Sure, and I still have never learned how to drive a stick...
http://outerlandssf.com/ Place: Outerlands Location: 4001 Judah Street (on the corner of 45th Avenue) Hours: open Monday - Friday 9:00am for breakfast, Saturday & Sunday 9:00am for "Brunch" Meal: (the simply-enough named) quiche ~ celery root, niçois olive, ricotta salata (they like to print everything in the minuscule on their menu); a side of (again simply-enough named) potatoes ~ filipino adobo[1], aioli, scallion; and to drink with the meal, lemon ginger apple cider Outerlands (see last 'blog entry from Sunday, March 10th, 2013) is not really that far from where I live, so I have no idea why it has been over five years since my last visit. It may have been that they did not use to open until 10:0am on the weekends (for "Brunch"). However, it was an easy and quick drive over there this morning. Even with the new (well, it is "new" in the five years since I last ate there) expansion into the space next door (which used to be a little Chinese restaurant), they really did not add too many extra seats because they also extended their kitchen area into the middle of the restaurant ~ and, sadly, there is no more Winnie-the-Pooh hole (which was their office space, I believe) above the kitchen area.
I sat outside this morning ('cause I was the first idiot to arrive early enough this morning and was the first to put my name on the waiting list, and 'cause I could) in one of the tables along 45th Avenue (in front of the stupid, extra-long parklet [uggh!] there). There are three tables for two and two tables for four on the sidewalk. I had the space to myself for almost the entire time that I was eating breakfast ("Brunch", whatever). There really are not an awful lot of items from which to choose on their "Brunch" menu (be you a dead, decaying animal flesh-eater or a stupid vegetarian). A few of the other possible ideas I saw for breakfast this morning were: (another simply-enough named) chili ~ summer squash, pinto bean, tomato, scallion, goat yogurt, cornbread (if I had ordered this dish, I would probably have also ordered a sourdough peach fritter as a starter); eggs-in-jail ~ bacon (which I would have had excised), aioli, spinach, garlic sunflower kernels; or dutch pancake baked in a cast iron pan ~ sweet with strawberry and walnuts or savory with bacon, pickled onion, and parsley (house made ricotta can be added to either; this would have been a repeat of my first meal there).
This was a HUGE slice of quiche. It was extra fluffy and eggy; it had almost a soufflé quality to it. It came with a large side of some silly rabbit-greens (which mostly went uneaten to make sure that I had enough room for all the other good stuff). I was told that the side of potatoes usually can be split between two people, but it did not prove to be that big of a side-dish and I was able to finish it all myself. As best as I can figure, the preparation for these potatoes was probably deep-fried and then roasted off. These were whole small(-ish) potatoes that had been smooshed (for lack of a better culinaristic term, Emeril) a bit and allowed for some of the deep-frying to penetrate into the potatoes for maximum crispiocity (which I have been assured by Bobby Flay is an actual culinary term). These were some truly excellent homefries. The lemon ginger apple cider was also very good and really went well with the meal. It can be served either hot or iced; I went with it iced, which turned out to be the smart choice because mean Mr. Sun was beating down on me. It can also be ordered with a shot of Bourbon, Whiskey, or Gin in it; I just kept it virginal 'cause I still had to drive back home. Even so, it still looked like some kinda faux Bourbon breakfastary cocktail. I am not sure what Outerlands may or may not have had to offer in the way of any condimentary supplements; I did not ask nor need any. I used some more of my Hot Licks®SerranoHot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on the potatoes and some Sunbelt Plantations Vidalia® Onion & Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce (Thanks, Greg & Cindy!) on the quiche. (another not really so) Strange Coffee Interlude Knowing that Outerlands did not open until 9:00am (which is an improvement over their old opening time of 10:00am) for "Brunch", I arrived in the neighborhood about forty-five minutes early with the specific intent of walking the four blocks over to Andytown Coffee Roasters on the corner of Lawton Street and 43rd Avenue for a decent cuppa. This location offers Wind & Sea blend as their only drip-style Coffee, and does not do any specific roasts/blends as pour-overs like they do at their other two locations in the Sunset. This was fine by me, as Wind & Sea is still a mighty fine cuppa (but it is just not their single origin Ethiopia Natural Banko Fuafuate, which was one of my favourite Coffees ~ not named Bettys Jamaica Blue Mountain ~ from 2017). http://www.andytownsf.com/purchase/wind-and-sea-blend Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Andytown Coffee RoastersWind & Sea ~ 7.2; quiche ~ 6.6; potatoes ~ 7.2 ___________________
1. I was going to do a whole "stupid, useless cunning linguist/pseudo-culinaristic pointer of the day", but found this explanation already intact from our friendly friends at WikipediA: Philippine adobo (from Spanish adobar: "marinade," "sauce" or "seasoning") is a popular dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine that involves meat, seafood, or vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and black peppercorns, which is browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade. It has sometimes been considered as the unofficial national dish in the Philippines.
Place: Black Bear Diner Location: 4927 Junipero Serra[2] Boulevard, Colma, CA Hours: open bright (well, sometimes even before the Sun has bothered to wake up) and early every morning at 6:00am
Meal: Shasta Scramble ~ avocado, spinach, tomato, onion, bell pepper & Jack cheese, served with your choice of strip-cut hash browns, country red potatoes OR fresh fruit and a housemade (well, diner-made) biscuit; and a cuppa (with two refillas) Java City™Coffee (not sure which blend/roast they serve, though) https://www.javacity.com/
(Today's EweToobular juxtaselections oughtta be pretty self-explanatory from the name of the restaurant and the town in which it is located. And, yes, that is actually Jesus Christ singing in the first song; this was during his Hippie-era days in the early 70's when he was trying to get all the young folks more interested in his church-stuff. I think that is Keanu Reeves singing duet with him, too [and I always thought he was a Canadianlander and not a Christian.].) At the suggestion of my brother Sean, who had dined at a Black Bear Diner (one of the original locations in Northern California/Mount Shasta[3] Area) a few months back, I decided to check out one of the newer locations in this California-based restaurant-chain. I am never averse to trying new places and I don't hate chain-restaurants; I just generally much prefer locally-owned smaller places. I have seen commercials for Black Bear Diner on TeeVee for several years now and this was the first time (as Colma's restaurant is pretty d*rn close for me) that I could check out anything from the diner-chain. I think the original/first Black Bear Diner opened in 1995. This newer location just opened last month. It is in the same space in the parking lot of Serra Center that used to once house Fresh Choice, then California Fresh, and many other businesses over the past thirty years or so. I would think that a family-oriented, kitschy diner will probably do a much longer business there. (Something tells me that ol' Guy Fietti won't be checking into any of these places any time soon on his "Triple-D" show... which ain't necessarily a bad thing.) I enjoyed that the house (well, diner) stereo was playing many old 50's and 60's kinda songs. When was the last time you heard "Classical Gas" along with "I've Been Everywhere(, Man)" (I'm talkin' the original 1962 'mericanized version by Hank Snow, too) and early Ray Charles?
(Adding to the kitsch-quality, their menus are in the form of newspapers.) I am not sure if I will be getting back again any time soon, but they do offer many other good ideas for breakfast, suchas: California Omelette ~ avocado, mushroom & Jack cheese; Vegetarian Omelette ~ mushroom, onion, tomato, bell pepper, spinach & Jack cheese (and I am so glad they do not call this a "Veggie Omelette"; see, even Black Bears have more sense than that); Fiesta Scramble ~ scrambled eggs, tortilla strips, pickled jalapeño, Cheddar cheese, onion & cilantro, topped with black olive & avocado. Served with a warm flour tortilla, housemade salsa & your choice of potato OR fresh fruit (this sounds like it is their version of Chilaquiles); Cinnamon Roll French Toast ~ 3 slices of thick-cut cinnamon roll dipped in French toast batter and grilled then topped with powdered sugar and drizzled with icing. Served with fresh fruit (okay, so maybe this just-disgusting-enough-to-pique-my-abnormal-tastes dish might deserve a return visit); and two others that I can not try, but sounded interesting for the meatetarians out there: The Scrambowl ~ a hearty all-in-one bowl of ham, bacon, link sausage, eggs, bell pepper, onion & pickled jalapeño, scrambled over country red potatoes, then topped with Cheddar cheese & country gravy. Served with a housemade biscuit; or (for those of you that prefer your dead, decaying bovine meat fried-up poultry-style) Country Benedict ~ No Hollandaise on this one! Split English muffin, chicken fried steak, two poached eggs and country gravy.
There really is not much to say about this dish. It was scrambled eggs with a mess o' junk in it. It was tasty and better than I could ever make. (Besides, I don't remember when the last time that I actually bought eggs... or had bell peppers and tomatoes in my refrigerator at the same time.) I went with the country red potatoes as my side choice. These were very good homefries made with red potatoes, red and green bell peppers, and red onions. Their "strip-cut" hashbrowns looked pretty decent, too, but I just had hashbrowns yesterday and wanted to try the homefries. I was asked if I wanted to substitute toast for the housemade (diner-made, whatever) biscuit ~ yeah, right! I can make my own d*mn toast at home. I will always go with the fresh-baked item, thank you! Plus, the biscuit was HUGE and very good. This ended up being a whole lotta food. I will be honest, I could not quite finish it (and left maybe two or three bites). I did make sure to finish all of the biscuit and homefries, though. The Coffee was really not that bad either. This was better than your Papa( Bear)'s average diner muddy-water drink. It was even better after I dumped the orange slice garnish into it.
I had come well-equipped with a few of my own hot sauces, fully expecting a chain-diner-type-joint to supply only Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (Original Red Sauce) and maybe Cholula®Hot Sauce (Original). However, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that Black Bear Diner offers three of their own hot sauces on all the tables: Papa Burn ~ Hanañero[ sic ], Mama Burn ~ Chipotle, and Baby Burn ~ Original Pepper Sauce. Plus, there is a fourth hot sauce (which I didn't see on any of the tables ~ I actually got up and looked around for some) that you probably have to ask for, Crazy Cuz'Sriracha chili sauce. I used some Papa Burn on the scramble-mess, and Mama Burn and Baby Burn on separate halves of the potatoes. None of these hot sauces were extremely hot (well, for someone that has progressed beyond the "Man, those habanero peppers are painful!" stage), but they all had a bit of heat and nice flavour. Of the three that I tried, I would have to say that I liked Mama Burn the best (it's a chipotle-thing). Even though it was all a bit of a walk on the kitschy-side (which I believe was going to be Lewis Allan Reed's original title for his 1972 hit song), sometimes a "beary" corny diner can still be a lot of fun, too. At least the meal didn't kill me, but, even if it had, I wouldn't have had to be moved very far to be buried... Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Shasta Scramble ~ 6.5 (while not really being anything extremely fancy, the portions alone are worth this rating); Java City™Coffee ~ 6.4 ___________________
1. Affectionalately known locally as "the City of the Dead" due to many cemeteries in the town. Colma was founded as a necropolis in 1924. Some notable names (well, people with these names) that are buried in Colma: Levi Strauss, Wyatt Earp (coincidentally, he is interned in the same Jewish cemetery as Levi Strauss), William Randolph Hearst, and some guy named Joseph Paul DiMaggio (I think he once played Baseball for some team in da Bronx). https://www.colma.ca.gov/ 2. You know, the guy who exploited and killed more Native Americans than George S. Custer ever dreamed of. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/us/to-some-indians-in-california-father-serra-is-far-from-a-saint.html 3. https://mtshastaca.gov/
"'Well,' said Pooh, 'what I like best,' and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called." ~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
http://www.honeyhoneycafeandcrepery.com/ Place: Honey Honey ~ Cafe & Crepery Location: 599 Post Street (on the corner of Taylor Street) Hours: open Monday - Sunday at 7:30am Meal: Baklava[1](Dessert Crepe) ~ cinnamon, walnut, and white syrup; a side of potatoes; and a cuppa Coffee (I didn't ask which brand or roast, but the last time I ate there they had America's Best Coffee Roasting Company, and I just assume it was still the same)
(I know you are trying to figure out just what the heck the EweToobular juxtaselection is here. Simples! The song segues into "Who Do you Love?" with a Bo Diddley beat, and everyone knows that Ellas Otha Bates/Ellas McDaniel/Bo Diddley's real last name was "Honey". If you didn't know that, you didn't know squat!) Sometimes you just need a good crêpe (or "crepe" for those of you that are circumflex-challenged [in-circumflex-ible?]) for breakfast, whether it be a sweet or savoury crêpe, too. Because of which, I decided to head back to Honey Honey ~ Cafe & Crepery (see previous 'blog-entry from March 19th, 2016). I had arrived there at about 7:15am and there were only two people ahead of me waiting patiently in line for them to open up. By the time they did open at 7:30am, there were probably another ten to twelve people behind me, and by 8:00am, the line to order was from the counter to the door, and they were basically full then. There are still many more good ideas from which to choose at this place: (off the Savory Crepes section of the menu) Torino (Feta cheese, fresh basil, tomato, mushroom); Eggplant (Cheddar, tomato, garlic, fresh basil, sundried tomato, eggplant [Oh, now I get the name of this crêpe!]); Florentine (Cheddar, spinach, cottage cheese, onion); or Salsa (Cheddar, onion, tomato, avocado, olives, salsa, sour cream); (off the Eggs & Omelettes section of the menu) Post Street (Cheddar, ham, onion, mushrooms, green pepper; of course, I would have ordered this without any of the putrefied porky-stuff); Milano (Mozzarella, tomato, garlic, and fresh basil); or Athens (Feta, spinach, and olives; this will probably be my first choice whenever I get back there again and feel like ordering an omelette). the WildParrots of San Francisco Interlude Before and after breakfast, while walking around the neighborhood, I heard a few of the Wild Parrots of San Francisco, but didn't see any of them flying around. As best as I can figure, there must be a local, small roost in the Post-Geary-Taylor area.
Wha'?! A Dessert Crepe for breakfast?! Well, it worked pretty well for me. This was chock full o' (wal)nuts and cinnamon. The "white syrup" stuff was probably some kinda simple sugar syrup. They offer this with a choice of either Ice Cream or whipped cream for a topping. I went with whipped cream, because I figured Ice Cream for breakfast might be a little silly and overkill. And to contrapose the sweetness of this crêpe, the potatoes were an excellent savoury choice. These really are great potatoes for breakfast. They are perfectly seasoned/spiced and burnt/crispy just like I like 'em! For condimentary supplementation, Honey Honey ~ Cafe & Creperyhas the standard San Francisco Triumvirate of Hot Sauces: Tabasco®Brand Pepper Sauce (both Original Red Sauce and Green Jalapeño Sauce), Cholula®Hot SauceOriginal, and Tapatío®Salsa PicanteHot Sauce. I used some of my ownLucky Dog Hot Sauce Medium Fire-Roasted Pepper Sauce (Thanks, Brian!) on half of the pile o' potatoes and some Florida GoldPremium Habanero Hot Sauce (Thanks, Kerry!) on the other half of the pile. I really did like this sweet crêpe for a breakfastary change-of-pace. Now if they could ever come up with a Kαταΐφι crêpe... Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Baklava(Dessert Crepe) ~ 6.8; (really awesome) potatoes ~ 7.4; the WildParrots of San Francisco ~ 8.5 ___________________ 1. For any of you truly ambitious cooks out there:
(Yeah, there is absolutely no way in H-E-Double-Hockeysticks that I would ever attempt making that dish.)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.” ~ Groucho Marx
http://www.thelittlechihuahua.com/ Place: the Little Chihuahua Location: 292 Divisadero Street (at Page Street) Hours: open on Saturday and Sunday at 10:00am for "Almuerzo" Meal: Stacked Enchiladas[1] ~ Corn tortillas stacked and filled with Jack cheese, sautéed Poblano chiles and onions, Mexican potatoes, black beans, and braised pork. Smothered in a red Guajillo sauce and topped with two over easy eggs, chopped avocado and Cotija cheese[2]; and a glass of Sandía Aguas Frescas
(Sorry, I couldn't find any EweToobular juxtaselections by el Sábado Negro so these will have to do.) For anyone that is still paying attention here after several years of my stupidity (you both know who you are), today marks my 500th 'blog-entry entry. I had been meaning to get back to the Little Chihuahua for a long while now (see last 'blog-entry from August 28th, 2010). As stated before when I first ate at their Noe Valley restaurant, I don't know why they didn't call the place either la Pequeña Chihuahua or la Chihuahuahita. This Lower Haight (well, this is just bordering the Haight; it is on the eastern side of Divasadero, so I guess that is the line of demarcation) restaurant is the original location; they now have three locations in town: Lower Haight; Noe Valley; y la Misión. I was glad to see that they were playing the requisite Black Sabbath music first thing this morning again. They call the early morning meal "Brunch", but don't let that snooty-ass moniker fool you, it's just a good ol' breakfast that is served after 10:00am. This may be the smallest of the three locations, with seating of only six tables for four peoples and four tables for two people. The walls are festooned with Mexican Lotería symbols.
("Pórtate bien cualito, si no te lleva el coloradito.")
("No me extrañes corazón, que regreso en el camión.") I got there well before they were open and decided to get a pre-breakfastary cuppa Peet's Coffee®(at the coffehouse in the little shopping plaza near the beginning of the Panhandle). Today's deep roast offering was Uzuri African Blend®. I also got (but probably should have skipped) one of those mini cinnamon rolls. the Wild Parrots of San Francisco Interlude To kill the time before la Chihuahuahita opened, I took both the cuppa and cinnamon roll with me and walked over to the Panhandle expecting to see some Wild Parrots (I know that some roost in the taller Eucalyptus trees there). I didn't really see any Wild Parrots (but I did see a buncha panhandlers in the Panhandle, though); I did hear a few of them up higher out of view. I did see some Robins and several other U/I-type little birds (I have even seen a Red-tailed Hawk or two in the taller trees in the past, too). I did come across this really cool, hollow-trunked Eucalyptus tree. The only thing missing was a badly handwritten "Mr. Sanderz"[3] sign to designate it as the residence of one Edward Bear. It really was large enough for me to get inside of it, even. I didn't, but I thought about it ("Local Man Gets Himself Stuck Inside Tree And Christopher Robin Is Nowhere To Be Found To Help Him Escape").
la Chihuahuahita had several other good ideas for "Brunch": Mexican French Toast (two French toast battered flour tortillas cooked fresh in the grill and served with plantains, applewood smoked bacon, and topped with warm maple-agave syrup); Chilaquiles; or Chile Relleno (a grilled and roasted Poblano chile stuffed with scrambled eggs, Mexican potatoes, sautéed Poblano chiles and onions, spinach, and goat cheese; smothered with Ranchero sauce and garnished with Cotija cheese and crispy fried tostadas).
¡¡¡Oh, mi Perro!!! This was an excellent idea and desayuno. This is easily one of the best "new" breakfasts of 2014 for me. It literally had "layers of flavours" to it. Of course, I had this sin los trozos de carne de cerdo en descomposición muertos. The Guajillo salsa was extremely good, too. This was another great meal where potatoes are incorporated nicely into the dish. The two eggs were actually "over-medium", which I much prefer, anyway. I really have to get back there to check out their version of Chilaquiles now; plus, the counter-server lady said the breakfast version of Chile Relleno is even better than the Stacked Enchiladas… I will have to be the judge of that. There was even fresh mint mulled into the Aguas Frescas ~ nice! Mint and watermelon make for a very nice combination (I bet fresh basil and watermelon would be even better). la Chihuahuahita only has Tapatío® on the tables for condimentary supplements; however, anyone using those is really missing out on the real treat. la Chihuahuahita makes some of their own fresh salsas for use: Habanero; Chipotle; Roasted Tomato; Pico de Gallo; and Tomatillo. Knowing this, I did not bother bringing any of my own hot sauces with me this morning (¿Cómo se dice "schlep" en español?); that would be like bringing your own Brown Ale to Newcastle. I used a little Habanero, Chipotle, and Roasted Tomato with the provided tortilla chips and also used up the Chipotle on top of the main dish. I liked them all a lot and really can't decide which salsa I liked best. The Chipotle was great, but the Habanero was also great, and it was not as hot as many Habanero salsas tend to be, as this is tempered with a good amount of lime. There is a sign stating that la Chihuahuahita is now serving Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream; however, I was planning on going to Bi-RiteCreamery if I had any room left for dessert. I really didn't have any room, but after checking out the daily flavours available, I went with a scoop of Peach and a scoop of Basil. There was a sign suggesting trying the Peach with the Green Tea, but I liked my combination better. I probably shouldn't have gotten anything to eat, but: 1) it's Ice Cream, and 2) I have absolutely no willpower, Mr. Jordan. And for any of you (from Omaha, perhaps) that prefer plain ol' Choco-lit or Boring-Ass Vaniller, they had both of those flavours today, too. http://biritecreamery.com/ Yo soy el Hombre de Hierro! Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Stacked Enchiladas ~ 7.4; Salsas Frescas ~ 7.0-7.5; Bi-RiteCreamery ~ 7.2; Peet's®Coffee Uzuri African Blend® ~ 7.1 1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer del día: "Enchilada" is the past participle of the Spanish verb "enchilar" ~ meaning "to add chilli pepper to"; literally to "season (or decorate) with chillies". 2. "Cotija cheese" is a hard cow's milk cheese from Mexico named after the town of Cotija, Michoacán. Think vaca mexicana Feta. 3. Am I the only one that ever wondered what happened to the original inhabitant of Winnie-the-Pooh's house? I am betting that Winnie ate poor ol' Mr. Sanderz before stealing his home from him. I mean, a bear doesn't live on honey alone. Hmmm?! Now I know why Edward Bear uses the alias "Winnie-the-Pooh"; he does so to avoid prosecution.
"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?" "I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said. ~ A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
("While My Ukulele Gently Weeps"? Yeah, yeah, yeah… the Beatles and ukulele for some Saturday morning mood music.)
This was my first time going back to grindz ~ "Hawai'ian Style Home Cooking" (see last 'blog-entry from December 29th, 2012) since adding them to my 2013 Breakfastary Rotation. Once again I happened to go to this place on or near a holiday; the last three times were during or around: New Year's Day, Labor Day, and the 4th of July… I wonder if Memorial Day will be my next visit?
This is not something I could get, but it sounded very interesting, on their Presidents Day Specials they had Adobo[1]Fried Rice Omelette ~ Filipino chicken adobo fried rice, scallions, Plantation Potatoes, and spicy pickled tomatoes. I basically knew what I was going to order today, but the next time I go I will have to order Hawai'ian French Toast ~ Portuguese sweet bread, pure maple syrup, and vanilla-poached pineapples; I saw a few other people get that and it looked very good. Today I had Kimchi Huevos Rancheros ~ crispy (corn) tortillas, kimchi fried brown rice, salsa rojo[2] (sic), over-easy eggs, lomi tomatoes, avocados, and Cheddar cheese. You have to love a place that fusions (Can I actually use that as a verb?) Hawai'ian, Korean, and Mexican food. I also had a cuppa very good Bicycle Coffee Co. (The idea of coffee being delivered locally by bicycle only is such a great idea; not only do they deliver their coffee everywhere in San Francisco by bike, but I heard that their back-up generator for their roasters is pedal-powered, too[3].)
Oops! They normally put sausage in their Kimchi Fried Rice, but do not state that anywhere on the menu. I noticed it right away in my meal and thought that they had brought me the wrong dish, but they took it back and made me a new one without any (all in just a few minutes, so that I didn't have to wait that much longer). Of note, they also make their Kimchi Fried Rice with mushrooms in it and don't state that on their menu either; I am sure there are many more people that would hate that extra ingredient more than any ol' sausage.
Perhaps, it was all my fault when ordering:
Me: "I'll have the Kimchi Huevos Rancheros and a cuppa coffee, please." Them: "How would you like that: mild, medium, or spicy?" Me: "I will just have the coffee black, thanks… but the Huevos Rancheros medium."
Now I think I know why they stuck the dead, decaying pork in my meal.
I liked this, just not quite as much as the Kimchi Fried Rice Omelette that I had a few visits back. Huevos Rancheros, much like Chilaquiles or Tiramisù, can be made differently wherever you go. This was made with two (or possibly three) fried, crispy corn tortillas (normally Huevos Rancheros are just made with soft corn tortillas); I liked this extra-added crunch. I really liked the kimchi in the fried rice, too. The only thing I might have done differently if I were ever to make this dish (Yeah, right!) is use Monterey Jack cheese instead of the Cheddar cheese. Huevos Rancheros are usually served with a side of rice and beans; well, the rice was already included in the mess, but I wonder what kind of legume might have been added as a Hawai'ian (or Korean) equivalent.
I didn't bother to see what grindz had for condimentary supplementation. The Ranchero sauce was tasty enough, but I did add just a little of my own El Yucateco®XXXtra Hot Sauce Salsa Kutbil-ik®de Chile Habanero (Thanks, Brian!) on top of the eggs and such for a little extra-added heat and flavour.
This may not have been a "hit it out of the park" with today's meal, but it was easily a solid Stand-up Double and scored at least one or two RBI's in my breakfastary book.
1. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer del día, número uno: "Adobo" simply means "marinade" in Spanish. There are variations in Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American, or Filipino adobos.
2. Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer del día, número dos:
This probably should be "roja" as the feminine modifier to "salsa", but perhaps they meant it as "salsa (de chile) rojo”.
At the suggestion of a co-worker (Thanks, Lori!) I decided to check out a relatively new, but very popular and trendy (read: "hipster doofus chic") place way out in the "outer lands" of the Sunset District. The aptly-named Outerlands is right along the N-Judah Muniline and about five blocks from Ocean Beach. They only have eight tables (ranging from 2-5 persons seating) and three window-counter seats; plus, six "out(erland)side" tables on the sidewalk (weather permitting). Now I am the last person that can ever complain about long lines and waiting times as I do it often enough when I eat at Dottie's True blue café. This place is much the same, there was already a semi-full sign-in sheet and many people waiting patiently when I got there (twenty minutes before they opened); and I noticed that the sign-in sheet went to Page Two even before they had started seating the first group. Luckily, I was seated with the first wave of diners; I got one of the window-counter seats (one of the benefits of dining alone; no matter how "So Lonely" it may seem, Gordon).
The walls are just plain, unadorned wood. The interior is like you are eating at a cabin near the beach. They have this really cool Winnie-the-Pooh hole as their office space, which must be reached by climbing up a ladder and then parting a curtain; they have to sit on cushions on the floor, as the ceiling is not tall enough to stand up in or to accommodate a chair to sit on.
Their "Brunch" menu really doesn't have an awful lot of choices (just six or seven items); however, what they do offer all sounded great and most can be made for stupid vegetarians with the omission of the dead, decaying animal flesh. To start, I went with a Beet and Farro[1]Salad ~ arugula, Parmesan, sherry vinaigrette. For my main meal I had the Dutch Pancake ~ baked in a cast iron pan; sweet ~ topped with spiced apples (and a caramel sauce); with added house-made ricotta. I also ordered a glass of Lemon Ginger Apple Cider and a cuppa Sightglass Coffee, Americano style.
I knew from the ingredients that I was going to love the salad. I was correct, as the salad was excellent: beets ~ very good; farro ~ very good; arugula ~ good; lots of shaved Parmesan cheese ~ very good! I still contend 'mericans don't eat enough beets. I love 'em.
The Lemon Ginger Apple Cider (which can be ordered either hot or iced; I went with iced, as I had ordered the coffee for my hot drink) was very good, too. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but this was more cider-y than a lemonade-style drink.
Now as for the Dutch Pancakes ~ Wow! They are baked in the oven (I am not sure if it was a "Dutch Oven" or not, something smelled kinda funny... *sniff, sniff*) and were very fluffy/eggy; plus, the sliced green apples with the caramel sauce was perfect on top. This can be ordered as a "savoury" dish instead, which would have bacon in it for you porky-lovin' fools (I bet it would be very good with both the apples and caramel on top and the bacon inside). They warn you ahead of time that this dish can take up to twenty minutes to prepare, but I had barely finished my salad before the pancake was brought out, so the timing was perfect.
I really don't know what Outerlands offers as condimentary supplements as I didn't really order anything that required any; however, I had come prepared with a few of my own hot sauces just in case and thought about using some on the salad, but thought better of it after trying some of the salad. There was maple syrup provided to use on the pancake, though; I used a little bit, but the tasty caramel sauce really was enough.
The wait wasn't really as "out(er)landish" as I had expected and the food more than compensated for any time wasted. Would I go back there again, Mr. Sumner? Hell, yeah! And I really want to check out their dinner menu, too.
Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Beet and Farro Salad ~ 7.0; Dutch Pancake ~ 7.5; LemonGinger Apple Cider ~ 6.9
[1] Farro is simply whole wheat grains prepared with an Italiano twist:
