"There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation." ~ W.C. Fields (as Augustus Q. Winterbottomin "Tillie and Gus")
http://www.bakerstreetbistro.com/ Place: Baker Street Bistro Location: 2953 Baker Street (between Lombard and Greenwich Streets) Hours: open for "Brunch" Saturday & Sunday at 9:00am Meal: Œufs Baker Street Bistro ~ ratatouille, poached eggs, English muffin, tomato sauce, served with home fries & mixed greens; and a glassa Fresh Squeezed Limonade[ sic ] Je suis retourné à Baker Street Bistro(see last 'blog-entry from Sunday, January 8th, 2017) pour mon petit-déjeuner. I sat outside this morning for a change... mainly because I could and because it was nice and sunny for a welcomed respite of the Antediluvian days we have had here recently.
Even though Baker Street Bistro really only offers a few "Brunch" items that are suitable for stupid vegetarians, I have absolutely no problem going back again and again and again. This dish or their Pain Perdu Extraordinaire are always worth reordering. Needless to say, I liked this meal very much once again. Baker Street Bistro only has Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) for use as condimentary supplementation. I used some of my own Great WallWasabi Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) on the rabbit-food and some Hot Licks®SerranoHot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the potatoes. A Prebreakfastary[1](and Post Prandium, too) Coffee Interlude Earlier this morning, much before even heading out to eat, I made me a cuppa Colectivo® Coffee RoastersCosta Rica - Santa María (Thanks, Kerry!). After getting home from breakfast, I also decided to make myself another cuppa to enjoy while keyboarding uppa this 'blog-entry. Both of these cuppas were made via the pour-over drip method. https://shop.colectivocoffee.com/pages/coffee/
the Wild Parrots of San Francisco Interlude Before breakfast ~ or "prebreakfastary", even ~ (and, for which, I had specifically made sure to arrive about forty-five minutes earlier than when Baker Street Bistro opened), I had parked on Lyon Street, under the tall Eucalyptus trees over by Lombard Gate of the Presidio, where I knew there is a large pandemonium of the chattering feather-brains. My timing was perfect because there were still many of them in the trees before they headed out for other parts of the city for the day. I can't be sure exactly how many Wild Parrotswere in the roost this morning, but there had to be dozens of them at least. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Œufs Baker Street Bistro ~ 7.3; Colectivo® Coffee RoastersCosta Rica - Santa María ~ 7.0; the Wild Parrotsof San Francisco ~ 8.5 ___________________
1. Because "breakfastary" was already a completely madeuppery word of my own make-uppering, I decided that I could come up(pery) with even more stupid, useless words using it as the root. I have also decided that the "correct" pronunciation for this word shall be "pri-BREAKFAST-a -ree" (like with the first syllable in "preliminary"*) and not "pree-BREAKFAST-a -ree". If anyone has any problems with this choice... tough! Start yer own d*mn 'blog-thing then! *(How come you don't usually hear of many "postliminary results"?)
"Anyone who hates small dogs and children can't be all bad." ~ W.C. Fields
http://www.sealrockinn.com/restaurant.html Place: Seal Rock Inn Restaurant Location: 545 Point Lobos Avenue (on the corner of 48th Avenue) Hours: open at 6:00am every day of the year (except for those days ending in a "y") Meal: (me) Sophia's Omelette (aka Greek Omelette No.3) ~ Feta cheese, olives, onions, tomatoes, spinach (served with hash brown ~ noted as two words and singular ~ and toast); (Greg) Greek Omelette No. 1 ~ Feta cheese, olives, bell peppers, onion, tomatoes (served with hash brown and toast); (Dylan) Hot Cakes with Assorted Fruit; (Greg & Dylan) a side order of cured and smoked dead, decaying porcine belly; (Greg & me) lots o' Coffee; (Dylan) a glass of orange juice (Dylan is much like I was at his age and really doesn't need any extra hyper-caffeination) An old Air Forcebuddy (that would be Greg) and his son (that would be Dylan ~ who I found out shares his birthday of June 13th with a few impressive celebrities) were in town for two nights (and just one day), so, along with the requisite Official 50¢ Tour of San Francisco (Really. It was even given by Curtis James Jackson III himself.), we started the morning of sightseeing with a hearty breakfastary repast at Seal Rock Inn Restaurant (see last 'blog-entry from December 29th, 2013). I really should point out that even though it is called Seal Rock Inn Restaurant (the restaurant being named after Seal Rock Inn, which itself is named after Seal Rocks, which are named after actual seals and rocks ~ and have nothing to do with the music of that guy that is separated from Heidi Klum), they also have decorations throughout the place of other varieties of pinnipeds (e.g. Sea Lions and Walruses, Chumley). After breakfast, we did make a quick stop at the Lands End Lookout Visitors Center parking lot to get a glimpse of the actual Seal Rocks before heading on our way for the morning. I would normally try to impress any out of town visitors by taking them to The Bistro Restaurant at Cliff House (see last 'blog-entry from January 21st, 2014), which is just another two blocks down the road, before starting the whole tourista thing at the Ocean Beach end of Golden Gate Park. However, I didn't feel that the breakfast menu there (World-Famous Popovers!and all) would be that impressive to a seven year old boy (and, besides, I was footing the bill for breakfast and didn't want to waste good money on Greg ~ don't worry, I made sure to stick it Greg later on for dinner at Mel's Drive-In). As Greg was stationed with me back in Athens, Greece (Άνω Γλυφάδα.… Ελληνικόν… whatever), I pointed him in the direction of one of the many International Omelettes (especially any of the Greek Omelette No.'s) that are offered by Seal Rock Inn Restaurant. I particularly warned him about the most-horrible Sunrise (Omelette With No Country), which should never be ordered by any sane person under any circumstances, even as a joke… ever again.
This was only my second time ordering the Sophia's Omelette, which I have taken to calling Greek Omelette No. 3, because it truly is. It was just as good this morning as the first time. I have had both the Greek Omelette No. 1 (probably my favourite of theirs) and the Greek Omelette No. 2 many times in the past (and, hopefully, many more times in the future). Greg's order-entry was really very similar to mine (just minus the spinach, but with bell peppers). He said that it was very good, which makes perfect sense, as I would expect anyone that has ever eaten αυθεντική χωριάτικησαλάτα would like this one. Of course (like my omelette) this would be so much better with Kalamata olives in place of the tasteless canned black olives that they use. Our toast-y choices: (me) sourdough; (Greg) none. He said that he is on some kinda stupid "Paleo[1] Diet" or such. I told him that I was a little more advanced than that and am on the much newer/even more pretentious "Mesolithic[2] Diet"… Dylan opted for the whipped cream upgrade, which is always a smart choice with pancakes and fruit. This morning's assorted fruit toppings looked to be: apples, pineapple, oranges, strawberries, and probably ruby red grapefruit (I asked Dylan if they were blood oranges, and he said they were, but I kinda doubt that Seal Rock Inn Restaurant would actually use those ~ did I mention the canned black olives?). For condimentaray supplementation, Seal Rock Inn Restaurant offers both Tabasco®Brand Hot Sauce (the standard red) and Cholula®Hot Sauce (only missing out on Tapatío® for the complete San Francisco Triumvirate of Hot Sauces). Both Greg and I used some Cholula® generously on our hashbrowns. Hey! I just remembered that Greg and Dylan still owe me $1.00 total for yesterday's tour! (Even if I were to give them the old-friendly-discount or the kids-discount, I still say they owed me at least 75¢ with the tip included.) Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Sophia's Omelette/Greek Omelette No. 3 ~ 6.6 (I didn't get Greg's GBS Rating for his Greek Omelette No. 1, but I usually rate it 6.7 or such. Dylan's pancakes were just pancakes with fruit and whipped cream on top. Besides, how could I explain the whole highly-scientific process of the GBS to a seven year old?) 1. Yeah, and people like to make fun of stupid vegetarians… I didn't have the heart to tell Greg that cavemen didn't really cure or smoke any of their dead, decaying animal flesh, though. But I am sure that he is free to eat any formation of rocks that he feels like. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, νούμερο ένα: "Παλιός(Paliós)" means "old" in Greek. 2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, νούμερο δύο: a) "Μέση (Méso)" means "middle" in Greek. b) "Λίθος (Lythos)" means "stone/rock" in Greek. And just for the heck of it: The place name "Mesopotamia" comes from Greek meaning "(the land) between rivers". And, yes, the same word root "ποτάμι (potámi)" ~ meaning "river" ~ can be seen in "hippopotamus", Mrs. Kipe.
"When the 'Dog' looks in the mirror, he sees 'God', but when 'Mom' and 'Dad' look in the mirror, they only see 'Mom' and 'Dad'." ~ Michael Fremer
(Still no official web-site.) Place: Eats Location: 50 Clement Street (on the corner of 2nd Avenue); phonicular contact: (415) 751-8000 Hours: open Monday-Sunday at 8:00am (closed all other days of the week) Meal: Hummus and Egg (v) ~ roasted red bell pepper hummus, tomatoes, hardboiled egg, cucumber salad, parsley, olives, served with rye toast ~ Humma-licious! (that is how they have it on their menu, but it is pretty accurate); a side of Excellent! Roasted Home Potatoes; and a large (12 oz.) glass of Refresher ~ cucumber, pineapple, romaine
(I am using these two EweToob videos to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing. For the record, I was against it, not for it. I know that I could have used Dave Loggins' original version of the first song, but David Allan Coe has the distinction of singing "the perfect Country-and-Western song" ~ written by Steve Goodman and John Prine ~ and I like his singing better.) I am still working my way through my Breakfastary Starting Rotation and went back to Eats (see last 'blog-entry from January 26th, 2014) today. This morning must have been "Kids Eat Free" day, as I was surrounded by families with all sizes of the little brats. Okay, that probably makes me sound a bit W.C. Fields-ish, but I am mainly stating this to point out that Eats is a very family-friendly joint. (Good save, Tuukka?) I did find it necessary to kick a puppy or two on the way back to my car, though. After eating at Eats several times a year for the past few years, I really thought that I had about exhausted all of the (v) items on their menu, but there are still a few other dishes that I haven't tried yet: Two Tofu Tacos (try saying that ten times fast ~ zucchini, bell peppers, Hungarian peppers, corn, pico de gallo, cabbage slaw, avocado, beans ~ probably black or pinto, grilled tortillas, potatoes or salad; and they don't list it, but due to the name of the dish, I would assume there is also some tofu in this, too); Spinach Tomato Feta Scramble; Spinach Portabella Feta Benedict; or Vegetarian Egg Sandwich (Has anyone every seen a carnivorous egg before? ~ arugula, Cheddar, tomatoes, spicy aioli, over easy egg, avocado, cornmeal ciabatta, potatoes or salad). All of which gives me a good reason to go back again later in the year… as well as for the Excellent! Roasted Home Potatoes with all their golden garlicy goodness.
I really liked the simplicity of this dish. It all worked very well for me. The hummus paired nicely with the cucumber salad as a topping for the rye toast. At first, I didn't think there was going to be quite enough of the rye toast (there were just two slices, cut into thirds) to use up all the hummus and junk, but it worked out to be exactly the right amount (especially if you are like me and like to pile the hummus pretty high). The tomatoes were either halved cherry or grape (the joke here being that while cherries are not botanical berries, both grapes and tomatoes are). I did not notice any olives (or olives) anywhere on the plate and think they may have forgotten these; this would be a big shame if they used actual Kalamata olives. Today's garlicocity rating for the Excellent! Roasted Home Potatoes: just two cloves; however, one was an extra large clove, so I can consider it as three total. The Refresher was very verdantly vile looking, but it really was pretty good tasting; however, I think it could have used just a bit of fresh-squeezed lime juice in it to give it a bit of a pop. (This is not really that unusual, as I think fresh-squeezed lime juice goes great with fresh watermelon or cantaloupe drinks, too). For condimentary supplements, Eats has (Eats have?) the San Francisco Triumvirate of Hot Sauces (or S.F.T.o.H.S. for short people): Tabasco®Brand Hot Sauce (the standard red); Tapatío®; and Cholula®Hot Sauce. As usual, I brought a few of my own hot sauces with me again and used a little (well, a little too much ~ I was a bit heavy-handed when I poured it; it's not as hot as an habanero salsa, but it still is pretty darn picante) Nando's®Extra Hot (see, that should have been a warning to me right there) Peri-Peri Sauce (Thanks, Kerry!) all over the Excellent! Roasted Home Potatoes and just a few drops (I knew better with this one) of Big Papi En Fuego Hot Sauce Off The Wall Triple Hot (Thanks again, Kerry!) on the hardboiled egg slices. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Hummus and Egg ~ 6.8; Excellent! Roasted Home Potatoes ~ 7.5
"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath." ~ W.C. Fields
http://strawsf.com/ Place: STRAW ~ Carnival Fare Location: 203 Octavia Boulevard (near the corner of Page Street) Hours: "Brunch" is served on Saturday and Sunday starting at 10:00am Meal: scrambler ~ scrambled eggs (hence the carnie moniker)/goat cheese/crimini[1]mushrooms/spinach/caramelized onions/toast; and a glass (well, a Mason jar) of strawberry basil lemonade
http://www.puddlespityparty.com/ (I don't care what anyone else says ~ especially any snot-nosed, hipster dufus-wannabes ~ Puddles is the best 7-foot tall, cabaret-singing, scary clown from New York City that there ever was! Check out his cover of another of Lorde's song, "Team", on EweToob, too.) I had "Brunch" (their term, not mine) at STRAW ~ Carnival Fare again (see last 'blog-entry from March 16th, 2013; coincidentally enough, this was exactly one year ago this Saturday; and, of course, if this trend holds forth, next year I will have to remember to eat there again on the ultimate "Pie Day": 3/14/15 ~ especially at 9:26:53).
stupid, useless parklets mini-rant of the day When I first arrived at STRAW this morning, I went all skelly-eyed[2] at the sight that confronted me there. I happened to notice that there is a brand-new stupid, useless parklet under construction right in front of STRAW. Here is where it is always important to ask questions first; you can always still jump to conclusions afterward. I asked my waiter-service guy what was up with the construction of the two-car space blockade in front of the restaurant (and also in front of the coffeehouse next door). He informed me that the café next door was the real instigator in providing this little idyllic resting spot for people to enjoy… instead of having to walk all the way over two entire blocks to an actual city/neighborhood park (Patricia's Green) on Octavia Boulevard between Fell and Hayes Streets, or even enjoying the actual city-provided tree-lined spaces with benches all along several blocks of Octavia Boulevard. (I won't even bother to mention that there is also another nice city-provided greenery spot ~ Koshland Community Park and Learning Garden ~ just two blocks up Page Street. But one would have to walk UPHILL all the way to get there. So, it is completely understood that a person with a full cuppa Large Decaf Chai Mocha Latteccino,made with non-fat skim soymilk and just a soupçon of nutmeg, would not want to make that extreme trek for fear of spilling any of their drink upon their precious Doc Martens.) These stupid parklets really are getting out of hand and are becoming more of an annoyance; they only serve to show the public that the respective stores/shops/restaurants that sponsor them are thinking: "Look at us! Aren't we so chic and hipster-dufusy?! We provide anyone stupid enough to think that this is an actual park with a completely useless space to sit in! However, if you own a car in the neighborhood, it is just too bad if you needed one of the two spots we now are uselessly occupying!" And because STRAW really isn't to blame and they are not footing the bill of the stupid wastelet, I will not be boycotting them (for now) as I first thought I may have to when I initially saw the stupid obstruction in front. The stupid next-door coffeehouse, however, will not get the same reprieval. The stupid coffee shop's name is immaterial (No, really, I think they call themselves "Immaterial Café") as I will never see fit to darken their door a shade or two of ecru ever again (truth be told, in all the years that they have been in operation, I might have been in there just once). (Why is it that a "mini-rant" turned out to be actually larger than the bulk of the rest of the 'blog-entry?) (Now back to our regularly scheduled 'blog-entry with only a minor reference to stupid parklets or two.) I have eaten many of the vegetarian-friendly "Brunch" dishes offered at STRAW already. Other than today's choice, there are just two others left: bumper car (sautéed spinach omelette/caramelized onions/swiss cheese/home fries/toast) or rancher's reserve (fried eggs/chili-tomato ranchero sauce/refried beans/tortillas/cilantro-avocado mousse/home fries ~ if this can be made vegetarian, that is). I can always try either of these on a subsequent visit now that I don't need to make any abstentions from eating at STRAW (and I might even just get a cuppa at the nearby Blue Bottle Coffeekiosk beforehand and sit in the stupid parklet out front drinking it in mockery of the stupid coffeehouse there).
(Okay, maybe sometimes black-and-whiteisn't the best medium for a breakfastary photograph.) My main reason for going with the scrambler this morning over the bumper car was that spinach, caramelised onions, and goat cheese trumped spinach, caramelised onions, and Swiss cheese. This proved to be a good choice as the caramelised onions added a genuine sweetness to the scramble and offset the tanginess of the goat cheese perfectly. The fresh spinach was just a good ingredient as always. The homefries were a decent version, made with red bell peppers and onions. The strawberry basil lemonade was good, but could have used just a bit more basil and a little less strawberry, I thought (but that's just me, I am neither a chef, nor mixologist, nor city planner, I am just someone that doesn't mind walking two absolutely, completely, whole, entire city blocks to enjoy the open outdoor areas already provided for that specific reason). The only condimentary supplementation that I noticed that STRAW had on all the tables was Tabasco®Brand PepperSauce. I used some of my own Youk's Hot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) (which I had carried with me in my hot sauce holster ~ Thanks, Sean!) on the homefries and some Florida Gold Premium Habanero Hot Sauce(Thanks, Kerry!) on the scramblered stuff. Conclusional ratiocination: stupid parklets suck, but breakfast (or "Brunch" even) is always good. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: scrambler ~ 6.5; strawberry basil lemonade~ 6.8 1. Crimminy Jistmas! Seriously, little Billy Gates and his Nazi Spell-checkers did not recognise this simple word as a valid epicureanistic word. They really need to get out and sample different foods once in a while (even if that food is fungi). (This can also be spelled "cremini", but the Brown-shirt bastages at Microsoft do not seem to recognise that accepted spelling either.) 2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-etymological pointer of the day: I came across the expression "skelly-eyed" recently while reading a book that takes place in North Yorkshire. "Skelly" is another word that has come into English (well, Yorkie-English) from ye olde Scandinavian invading hordes. It probably comes from Old Norse "skjalgr", meaning "wry"; it is related to Old English "sceolh", meaning "a squint".
"I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food." ~ W.C. Fields
http://www.chouquets.com/ Place: Chouquet's Restaurant[1] Location: 2500 Washington Street (on the corner of Fillmore Street) Hours: "Brunch" is served at 10:00am on Saturday and Sunday Meal: Omelette du Jardin[2] ~ with spinach, tomatoes, & mushrooms, and, on the suggestion of the waiter-server guy, I had them add chèvre to this, too, served with a side of green salad & potatoes; and a cuppa Moschetti Coffee (but I didn't ask which specific roast/blend was being served) http://www.moschetti.com/
(I may have used this particular EweToob-ular video before, but I figured a Frenchy restaurant and sitting street-side called for some rocking accordion music. I don't understand why Street Boys had Elmo helping with the introduction for them, though.) I happened to pass by Chouquet's Restaurant a few weeks back and made a mental note (actually, the more PC-term these days is: "a retarded hemidemisemiquaver") to check it out for breakfast (or, what they refer to as "Brunch") one of these mornings. I found a nice parking spot just two blocks away alongside Alta Plaza Park (which is basically the Pacific Heights version of Alamo Square Park ~ with the requisite tennis courts, several dog run areas, and perched atop a hill ~ just without the illustrious Painted Ladies; however, there are several other Victorians all around the park and neighborhood). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alta_Plaza_Park This was another great, sunny morning to eat outside[3]. Which was perfect as Chouquet's has nine tables for two in their large sidewalk patio area; and this is a very dog-friendly joint ~ three mutts and their human-slaves saw fit to join me outside while I was there. (Why do we call people that are "foodies" and like to eat out a lot "chowhounds"? I mean, dogs are not very particular ~ as can be seen by the "best friends" company they keep ~ and they spend a good portion of the day licking themselves and drinking out of the toilet bowl.) And there are probably twice again as many seats available inside the restaurant. One drawback is that there are only eight items total on the "Brunch" menu from which to choose, and, of those choices, only half of them are suitable for stupid vegetarians (unfortunately, they don't offer a separate menu for dogs). Their web-site does show a picture of Tchoutchouka (which I can only assume is the Slavic spelling/version of Shakshouka; see 'blog-entry from Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen from December 15th, 2013), but they do not actually offer it anywhere on the "Brunch" menu (and neither for "Linner" nor "Dupper").
This was a pretty good omelette. The chèvre actually made the omelette and I was very glad that it was suggested, and I was also happy to see that there were several dollops[4] inside the omelette; otherwise, the omelette would have been rather boring and pedestrian (see, 'cause I was on the sidewalk). The potatoes were a nice version of homefries. The salad was actually a green and reddish salad, but it may be hard to tell from the crummy black-and-white photo. ("Why B&W photography today?", you ask. Well, they were all out of colour memory cards at the store.) The Coffee was a very decent cuppa, too. I may have had Coffee from this roastery in the past. Moschetti is a local Bay Area company out of Vallejo. For condimentary supplementation, Chouquet's offers both Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (the standard red) and Huy Fong FoodsTương Ớt Sriracha. I just used a little of my own Nando's®Extra Hot Peri-Peri sauce (Thanks, Kerry!) on the omelette and some Pickapeppa Sauce (Thanks, Amy!) mixed with just a scintilla of One Stop Hot Shop "Son of Smart Arse" Sauce (Thanks a lot, Cindy & Greg!). I have had that stupid bottle now for over two years and have yet to make a noticeable dent in its volume; at this rate, I figure by the time the Chornobyl'[5] nuclear disaster reaches its radioactive half-life, I may also be half-way done with the bottle.
The very knowledgeable waiter-server guy (whose name I didn't really get this morning; sorry, Mrs. Huneycutt, but unless the waiter-server guys are actually very cute waitress-server gals, I really don't care what they call themselves; if it helps any and is of any consequence, I did learn the names of two of the three dogs that were outside with me: Lucy and Elmer) knew both his Coffee and hot sauces stuff. He was even brave enough to try a toothpick tip sample of the "Son of Smart Arse" Sauce. I had given him the specific caveat ahead of time to just try a tiny amount first; we don't want any more international incidents like what happened at Eddie's Cafe (see the 'blog-entry massacre from January 7th, 2012). Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Omelette du Jardin ~ 6.4; MoschettiCoffee ~ 6.8 1. Almost a stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day: Unfortunately, I have no idea what "Chouquet" means in French. The best I could get was from GoogleTranslateand they say it means a "mast cap" (whatever the heck that is supposed to be). However, I am pretty sure that "restaurant" is just a fancy French word for "bistro". 2. Actual stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numéro un: "Jardin" simply means "garden" in French, Al. 3. Sorry, I don't know the French phrase for "al fresco", Mr. Jardine. 4. Stupid, useless cunning linguist (well, mostly a pseudo-etymological) pointer of the day, nummer to: "Dollop" comes to English from the Norwegian word "dolp" (meaning "lump"). There are many words that entered the English language from back when the Scandinavian hordes invaded and settled in Northern England. Even today, many words spoken in the Yorkshire dialect could probably be better understood by someone from Oslo than from someone from London. This titbit of information was actually gleaned from a book that I am reading on Tan Hill Inn (Thanks, Cindy & Greg! again), called The Inn at the Top ~ Tales of Life at the Highest Pub in Britain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Hill_Inn
(That would be a photo of Greg and a few of his local friends at Tan Hill Inn. This one is not in B&W as it is a stock photo from several years ago.) 5. Yes, I know that the standardised English transliteration is normally "Chernobyl", but in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, I am using the better Ukrainian transliteration, much like the old city of "Kiev" is now being spelled "Kyiv". Bad Vlad can "пошëл на хуй" for all I care.
(There really isn't any Six Degrees of Kevin ~ or Glen ~ Bacon between today's EweToob selections and the restaurant. I just happened to learn yesterday that many words of Arabic ~ not "Arabian" ~ origin that begin with the prefix "al-" have made there way directly into English; for example: "alcohol"[1], "algebra", "Alhambra", "Al Gore", etc.)
I really didn't feel like traversing anywhere far away this morning for breakfast, so I just headed back to Seal Rock[2]Inn Restaurant (see last 'blog-entry from March 31st, 2012). As they are basically the house restaurant attached to a motel (and seeing as the definition of "inn" ~ according to my Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language ~ is "a commercial establishment that provides lodging, food, etc., for the public", I am going to drop the superfluous "Restaurant" part of their name in the rest of this 'blog-entry. However, I suppose it would have been a lot more succinct to do away with this explanation altogether and just use "Restaurant" throughout, but… "My 'blog, my 'rules!"), they open up bright and early at 6:00am every day to provide food to the touristas and locals alike.
I got there plenty early enough before the invading hordes took over the place and I sat in the front room/atrium area with the canvas-covered roof, which has seating for about 60 or more. Additionally, the entrance room dining area has seating for another 20-30 people. On a clear, sunny day (like this morning), it's always much more enjoyable to sit in the atrium area with a view of the Ocean (and beyond).
Seal Rock Inn (See how much smoother it flows without the additional "Restaurant" attached to it and takes much less typing?) has a very extensive breakfastary menu. They are particularly known for their large selection of "International Omelettes" and "The Good Old American Omelettes". In the past I have tried many of their omelettes, but once again I ordered the Greek Omelette No. 1 ~ Feta cheese, olives, bell peppers, onion (they had this in the singular, but there were both red and white onions in it), and tomatoes; served with hash brown (they had this as two words on the menu and in the singular again for some reason), toast (I went with sourdough as my choice) and jelly (they actually brought out two different types, they must just really like their singulars). I also had a cuppa so-so coffee (but it was still good enough for me to not refuse another two half-cup refills, of course).
While this is a pretty predictable choice of mine (I usually get this one or the Greek Omelette No. 2 and recently discovered the Sophia's Omelette, which I am calling Greek Omelette No. 3), it beats their French Omelette, Swedish Omelette, or the (truly 'orrible) Sunrise (Omelette With No Country). (Bananas, raisins, and carrots should never be combined as ingredients in any omelette! Believe me, if you have ever tried it, you would know that no country would ever take claim for this atrocity. I think it's even mentioned in the Geneva Convention under "Cruel and Unusual Punishment".) All the Greek spices (probably at least oregano, parsley, and black pepper) in the omelette makes it taste just like αυθεντικήχωριάτικη σαλάτα. I really like all three of their Greek Omelettes and can't decide which is my favourite. The No. 1 included an unbelievable amount of Feta cheese in the omelette today (and this is always a very good thing); there was easily as much Feta in this as can be found on a good Γλυφάδαταβέρναχωριάτικη σαλάτα (those that have lived there know exactly what I mean; the only thing missing was a glass of ρετσίναto wash it down with). Plus, you had better not call yourself a "Greek Omelette" otherwise. The hashbrowns (and I was happy to see that there was actually more than just one) were verrrrry good and extra-crispy this morning.
Seal Rock Inn only offers Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (the standard red) for condimentary supplementation. I used some of my own Palo Alto Firefighters Pepper Sauce~ original flavour (Thanks agains, Amys & Brian!) on half of the hashbrowns and some Serious Food… Silly Prices Mango Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on the other half of the potatoes. I really didn't want to mess with the flavours in the omelette.
After breakfast, I went for a little walk down the street to Lands End[3] and looked out over the actual Seal Rocks. However, I didn't see any seals or sea lions on the rocks. (There was lots of bird guano all over them, though. I really think they need to rename these "Bird-shit Rocks" for truth in advertising.)
Cape Cod Baseball League/Wareham Gatemen Interlude It ain't[3] really summer until there is Baseball being played on Cape Cod. I just received notification this morning that the Wareham Gatemenare holding their tryouts for this season starting today.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Greek Omelette No. 1 ~ 6.7 (now this would be easily a 7.0+ if they used real Kalamata olives in it); Wareham Gatemen/CCBL ~ 8.0
1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day:
Contrary to popular belief, the word "alcohol" didn't come from an Irish drunkard named "Albert Coholic". "Alcohol" was borrowed from French, which took it from Medieval Latin. Ultimately the word is from Arabic "الكحول" ("al-kuhl"; "kohl" is a powder used as an eyeliner). "Al-" is the Arabic definitive article (equivalent to "the" in English). The word "alcohol" was originally used for the very fine powder produced by the sublimation of the natural mineral stibnite to form antimony sulfide (hence the essence or "spirit" of the substance), which was used as an antiseptic, eyeliner, and cosmetic.
It is interesting to see that the same (or closely related) word is used in many other languages:
See? Alcohol is the one true equalizer in the World. I say, let's all get drunk and screw!
2. They have this also in the singular; whereas, the rock formation is actually in the plural on most maps and in tourist guides. Why it is called "Seal Rocks" and not "Sea Lion Rocks", I have no idea, though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_Rocks_%28San_Francisco,_California%29 3. Seriously? Herr Wilhelm Tore, you and your Auto-Spellcheck Nazis don't recognize this nonstandard ~ but generally accepted ~ word?! If you have a problem with this contraction, Billy-boy, I reckon you take it up with some bloke named Charles John Huffam Dickens that popularized it in his novels way back in the 19th Century.
4. Why this park is called "Lands End" and not "Land's End", again I have no idea.
Even though they don't open on Saturdays and Sundays until 10:00am ~ and for "Brunch" at that ~ I decided to have breakfast at Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery this morning. This decision was based simply upon the idea that I wanted to try a new place and these guys brew their own Beer. I have eaten at this place for dinner and lunch (and even stopped by for just a pint or two) before, but this was my first early morning meal there.
Magnolia (and I am going to abbreviate their name from here on out) is located on the corner of Haight Street and Masonic Avenue (in the World Famous, historic neighborhood of Haight-Masonic, of course). The story that I heard (Hey, Nance!) was that the restaurant/brewery was named for the above-linked the Grateful Dead song, as the owner is a Dead fan (by that I mean a Deadhead and not a George Romero or Robert Kirkman enthusiast). Instead of any hoity-toity cloth napkins on the tables, they have dishtowels (that would be tea towels to you Englishlanders) for napkins. In addition to their indoor seating area, they have four two-seater tables on the Haight Street sidewalk and two large benches (that could seat 4-6 easily each) on the Masonic Avenue sidewalk.
I got to the Haight about a half hour before Magnolia opened so I walked across the street and got a cuppa at Coffee to the People beforehand. It was a decent enough cuppa, but nothing that I couldn't make at home with a good brand of coffee of my own.
Now as one of the main reasons that I chose Magnolia as my breakfastary destination this morning was for their good selection of fresh-brewed Beers, I made sure to ask my waiter/server-guy which Beer might best pair with my meal choice. He informed me that May is Session[1] Beer Month at Magnolia and suggested either a Kalifornia Kölsch (which I have had before and knew I liked) or a Branthill[2] ESB[3]. (Didn't Brant Hill use to play in the NBA?) I went with the latter and this proved to be a very good choice. It is only a 4.2% ABV Beer so it was easily light enough for so early in the day, and it was served in a real "20oz Pint", too. This week is also American Craft Beer Week; so get out there and support your American Craft Beers… a lot! *hic*
Magnolia really doesn't have an awful lot of choices on their "Brunch" menu (and even less stupid vegetarian ones). For the meatatarians out there, it was interesting to see that they do offer an English Breakfast (see 'blog-entry from January 1st, 2011) with cannellini (sic) beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, breakfast sausage, potatoes, two eggs, and half Leadbetter's English muffin. Their version of French Toast looked pretty good, too, but I ended up ordering Quinoa[4]Hash ~ two eggs, carrots, spinach, and nutritional yeast (whatever the heck that is supposed to be).
This was all very good. It was made with two eggs over medium placed on top of the hash, with julienned carrots, fresh sautéed spinach, and topped with lots of shredded Parmesan. This was definitely the most interesting use of quinoa that I have had in a while (and probably the first time I have had it for breakfast, or "Brunch"). However, I am sure that I could easily make this at home… if I had any quinoa… or carrots… or spinach… or yeast (nutritional or otherwise)… or Parmesan cheese… or eggs, even.
Figuring that Magnolia would probably only offer Tabasco® Brand Pepper Sauce (the standard red) for condimentary supplementation, I had come prepared with a few from my own collection, but I was pleasantly surprised when I asked the really knowledgeable server-guy and found out that they actually have a very tasty home-made Thai chilli pepper sauce. I used a good amount all over the dish (well, it was actually in a bowl, but you get the idea).
I liked the idea that the bill is brought out in a hollowed-out book. Mine today happened to be Meeting at Potsdam, which I liked, as the city of Potsdam was just across the river from (West) Berlin when I lived there (well, it is still just across the river; they didn't relocate an entire city) and you could always see it there, but never got to visit it as it was in the East German/Soviet territory.
Even if the food hadn't been so good this morning, who cares? Did I mention that they serve good, fresh Beers?! And it really wasn't such a fatality, William Claude.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Quinoa Hash ~ 6.5; Coffee to the People ~ 6.3; Branthill ESB ~ 7.0
1. Session drinking is a chiefly British term that refers to drinking a large quantity of Beer during a "session" (i.e. a specific period of time) without becoming intoxicated. A session is generally a social occasion. A "session Beer", such as today's ESB, is a Beer that has a moderate or relatively low alcohol content. The very informative server-guy told me that Magnolia considers any Beer under 7.0% ABV a "session Beer".
2. Once again, the friendly, informative server-guy told me that this is called "Branthill" as they use imported, top quality malt from Brant Hill Farm in Norfolk, England.
3. "E.S.B." (for you Mormons out there) simply stands for "Extra Special Bitter". It is a premium or strong bitter with a strength usually of 4.8% ABV and over.
4. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-horticultural pointer of the day:
"Quinoa" is derived from the Spanish word "quinua" from the Quechua word "kinwa" or occasionally "Qin-wah".
