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.
https://www.frjtzfries.com/ Place: Frjtz Location: 3412 17th Street (near the corner of Valencia Street) Hours: "Brunch" is served everyday[ sic ] from 9:00am Meal: Louise (Belgian Waffle) ~ Bananas Foster (contains Rum) with nutella®, caramel, whipped cream; a side order of "Small" Frjtz with two dips/sauces ~ Ginger Orange Mayo ('cause it is breakfast and you need your Vitamin C) and White Truffle Artichoke Ketchup; and to drink (keeping with the whole Belgian theme [Belgisch thema/Thème belge/Belgisches Thema]) a 0,33L glassa Hoegaarden®Witbier (which I christened as a "Belgian Mimosa", the waitress/server-lady person seemed to like that one) https://hoegaarden.com/beer/hoegaarden/ Also in keeping with this whole Eleventh Hour/Day/Month-theme, I figured what better way to celebrate Veterans Day 2018 than to eat at a Belgian eatery kinda place, so I headed back to Frjtz (see last 'blog-entryfrom Saturday,August 3rd, 2013). (I bet not many people were aware that right next to Flanders Field is Simpsons Field... I read it on the World Wild Webs, so it has to be true.) So, Belgian Waffles, Belgian Fries, and Belgian Beer[2] it was to be this morning. Since my last visit there, they have moved around the corner from their old Valencia Street location. This new space is much smaller (by half, at least) than the former location. It only has eight tables for two and eight seats at the counter-area by the kitchen. Luckily, I was the only idiot there that early in the morning and had the entire joint to myself. Their original location on Hayes Street (well, the second original location on Hayes Street ~ they seem to like to move next-doors) and their restaurant in Ghirardelli Square (which was my favourite location of the three; it had great views overlooking Aquatic Park/Aquatic Cove) have both been closed now for several years. I wish they had other (closer) locations in the city. One thing I really like about their "Brunch" and standard menu items is that there are so many good things from which to choose: scrambled eggs dishes, poached eggs dishes, omelettes, pancakes, French (well, Belgian-French) toast, savoury crêpes, several French fries-based dishes (which they have labelled as "Stoner Frjtz"), and, of course, Belgian waffles. There are simply way too many to list all of them, but a few other choices that I was eyeing were: the Guggenheim ~ three egg scrambled with mushrooms, spinach, veggie (uggh!) salami, Feta cheese, and cilantro pesto served with home-fried potatoes (this was going to be my original order until I decided to go all-Belgium); L'accademia ~ two poached eggs with spinach, tomato-basil sauces and Hollandaise sauce on English muffins, served with home-fried potatoes; the Benaki ~ three egg omelet with Feta cheese, tomato, green onion, Kalamata olives and spinach served with home-fried potatoes; Belvedere ~ Bananas Foster Rum French toast, topped with whipped cream, caramel, and bacon (less the dead, decaying pork-belly stuff, this is basically what I had today in waffle-form, anyway); (off the Stoner Frjtz portion of the menu) Greek ~ extra virgin olive oil, Meyer lemon brine, oregano, Feta cheese; or Vegetarian Poutine (which they have mispelded on their on-line menu as "Putine", but I did see it spelt kerrektly on their printed menus; this was also a viable back-up option this morning if I had not already gone and waffled).
This turned out to be a very sweet dish (with the Bananas Foster sauce, caramel, nutella®, and whipped cream, it was to be expected). I really did not need to add (but I did, anyway) the small plastic ramekin of maple syrup that came on the side (and, yes, I did have to try a French fry... or two... dipped into this amalgam of sweet sauces; it really wasn't half-bad). I do not think they really even needed the additional nutella® in this; it probably would have been better without it. The waffle was a bit over-cooked and that made it extra crunchy, which also made it harder to eat; I am not really complaining, just pointing it out.
Whatever I was going to order for the main breakfast, I was going to make sure to get a side order of their French fries. It is a main reason to eat there. Due to the Ice Cream sundae glass/cone shape, the amount of fries looked way more than I could finish. However, there were really less than it looks there. They were piled pretty high, but I did manage to finish all of them (of course, I did end up leaving two bites of the waffle untouched). The Belgian Mimosa actually paired very nicely with all the food; it is a bit citrusy, anyway. I think the first time that I ever had a Hoegaarden®Witbier was on Tenerife (the one in the Canary Islands, not the much more famous suburb of Boise, Idaho) during Christmas vacation 2003. The waitress/server-lady person told me that they no longer offer Stella Artois®. This really doesn't matter, as both of these breweries are now owned by the same Mega-corporation, Anheuser–Busch InBev, and the quality is not what it once was. From what I could see, Frjtz only had Tapatío® Salsa Picante®Hot Sauce in the form of pre-bottled condimentary supplements, but this did not really matter as none was needed/none was used. Now I would not know a "white truffle" from a "brown Portobello", but I liked the flavour of the ketchup choice I made. They have about twenty different types of ketchups and mayonnaises from which to choose. "But, Brian, you ordered a 'vile white goop' dip, too? I thought you hated all things related to the Mayo Clinic." First off, this is not your everyday (see, that is the correct usage of this adjective) refrigerator-quality plain ol' Hellman's gunk; it is a fresh-made aioli/mayonnaise gunk. Secondly, when in Brussels, do as the Antwerpians do... (another not so) Strange Coffee Interlude Once again this morning, before heading out into the cold, cruel (and, this weekend, "very smoky") Sunday climes, I made me another cuppa gifted Coffee from Bettys (Thanks again, Greg & Cindy!). This time it was a cuppa the simply sublime JamaicaBlue Mountain. Someone tried to convince me yesterday that Jamaica was not a country on the African Continent, mon. Ha! Nice try! If Jamaicawas not actually in Africa, why was Bob Marley always singing about that Hayley Selassie woman? Plus, do you expect me to believe that Coffee beans somehow magically floated across the Atlantic Ocean and planted themselves in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. Some people! https://www.bettys.co.uk/jamaica-blue-mountain Happy Veterinarians Day to all! Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Louise ~ 6.4; Ginger Orange Mayo ~ 6.9; White Truffle ArtichokeKetchup ~ 7.0; BettysJamaicaBlue Mountain ~ 8.2 ___________________
1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist (and a bit U.S. Air Force historical) pointer of the day, numerus unus/pars una: The Latin phrase "Ut Fiat Libertas" used to be the motto of my old Air Force Squadron when I was stationed in Greece, 6916th Electronic Security Squadron (despite the electrocutionary moniker, we were not union members of IBEW... unless IBEW were actually a buncha spies, too) ~ "Home of the Proud Professionals". I think the best translation of this phrase would be: "That There Might Be Freedom." (Google Translate is giving me the direct translation: "so that it becomes the liberty of". Doesn't Mr. George Google know that you are not supposed to end a sentence a preposition with?) Of course, the old joke at our squadron was that it meant: "One Free Fiat." Because today is the day that we honour past members of the Armed Forces (especially if they were animal doctors), I paraphrased the motto to make it a bit more breakfastarily sound. Hence, my titular phrase kinda means: "That there might be Breakfast."
Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, deel twee/deuxième partie/Zweiter Teil: Just for the h*ck of it, here are the Dutch/French/German (respectively) translations of "Ut Fiat Libertas" (well, as best as I can come up with from the likes of Google Translate again): Dat er vrijheid kan zijn. Qu'il pourrait y avoir la liberté. Dass dort Freiheit sein könnte. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, deel drie/partie trois/Teil drei: "Breakfast" might be a universal language, but they say it three different ways even in one small country in Europaland: Ontbijt Petit Déjeuner Frühstück 2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, nummer twee/numéro deux/Nummer zwei: Waffles Wafels Gaufres Waffeln French Fries Frietjes Frites Pommes Frittes Beer Bier Bière Bier
http://www.searsfinefood.com/ Place: Sears Fine Food~ Celebrating 80 Years Location: 439 Powell Street (between Post and Sutter Streets, just a half-block up from Union Square) Hours: open daily at 6:30am Meal: Crisp Pecan[1]Waffle; a side of hash brown potatoes; and a glassagrapefruit juice(which was served with a plastic straw... Ha!) I headed back once again to Sears Fine Food (see last 'blog-entry from Monday, March 13th, 2017) for breakfast this morning. I like that they open up very early every day for a downtown tourista location. This morning I sat at the diner counter which is near the front and to the left just as you enter. I was not even aware previously that it was there. The restaurant was basically empty when I had arrived around 7:00am, so I could have sat just about anywhere, anyway.
I liked that this waffle had lotsa pecans in it. Otherwise, it was just your basic Belgian waffle. However, with the butter plus maple syrup plus some fresh-squeezed orange juice (meaning I freshly squeezed it from the slice of orange garnish off my plate) plus the pecans, this all made for a very nice flavour combination. I also always like a place that offers two types of breakfastary potatoes; they also have home fried potatoes. I think for condimentary supplementation Sears Fine Food only has Tabasco®Brand Hot Sauce (Original Red Sauce). I just used some of my own H*ll's Kitchen®Chipotle Chocolate Hot Sauce (Thanks, Mom!) along with several grinds from my grains of paradise-grinder on the potatoes. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Crisp Pecan Waffle ~ 6.3 ___________________
1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-botanicalistic pointer of the day: (This information is borrowed [stolen... potato ~ tomato] directly from the friendly folks at WikipediA. What can I say? I was lazy today.) The pecan (Carya illinoinensis) is a species of hickory native to Mexico and the Southern United States. "Pecan" is from an Algonquian word variously referring to pecans, walnuts, and hickory nuts, or more broadly to any nut requiring a stone to crack. (Once again, the saying "As 'merican as Apple Pie." really oughta shoulda read: "As 'merican as Pecan [or Pumpkin] Pie.", as apples are an Old World fruit and both pecans and pumpkins are New World food items.)
https://www.countryinns.com/saint-augustine-hotel-fl-32084/flstagdt/hotel/dining/detail Place: the Country Inn & Suites Location: 231 San Marco Avenue, St. Augustine, FL Hours: open for breakfast Monday - Friday at 6:00am, Saturday - Sunday at 7:00am (and Coffee is served/available 24 hours a day!) Meal: two egg patty scrambles and breakfast potatoes with assorted toppings; a bowl of mixed fruits with yoghurt; and to drink a glassa cranberry-apple juice (they had both cranberry juice and apple juice in separate dispensers, so I mixed them together as 'arf-'n'-'arf) During my Christmas Vacation trip to Orlando, Florida last week, we (that "we" would be: my hosts ~ Greg & Cindy, Greg's brother ~ Rick, and me ~ Brian) made an overnight trip up to St. Augustine on Boxing Day. While there, we stayed at the Country Inn & Suites, which is just a few-ish blocks from downtown (close enough to walk there and back... well, that is, if you didn't just have knee surgery and weren't using a cane to get around). Breakfasts come free with the rooms, which is nice.
The breakfast fare offered was pretty simple. They had these prepared egg-scramble patties, sausage patties, and red potato homefries all ready to go in a covered heated server thing. There were bowls of shredded Cheddar cheese, diced jalapeños, and onions that could be added to the eggs (or, in my case, the eggs and potatoes) to make a sort of quick omelette dish. There were several cold cereals (even I can "cook" those at home myself, so I don't think I would need those while on vacation), hot oatmeal, bagels and cream cheese, and assorted breads, muffins, and pastries. They also had an electric Belgian waffle maker if you were so inclined to prepare your own waffles[1]. Rick was so inclined and made his own waffle. The waffles seemed to be a very popular item with many other people staying at the hotel, too, and the waffle-iron was in constant use.
I suppose I could have toasted a bagel or some bread and made the egg-scramble patties into a sorta Eggamuffin sandwich; however, I didn't see the bagels or bread until after I had already started eating. The fruit salad that was offered included (at least): pineapple, oranges, (possibly?) cantaloupe, and papaya, which you don't get everywhere, so I enjoyed that addition. I also mistook the prepackaged containers of maple syrup for honey and poured that all over my yoghurt and fruit; it was not what I wanted, but it really wasn't that bad like that. St. Augustine is home to some fine Datil pepper[2]hot sauces, but, disappointingly the Country Inn & Suites only had plastic squares of prepackaged salsa to use. So I used one or two of those on my potatoes. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: egg patty scramble and breakfast potatoes with assorted toppings ~ 6.0; bowl of mixed fruits with yoghurt ~ 6.1 (it really wasn't much, but I am giving it an extra 0.1 Glen Bacon Scale points for including papaya) (whereas, Cindy's homemade gingerbread waffles ~ 7.2) ___________________
1. OnChristmas morning, Cindy made some excellent homemade gingerbread Belgian waffles of her own. I had two and a half of the ones Cindy made, so I really didn't feel I needed any more waffles two days later, anyway. 2. https://www.visitstaugustine.com/article/what-heck-datil-pepper
https://www.kitteasf.com/ Place: KitTea Cat Cafe Location: 96 Gough Street (at Page Street) Hours: open Saturday and Sunday at 10:00am Meal: Figgy Cheese (Bubble Waffle Wrap) ~ sharp Cheddar + goat cheese + arugula + berries + fig drizzle + olive oil; and a potta Hojicha[1] (Green Tea) ~ roasted spring Sencha tea leaves gives this tea a buttery sunflower taste
(You were expecting "Hound Dog", perhaps?)
(Sorry for the quality ~ or lack thereof ~ of these photos of some of the cats. These were taken through the window separating the Cat Lounge area from the café dining area. I am not sure of the names of the two cats in the top photo. I was told that the big fluffy black cat staring at me in the bottom photo is named Steve; he is a full-time resident there. It was pretty funny as he almost blended into the big furry black ottoman in front of him.) Sometimes breakfast is not just about the food, but about the destination. A couple of weeks ago I saw something pop-up on the funny pages of defacedbook about a "Cat Café" in San Francisco. The idea intrigued me, so I made a mental note to check it out some day in the future. Well, today happened to be that mentally-noted future day. KitTea Cat Cafe has been open now since June 2015. It is the first Cat Café to open in San Francisco and the first ever established in the nation. The idea behind this unique place is pretty simple (as stated on their web-site): "We're a unique cafe experience dedicated to enriching the interactions between humans and felines in a relaxing environment. Slow down, sip on some tea, and support the welfare of cats. We provide high-quality care to our permanent resident rescue felines and work with local cat rescues, including San Francisco's Animal Care and Control, Toni's Kitty Rescue, and Wonder Cat Rescue to find our featured adoptable cat(s) a forever home at each cat's own pace." I did not count how many cats were in the Cat Lounge this morning, but there were anywhere from eight to ten "(permanent) resident cats" and about four or five "(adoptable) rescue kittens" lounging around inside. The actual café seating area (if you are just going for food/tea and not visiting the cats, like I did this morning) is not very large. It has just three tables for two people, one table for four(-ish) people, and five counter seats overlooking the window into the Cat Lounge area (which is where I should have sat, but stupidly took one of the two-seat tables against the opposite wall; I had to keep getting up to view the cats and kittens playing in their space). There are not a lot of items from which to choose in the breakfastary-mode, but there were still a few other waffle-ideas (in both the Belgian and Bubble categories) that I could have gone with. Plus, they do offer salads and sandwiches that I could have made into a light breakfast, too. Whereas their breakfast (and general eating) menu is not really that extensive, they do have a very prolific selection of teas from which to choose. I really liked the sound of their "Earl Grey Creme ~ Award-winning, fresh + fragrant vanilla Earl Grey tea with beautiful blue corn flowers, bergamot oil, and Ceylon black tea." From speaking with the lady working at the counter in the tearoom area (and watching her making a number of teas this morning), their most popular tea happens to be "Ceremonial Matcha~ Our Japanese Ceremonial Matcha is delicately sweet with underlying elements of green pea and mango. Made by slowly grinding shade-grown Sencha leaves from the first harvest of the year on a stone mill in Wazuka, Kyoto Japan. Matcha contains antioxidants and nutrients with many health benefits, including enhancing calmness and improving concentration."
I have only had this type of Japanese tea once before (see 'blog-entry from Monday, September 7th, 2015) and really enjoyed the smoky/nutty flavour of the one this morning. On the recommendation of the lady at the front counter, I used some milk in the first cuppa that I poured. However, on the subsequent (five or six) cuppas, I drank the tea plain all by itself; I preferred it better all on its ownsome. Due to the natural sweetness of this style of tea, no added sugar was needed or used.
Not that I really went there expecting some kinda 4-paw breakfast, but what I had turned out to be pretty good. They serve these egg puff/bubble waffles in a wire cone (kinda like you would see at a Belgian or French frites joint) and wrapped around the various ingredients. The berries in my wrap were blueberries (an actual botanical berry) and strawberries (not so much an actual botanical berry). I bet this would have been equally as good with either mint or basil leaves in place of the arugula. I also bet this would have been even better with some of the balsamic drizzle that they offer on a few of the other dishes; I am well aware that figs and strawberries go great with balsamic vinegar (and I would expect blueberries would, too). I had checked out their menu before heading over there and did not really see the need of bringing any of my own hot sauces with me for use as condimentary supplements. I suppose I could have used some fresh-cracked black pepper on top, but I only thought of that after I had finished the meal. I doubt that I will be getting back there any time soon for breakfast, but any time I am in the neighborhood, I will have to stop in for a cuppa or a potta and to check on all the kitties. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Figgy Cheese (Bubble Waffle Wrap) ~ 6.5; Hojicha (Green Tea) ~ 7.1; Cats and Kittens ~ 8.45 ___________________
(This is supposed to be their "official" website, but it does not seem to be operational yet.) Place: Overtime Sports Bar & Restaurant Location: 4134 Geary Boulevard (between 5th and 6th Avenues); phonicular contact: (415) 702-6611 Hours: open for "Weekend Brunch" Saturday and Sunday at 9:00am(-ish; I had gotten there just a little after 9:00am and the doors were still locked up tight; so I went for a walk around the block, and when I got back about five minutes later, they were finally opening up then) Meal: Weekly Special Eggs Benedict over Waffles ~ w/ tots or potatoes; and a cuppa (and only one refilla) Peet's Coffee®Major Dickason's Blend® (this is sorta Peet's® flagship blend/roast; it's really good enough to be promoted to Light Colonel, already, if you ask me) http://www.peets.com/coffee/featured-category/coffee-shop-by-category-top-sellers/major-dickason-s-blend.html
(If you need any actual reasoning for the second EweToobular song, it is simply because... Sir George Ivan. That is all, thank you. Plus, this is a great live rendition of one of his songs [not that all of his songs aren't also great]. Thanks for the video, Skip! The third song is just some guy covering one of Sir George Ivan's biggest hits. Trust me, this guy will never make it singing any of his own songs. [Who knew Robert De Niro could sing?!]) I had stopped in for dinner a few weeks ago at Overtime Sports Bar & Restaurant during the NCAA Final Four ~ which is when I noticed that they were now also open for "Weekend Brunch". (There was actually a "RESERVED" sign on one of the tables next to mine that night... now what kinda self-righteous bastage reserves a table at a sports bar?! Seriously?!) This morning, I ended up not only being the first idiot in for breakfast ("Weekend Brunch", whatever), but the entire time that I was there, I remained the only customer. It may take some time for this place to catch on as a local breakfast joint (or even a local "Weekend Brunch" joint). Overtime Sports Bar & Restauranthas only been open now since Super Bowl Weekend (this year) and have only been open serving "Weekend Brunch" since March 11th (just one month ago). It is in a space that had been vacant for many years now (easily ten to twenty years; it has been so long now that I really can't remember what used to be there; I think it was just another local Richmond dive-bar along Geary Boulevard). There is ample seating (and, as dictated by the Sports Bars of America Charter [It's a real thing; look it up!], there are many large-screen TeeVees all over the walls) of: seven tables for two; three tables for four; two tables for five (or six); four booths for four; and several (at least ten to twelve) bar-counter stools. There are not a lot of items (yet?) from which to choose on their "Weekend Brunch" menu. Some possible other ideas for stupid vegetarian-types were: Eggs, Cheese, & Salsa over Tots or Roasted Breakfast Potatoes (this was going to be my initial choice until I spotted the absolutely disgusting-sounding choice I chose); Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast (which I can only assume is a form of French toast encrusted with the cereal of the same name); or Straw-Nana-Tella Waffles (fresh strawberries [which, I suppose, makes up the first hyphenated portion of the meal's name], bananas [hopefully, this makes up the second part of the name and it is not Hannibal Lechter's take on a breakfast utilizing bits of his ol' granny as a topping], nutella® [and, finally, the last part of the name?] sauce).
I mainly went this choice this morning because it sounded too disgusting to pass up ("... up which to pass"?). And I was 100% correct. Of course, I had them be sure to omit any of that dead, decaying Canadianlander porcine junk from my dish. I really liked this take on Benny's boring ol' ovarian creation. What a great idea to substitute Mr. Thomas' faux crumpets with waffles. "But, Brian, wouldn't waffles be too sweet for the base?" Yeah. So? What's yer point?! Hmmmm?! I just have one question. Seeing as I only had two quarters of a Belgian waffle included in my meal, did that mean I received the leftover half of someone else's dish, or will the next person to order this be getting my sloppy-seconds? For condimentary supplementation, Overtime Sports Bar & Restaurant has Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and Tapatío®Salsa PicanteHot Sauce. The waiter/server-guy person also told me that they have a Sriracha aioli if I would like some of that. I passed up on that one (this time) and just used some of my own Pepper PalaceGator Bite Hot Sauce (Thanks, Greg & Cindy!) on the tots and some Sunbelt Plantations Vidalia® Onion & Jalapeño Pepper Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy & Greg!) on top of one egg. Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Weekly Special Eggs Benedict over Waffles ~ 6.6 (I am giving this an extra 0.1 Glen Bacon Scale points for originality)
(No official web-site. Yet?) Place: Rise & Grind Location: 785 8th Avenue (near Fulton Street); phonicular contact: (415) 795-0724 Hours: open at 7:00am Monday through Friday; open at 8:00am Saturday and Sunday Meal: Belgian Waffle ~ with powdered sugar dusted on top; (as a starter) a strawberry-banana muffin; and a cuppa Crème Brulee[ sic ][1]Latte (Yes, ferreals, a "Crème Brûlée" Latte!) made with Mr. Espresso® Espresso http://mrespresso.com/
(My initial intention was to link li'l Robbie Zimmerman's original version of "My Back Pages" in honour of his recent [and, in my opinion, much deserved and long overdue] Nobel Peace Prize for Literature, but it is almost impossible to find any of his original music on EweToob; they never remain up for very long. Be sure to enjoy this ★ Stellar ★ version now while you can. In my opinion [and "my opinion" is all I ever listen to, anyway], "My Back Pages" might be one of the best [if not The Best] 'merican Folk Songs ever written. The second song ain't none too bad neither...) I am pretty sure that with today's breakfastary visit to Rise & Grind, thus concludes my Richmond (District) Coffeehouses Series (initial) entries (however, I am sure there will be many reduxes along the way). Rise & Grind is a brand-new coffeehouse and has only been open now since September 25th (exactly three weeks ago thusly). They have opened up in the location that was recently vacated by Cafe Muse (which I had planned on visiting a few months ago, only to find a sign in the door stating that they had closed after about twenty-five years in that location). That they are located just across the street (and a few doors down) from Golden Gate Park and are really the only place within walking distance outside that area of the park that sells Coffee, I expect that they will do a good business. Rise & Grind has Superhero artwork on some of the walls (it looked mostly like DC characters, though). The first thing that I saw when I walked in the door was a large Green Lantern poster ~ and I just happened to be wearing my Green Lantern ring, à-propos-iately. The owner-manager-lady told me that some of the artwork is by a local cartoonist that lives right across the street from the coffeehouse. Rise & Grind really doesn't offer much else in the way of food other than some pastries and baked goods at the front counter. I did speak with the owner-manager-lady further and she said that they will be offering some savoury toast-type foods later on once they are up and running more smoothly.
At least they do have Belgian Waffles (and these seemed to be a very popular choice as they had two waffle-grills going constantly the entire time I was there). The waffle was good. It was a waffle with powdered sugar on top; not really rocket-bakery stuff there, though. I hope that they might offer some fresh fruit to top these with in the future, too. They get all their baked goods from Devil's TeethBaking Company (over in the Sunset). http://www.devilsteethbakingcompany.com/
Now, whereas the waffle was "just a waffle", I really have to give them extra points (No, really. I added another 0.2 to the Glen Bacon Scale Rating below.) for originality of this Coffee drink. It was absotively, posilutely, totally disgusting... meaning: I loved it! And I normally don't like sweet Coffee drinks. And it was truly brûlée-d, I saw the barista-guy using one of those small hand-held blow-torches to burn/crust the sugar on the top. Due to the originalness of this Coffee drink (and that it really was extremely good), I am calling this the Best New/Original Coffee Drink Find of 2016. This was so good (and sweet) that it could be ordered all by itself as a dessert. Because I asked, they told me that they use Mr. Espresso®Neapolitan Espresso (Medium-Dark) blend/roast in all of their Espresso drinks. When I first ordered at the front counter, they asked if I wanted this Coffee "to go"... Ha! I would love to see how they brûlée the top with a paper cup. They also offer another completely disgusting-sounding WhOppers®Latte ~ with malted milk flavour. (I had to ask to make sure that this wasn't made with a flame grilled quarter-pound beef patty, sesame seed bun, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and sliced onion.) Of course, that will have to be tested/tasted on a future visit. Also because I asked (if you don't ask, they normally don't tell you, I have found), they told me that their normal House Blend Coffee is Mr. Espresso® Golden Gate House Blend ~ "Whether approaching by sea or from within the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Strait imbues a sense of magic and wonder. The stunning landscapes and picture perfect sunsets inspired us here at Mr. Espresso to create a blend that attempts to capture its grace and majesty. Dark chocolate, sweet caramel and fruit toned acidity seamlessly blend together to create our homage to this wonder of nature." They also offer four different (because "four of the same" isn't really much of a variety, nu?) Mr. Espresso® roasts/blends that can be prepared as single-cuppa pour-over styles. I didn't notice (nor ask for) any condimentary supplements. The food that they are currently offering really doesn't require any hot sauce addition. However, just in case, I had come prepared with three of my own hot sauces. With no "official" web-site thing, I couldn't check ahead of time to see what might be on their menu. This meal was a complete sugar-overkill for me this morning. Forget about a caffeine-buzz; I may not get to sleep for another three days with all this sugar coursing through my veins. Does anyone have a spare Insulin shot that they can loan me? ♪ "Oh, I was so much fuller then, I am hungrier than that now..." ♪ Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Belgian Waffle ~ 6.3; Crème Brulee Latte ~ 7.3 ___________________ 1. I don't know why they used the correct accent grave on "Crème", but didn't use either l'accent circonflexe ou l'accent aigu in "Brûlée".
