www.baisomthaisf.com/ 3. Luckily, I stopped by Saltroot Café (see previous 'blog-entry from Monday, February 20th, 2017) just a few weeks before they had closed-up their retail-storefront operation for good. Thankfully, I was informed by one of the owners that they are not out-of-business, they are now only selling their (very good) Brazilian Cheese Popups at a few local organic markets in town.
(Yeah, so there is no cover photo of the restaurant this morning. There was a construction scaffolding blocking the entire front of the building.) Place: Joe's Coffee Shop Location: 6134 Geary Blvd (between 25th and 26th Avenues); phonicular contact: (415) 668-9382 Hours: open 7:00am Sunday to Saturday Meal: Vegetable and Cheese Omelet~ tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper, and spinach, served with hash browns and toast (where I went with sourdough again today); and a large glassa orange juice to drink
(Now I kinda wish I had ordered a side o' beans with my breakfast... [actually they do not offer these as a side on their menu, but still...]) I went back to Joe's Coffee Shop (see last 'blog-entry from just Saturday, February 2nd, 2019) this morning. This was actually my back-up "Plan B from Outer Space", Mr. Wood. I originally was planning on going back to Lincoln Park (Golf Course) Restaurant; however, they were not open at 8:15am when I had walked "all-the-way-over-there" (it is a full two blocks away, after all). They are supposably open on Saturdays and Sundays at 8:00am for breakfast now. Just-in-case they were not open, I had it in mind to simply head down to Joe's Coffee Shop (which was a whole 'nother nine blocks away, fercryin'outloud!). Once again, I sat at their diner-counter, and, once again, there was Premier League Football (which looked a lot like Soccer, if you ask me) on the telly: M(anchester)UN(ited) v. CHE(lsea). I did not stay until the end of the match, but ManU was the first to draw blood (Goooooal!) with a Penalty Kick-thing while I was eating breakfast.
There was nuthin' fancy-shmancy about this meal. It was just your basic, good ol' diner-fare kinda omelette. I am not sure which type of cheese was in it, but it was a decent, melty kind ~ probably Monterey Jack (it was definitely not any tasteless, useless 'merican "cheese", which was what I was fully expecting). The hashbrowns were very good ~ crispy-crunchy ~ just the way I like 'em. For condimentary supplementation, Joe's Coffee Shop offers Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce), Crystal®Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce, and Huy Fong Foods Inc.Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce on the counter top and tables. I used a little of my own Old St. AugustineDatil Pepper Sauce (Thanks,Greg & Cindy!) on the omelette and H*ll's KitchenSmoky Bourbon Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on the hashbrowns. I also made sure to use a good amount of my new The Spice & Tea Exchange® Florida Sunshine Spice Blend (Thanks, Cindy!) all over both the omelette and potatoes. https://www.spiceandtea.com/seasonings-blends-rubs/grinder-blends/florida-sunshine-spice-blend.html Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Vegetable and Cheese Omelet ~ 6.0
https://breadbellysf.com/ Place: Breadbelly Location: 1408 Clement Street (near the corner of 15th Avenue) Hours: open at 8:00am Wednesday to Monday (so, basically, they are closed on Tuesdays) Meal: Smashed Cucumber & Avocado(salad) ~ dressed with nam prik num (spicy Thai chili-lime vinaigrette)[1], sesame seeds, basils[ sics ]; to drink with the meal a glassa Mandarin Monkey ~ OrionLager, mandarin, & OJ (I kid you not, Mike D!); and, afterward, as a breakfastary dessert-thing, a Bavarian Cream doughnut from Frena Bakery https://www.orionbeer.co.jp/brand/draft/index.html https://frenabakery.com/product/dozen-bavarian-cream-donuts
(I do not care how "reet" or "new" the "skank" is, I would rather stick with a Bavarian Cream doughnut, Chrissie. And the second EweToobular video is just because I know that ol' Petey Gabbie is a big fan of orange juice-and-Beer for breakfast, too.) Yeah. It was inevitable that I would return to Breadbelly (see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, June 16th, 2019) to try their version of a Brass Monkey[2]. With this morning's dish, I think that I have about now run through their gamut of st*pid vegetarian-friendly breakfast items, leaving only: Mushroom BarleyBroth ~ Maitake & Enoki mushrooms, roasted barley tea, spring peas (I have no idea what this might look like or taste like, but I will try anything once... hence the Mandarin Monkey this morning). Additionally, there are a few more drink items that I do want to try: Iced Sesame Horchata ~ oat+rice milk, Saigon cinnamon; and, off their "Specials" board, Watermelon Lychee Tea(which is served cold; I asked).
With the drink and salad, this may have been one of the stranger breakfast combinations that I have had in a while. Ya know, as disgusting as it sounds, the drink was really not half-bad (so I only drank the half-good part). Hey, do not judge me! It had both orange juice and mandarin bits in it, so that makes it breakfastarily sound. "But... Beer... for breakfast, Brian?!" Apparently, you did not see last Saturday's silly li'l 'blog-thing. This was made with a Japanese (Okinawan, to be exact) Beer, so I am not sure why it is labeled specifically as "Mandarin Monkey"; perhaps all the monkeys in Okinawa have swum over to mainland China. (And if you think this combination of Beer and orange juice is a bit strange, I would like to introduce you to a Montana Red Bird~ made with Beer [usually a light Lager-style] and tomato juice.) On a previous visit, one of the counter-server guys told me that the nam prik num dressing is made with fish-sauce in it, but they could make the salad with a different vinaigrette; so, they substituted a champagne vinaigrette for me instead. All in all, this was a pretty simple and basic dish. It was not really "smashed", but was made with a cubed avocado (about a whole half) and cucumbers, and with several halved cherry tomatoes; plus, a good amount of basils[ sics ] leaves/sprigs throughout. In my opinion, I think that it mighta coulda used just a little something extra in it: some fresh sliced jalapeños or pickled onions, perhaps. I also wonder if it could possibly be made with a poached egg on top. I still have not bothered to ask what they might have to offer in the way of condimentary supplementation. I used some of my own Dragon's Lair Extra HotCayenne & Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) all over the salad junk (mainly because it did not include any spicy Thai chili-lime vinaigrette) and a couple of shakes of McCormick®Grill Mates®Smokehouse MapleSeasoning on top, too. The Grill Mates® dealie is brand new to my condimentary arsenal; I just bought it last weekend because I was all out of both black pepper and grains of paradise and wanted to try something new. While this is not really a "salt-substitute" ~ as the first ingredient listed is "salt" ~ I did like the flavour it added... I am just not exactly sure how the "natural flavor (including smoke)" is included (there are probably some mirrors involved in the manufacturing process). https://www.mccormick.com/grill-mates/flavors/seasoning-blends/grill-mates-smokehouse-maple-seasoning Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Smashed Cucumber & Avocado ~ 6.3; Brass Monkey-thing ~ 6.5; Bavarian Cream doughnut ~ 6.7 ___________________ 1. http://thaifoodparadise.com/recipe/nam-prik-noom-recipe-northern-thai-green-chili-dip/ 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_Monkey_(cocktail)
