Mission Beach Cafe

There was nothing quite atrocious about this sublimely precocious breakfast, Mohandas!

http://www.missionbeachcafesf.com/

 

(I mainly used the above subtitle and linked this silly EweToob video to tell a corn-ball joke that I heard this morning on Car Talk[1]. It's not always about the great food.)


I went to Mission Beach Cafe (I am going sans accent aigu here as they really don't specify which way to spell "café" on their menu or awnings), which is located on the corner of Guerrero[2] and 14th Streets in the Mission/Castro (you decide; it's right on the border of the two). I found it to be pretty easy parking early on a Saturday morning (I actually parked one block away as I found a spot on my way over there and figured "a single hand-held Aves is easily worth double the feathered creatures in a tree"; but when I got to the restaurant I saw that there were a few open spots closer by still). It's not a very large place; there are just six counter/window seats and 10-12 tables/booths that seat four.

Mission Beach Cafe is basically a "Brunch" place, not so much in décor or clientele, but in the actual menu offerings (and they even state it as "Weekend Brunch" on their menu). I would have gotten the MBC Scramble because it is printed as including asparagus; however, I was informed that as (fresh) asparagus is not in season, they have substituted zucchini in this instead. I like zucchini, just not as much as I love asparagus. So, I ordered Brioche[3] French Toast ~ market fruit, honey Mascarpone, Bourbon syrup. I also had a side of "brunch" potatoes and a cuppa Blue Bottle Coffee Co (Giant Steps blend?).

I will list all of the pluses of this dish first to get them out of the way before I really rip-into them:

1) it was made with three large, thickly-sliced (at least 2" each) bread ~ good!;
2) the "market fruit" today was a nice cranberry-apple compote ~ very good!!;
3) the honey Mascarpone ~ very, very good!!!; and
4) the Bourbon syrup ~ most excellent!!!!

Okay, I guess there really were no minuses… well, I suppose I could have gotten a little bit more of the most excellent tasting Bourbon syrup. I am sure that if I had asked they would have given me more, as the entire staff were very friendly and helpful. I think one of the people I spoke with may even have been one of the owners.

They make their "brunch" potatoes with Yukon Gold potatoes. These were very good and just either roasted or homefries style.

In speaking with the staff this morning (well, I overheard someone saying it and neb-nose[4] that I am, Mr. Durkin, I had to ask), I found out that this will be the last few days that they will be serving Blue Bottle Coffee Co, as they feel that Blue Bottle Coffee Co have gotten too large for their tastes (pun intended); Blue Bottle Coffee Co is going global and now has a deal with Bloomingdale's. As soon as they use up the reserve of coffee that they now have, Mission Beach Cafe will start serving Flying Goat Coffee out of Healdsburg; which is still a local and small company. I don't know if I have ever enjoyed that particular brand, but always look forward to trying another good cuppa.

http://www.flyinggoatcoffee.com/

Mission Beach Cafe only offers Tapatío® for condimentary supplementation. I went with some of my own Cherry Republic® KaBOB'S Kick'en Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy!) and a little One Stop Hot Shop 'Smart Arse' (Not really thanks, Cindy!, but I am working my way through the bottle as best I can.[5]) on the "brunch" potatoes (the most excellent Bourbon syrup was good enough for me on the French toast).

This version of French toast was equally as good as Neighborhood Restaurant & Bakery Coconut French Toast (see 'blog-entry for July 10th, 2010), but not quite as good as I remember the Bananas Foster French Toast at Merchants Way (which used to be in "downtown" Wareham, MA) used to be. Of course, it goes without saying, that it is not as good as Baker Street Bistro Pain Perdu, either, or else I would be bumping this tasty and creative meal right up into my Breakfastary Starting Rotation. But I will be going back to try more of their "Brunch" items, as well as have this one again.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Brioche French Toast ~ 7.5


[1] Whenever I am driving on a Saturday morning, and if it is between the hours of 9:00am-11:00am PST, I am usually tuned to Car Talk "Click and Clack, The Tappit Brothers" on National Public Radio. This morning Tommy happened to tell the most dawg-awful, corn-ball joke… which I feel absolutely necessary to repeat here:
 
Mahatma Gandhi always walked around barefoot for which he developed extremely hard calluses on his feet. Because of his strange vegetarian diet, he ended up with weak bones and usually wreaked of bad breath. I guess you might say that he was a "super-calloused, fragile mystic, hexed by halitosis".
 
If you have any problems with that joke, please contact the below website; be sure to ask for Heywood Jabuzoff in their complaints department:

http://www.cartalk.com/

[2] This street was named in honour of Francisco Guerrero who was the Alcade (a municipal magistrate; basically Mayor) of Yerba Buena (modern day San Francisco) in 1836 and 1839.

I am not sure who 14th Street was named after.

[3] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day:
 
"Brioche" is a type of French bread. It comes from the French word "brier" (meaning "to knead the dough"), from the Norman word "broyer" (meaning "to grind, pound"), from Germanic "brekan" (meaning "to break").

[4] Not really a stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, unless you consider Pittsburghese a foreign language (which I am sure many people from Cleveland and Philadelphia do):
 
"Neb-nose" (noun)/"nebby" (adjective) in Pittsburgh and parts of Western Pennsylvania means "a busybody"/"nosy, curious". Possible origin: derived from "neighborly", but since the connotation was negative, the pronunciation was distorted to indicate this.
 
Example: "Stop being so nebby, Lester J, and grab me one of dem der  Ahrn City Beers."
 
[5] Now I am not really complaining about a freebie gift. I love hot sauces of all heat ranges; however, this fiery stuff might be more palatable if your best friend is named Jack Paper, Jr., and you happen to live by the sea and frolic in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.

Dottie’s True blue café

Sacré Bleu[1]

 
"I always feel like a traveler, going somewhere, toward some destination. If I sense that this destination doesn't in fact exist, that seems to me quite reasonable and very likely true." ~ Vincent Van Gogh; July 22, 1888

http://dotties.biz/

 

(Nuf ced, McGreevey?!)


I don't normally need an excuse to go to Dottie's True blue café (see last 'blog-entry from May 27th, 2012) ~ (as I have stated many times in the past, it's not only one of my favourite breakfast places in San Francisco, it's one of my favourites in the World), but when it is in the middle of the week, I do like to fabricate one: so let's just call this "Flag Day Eve", and, you can be sure, I will celebrate it every year.

I checked out their Weekday Specials board as soon as I walked in; this is mostly the same as their Weekend Specials Board with maybe a few less items from which to choose. They had the exact same Frittata that I had two weeks ago (which is one of my favourites, so it can always be an option) and Raspberry Rice Flour Pancakes that looked tempting, too. However, the Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip French Toast with toasted pecans and pure Maple Syrup (because that slutty sticky stuff just don't cut it as a morning topping) looked too interesting to pass up. I also had a large glass of grapefruit juice and a side of home fries. (Which they have as two words on their menu. Glückwünsche, der Führ-Gates; you have conquered another land!)

I was trying to figure out how they were going to make this version of French toast; did they make the egg-batter with some canned pumpkin in the mixture and use it on regular bread and add chocolate chips on top? Mystery solved: these were simply (well, in theory, not in its genius sublimity) made from egg-battered (which beats spousal-abused) slices (four pieces) of Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip bread. It was all very good, too.

Sure, a side order of potatoes along with a bready breakfast may seem strange, but I can never get enough carbohydrates. Did you know that a potato provides almost as much Vitamin C as an orange of the same size? Somehow, I really doubt that "potato juice" will catch on as a breakfastary drink... unless you happen to live in Russia.

Dottie's has a good selection of condimentary supplementation (see "the Usual Suspects" photo at top of this 'blog-entry, but notice the complete lack of any vwg); I used a little Tabasco® Chipotle on the potatoes (Thanks, Kurt!).

I suppose, in keeping with my "bluish" theme, maybe I shoulda had for breakfast the Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes (off the standard printed menu) or the Bacon, Tomato, Scallion, & Bleu Cheese Scramble (off the Specials Board; sans the dead, decaying pig-flesh, of course, Glen).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip French Toast ~ 7.2


[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day:

"Sacré bleu" is simply French for "sacred blue".

It just so happens that I was given a novel of the same name, written by Christopher Moore, for my birthday this year (Merci beaucoup, Cindy!) and just started reading it this morning.

For more information of the Frenchy curse-word, see the information "borrowed" from our friends at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacr%C3%A9_blue

Curry-ketchup vs. Mayonnaise

 
"Friends don't let friends eat pommes mit mayo..."

 
(You try finding a good EweToob link about any kind of condimentary supplementation.)


The idea for this entire 'blog-entry started when I saw a picture of the Berlin Airlift Monument (nicknamed "die Gabel" or "die Hunger-Harke", meaning "the Fork" or "the Hunger-Rake") posted on defacedbook by a fellow Russkij cunning linguist (and also a former member of 6912th ESS, Marienfelde site). (Hallo, Herr Estes! Здравствуйте, Господин Эстес!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platz_der_Luftbr%C3%BCcke

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Berlin_Tempelhof_Luftbrueckendenkmal.jpg

The reason for the nickname is that the monument resembles the little disposable forks (or vice-versa; "Was kam zuerst, das Huhn oder das Ei?") used to eat French fries, and it got me to reminiscing about eating these potato delicacies late at night at the local street vendors known as an "Imbiss"[1]. There were two choices of condimentary supplementation offered with "pommes frites"[2] (pronounced "pumm fritz") or simply "pommes (pronounced "pummas"): the completely acceptable and palatable German-style curry-ketchup[3] or plain ol' disgusting mayonnaise[4] from a jar (or, even worse, from a tube ~ don't ask).

German curry-ketchup is just plain tomato ketchup with some (red) curry powder added for flavour and a bit of piquantness.

Whereas, mayonnaise (as perfectly described earlier today by someone else when I mentioned it) is an "epicurean disaster". Even the word when pronounced in German is disgusting; it is pronounced as "my-oh-nahz-a" which sounds similar to "my own ass-a"; which is about what it tastes like if you ask me. I understand that some people feel it necessary to use this vile white goop (or vile white globule, or vile white garbage, or vile white gross-out ~ either way, it will henceforth be called "vwg" in this 'blog-entry) in potato salads, macaroni salads, and egg salads for moisture; however, plain yoghurt might be a better (and healthier) alternative. (Of course, I wouldn't really know this for a fact, as I have never really made potato salad from scratch… or from potatoes even.) And there should never be any reason for anyone to ever put the vwg on my veggie-burgers (especially without asking first); I am okay with Thousand Island, Ranch, or other less vile toppings, though.

Maybe if you were drunk enough this awful idea may have seemed like a good choice at the time… but I would have to be passed-out with a 0.50 BAC to ever try it voluntarily again.

Apparently French fries with the vwg is a normal condimentary supplement in France and Belgium, too. Now a fresh-made aioli is something different entirely and I have even enjoyed this many times at a Belgian-style French fries place, Frjtz (see 'blog-entry from November 19th, 2011), but they offer many different flavours of aioli and several ketchups, too. Eating French fries with the vwg is as bad as putting ketchup on a hotdog, Clinton:

 

Just remember that the Germans are mainly known for their excellent Beers, fine pastries, and Blitzkriegs; the French know the world of haute cuisine, wines, and cheeses but their street foods are not really that great; and the Belgians need to stick with their Ales, waffles, and sprouts, Jean Claude!

Conclusion: τζατζίκι (Tzatziki) is the best condimentary supplementation with French-fried or any other style of potatoes.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Curry-ketchup ~ 6.0; vwg ~ 4.5; Tzatziki ~ 8.5


[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, nummer eins:
 
"Imbiss" simply means "snack" in German. An Imbiss was usually a little van or shack along the side of the street where they served  fast food items, and was usually open 24-hours a day.

[2] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, nummer zwei/numéro deux:

"Pommes frites"/"pommes" are borrowed words in German from French. "Pommes (de terre) frites" in French means "fried potatoes". The word for "potato" in French is "pomme de terre", meaning "earth apple".

[3] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, number three (I have used this one before):
 
"Ketchup" comes from Malay "kichap", from Chinese (Amoy dialect) "koechiap", meaning "brine of fish." Catsup (earlier catchup) is a failed attempt at Anglicization, still in use in the U.S. Originally a fish sauce, early English recipes included among their ingredients mushrooms, walnuts, cucumbers, and oysters. Modern form of the sauce began to emerge when U.S. seamen added tomatoes.

[4] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numéro quatre:
 
"Mayonnaise" comes from French, perhaps from "Mahonnais", meaning "of Mahón", a port in the island of Minorca, Spain.

Red Café

(No official website)

2894 Mission Street

Phonicular contact: (415) 282-1515
  

 

(This guy does a great Jimmy Fallon impersonation.)


I had heard some good stuff (reviews on yelp*, etc.) about Red Café (located on the corner of Mission and 25th Streets, in the Mission District ~ I would add "naturally", but Mission Street actually transverses the entire City and goes from Downtown/South of Market Area all the way to Daly City, and then some) and finally got around to eating desayuno there. This is a little Mexican-style, family-owned diner (not so sure why it isn’t called Café Rojo, which I am going to refer to them as from here on out). They had the "Café" avec accent aigu/con acento agudo on their awnings; however, they had it sans/sin on their menu and cards. There are ten counter seats (with black round vinyl-covered stools); three booths (with burgundy red and speckled black vinyl-covered seats) for two; four booths for four; and three tables for four. I got there early (as soon as it had opened), but I heard that it fills up quickly on the weekends and usually has lines waiting to get in.

As this is primarily a "Breakfast" joint (it states just that on their awnings), Café Rojo offers a very nice selection of breakfastary dishes. They have six different stupid vegetarian omelettes: Loroco[1] Omelette and Nopal (cactus) Omelette to name a few that looked rather interesting; plus another seven omelettes of the dead, decaying animal flesh variety, which could always be ordered sin carne muerta de animales en descomposición. Additionally, they have many other typical Mexican breakfast dishes: Huevos Rancheros and Huevos a la Mexicana. Unlike yesterday's omission on the printed menu at La Cucina, Café Rojo even offers a "Mickey" Pancake for los niños (and specify that it's for "Under 12 only"; I was sure glad that I went there alone so that it was an option still open for me; I didn't see any place where they could seat a dozen people together, anyway).

However, as whenever I go to a new ristorante italiano, Brenda and Eddy, I try to rate the place by their Parmigiana di melanzane or gnocchi; subsequently, whenever I eat at a new Mexican place for breakfast, I like to try the chilaquiles. Café Rojo state that their Chilaquiles are "(Tortilla mix with eggs) ~ (re)fried beans, sour cream, green pepper, tomato, onion (no hashbrowns, toast or tortillas)". I also had a large glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice. Once again, I forewent the doggone cuppa coffee at the restaurant and brewed me up a nice cuppa Bettys Ceylon Blue Sapphire (Truly thank you very much, Cindy!) when I got home, and am enjoying it while I type-up this stupid 'blog-entry. This is probably one of the best teas I have ever had, even I can't mess this one up as it only comes in a loose-leaf form and has to be brewed fresh; it really needs no addition of sugar or cream/milk, as the flavour is already naturally sweetened and light enough.

This was a decent enough version of chilaquiles (which as I have stated before is basically scrambled eggs with tortilla chips and other junk mixed in). I have found that, like in most Italian restaurants when you order tiramisù for dessert, you can get an entirely different version wherever you go. Both SanJalisco™ and Chavas (which, as you like it, Wild Bill,  is my touchstone for chilaquiles, as it was the first place that I ever had them when I first moved to San Francisco; see 'blog-entry from August 8th, 2010 for more information) make theirs with a more red-saucy base (which reminds me, both of those places really need another visit one of these days). Café Rojo makes theirs with no added salsa in the scramble, but serve it with a side of home-made tomatillo salsa, which was pretty flavourful on its own, to pour on top. The (re)fried beans were more of a purée (avec accent aigu, by the way) of frijoles refritos and I ended up pouring them on top as well. The orange juice was indeed fresh-squeezed and not from a bottle, too. I had thought about getting a side order of hashbrowns, but waited until the chilaquiles came out to see if it was going to be too much food; it didn't look like it would have been, but I still bypassed the potatoes this morning.

Café Rojo has as condimentary supplements both Tabasco® and Tapatío®, as well as the ubiquitous bottles of ketchup, but, thankfully, none of that vile white goop known as mayonnaise (of which, you can expect a separate rant… er, 'blog-entry explaining that remark); I really was expecting a more varied and better selections from a Mexican place, though. It really didn't matter as the chilaquiles came with the above-mentioned tomatillo salsa which had a very good flavour and I used it on half of the chilaquiles. On the other half of the chilaquiles, I used some of my own Sweet Heat Hot Sauce (Thanks again, Cindy!) and just a soupçon[2] of One Stop Hot Shop 'Smart Arse'® (Not really thanks, Cindy!) to give it a bit of a kick.

This is definitely worth a return trip to try another one of their desayuno dishes.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Chilaquiles ~ 6.5


[1] They have "loroco" translated as "green onions" on their menu; however, loroco isn’t a member of the onion family and really don't taste anything like onions. I have had these in pupusas in the past and know I liked them. Here is a little more detailed information stolen from… er, borrowed from our friends at Wikipedia:

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

[2] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day:
 
"Soupçon" is French for "suspicion"; it comes from Middle French "sospeçon", from Late Latin "suspection-" (stem of "suspectio"), for Latin "suspicio" meaning "suspicion".

La Cucina of Union Street

(No official website)

2136 Union Street

Phonicular contact: (415) 921-4500

(Union Street… Union City… it's close enough for Government work.)


It had been a while since I last ate at La Cucina of Union Street[1] (see 'blog-entry from August 28th, 2011); I was planning on going there last weekend, but that was when the annual Union Street Fair was scheduled and it's hard enough to find a parking spot on normal weekends in that neighborhood, so I waited until this morning. The backyard patio deck was not open yet this morning, but it was nice enough to sit outside at one of the sidewalk tables; I didn't, but I could have. La Cucina is a very family-friendly place; they have kids books and crayons for the little 'uns (neither of which were offered to me, I might add). That is my Zio Luigi wearing my Hollywood Stars[2] baseball cap in the above photo.

I ordered off the "Breakfast Specials" portion of their printed menu (see also: "Breakfast Classic" menu); they have many nice choices from which to choose. There were a few items that I was leaning towards, the Italian Omelette and Oscar Omelette (both of which I would have gotten senza la carne morta porco in decomposizione). Plus the kids at the table next to mine went completely off-menu and got "Mickey Mouse Pancakes"… I feel a little ripped-off again.

Here's where it would pay to re-read my old 'blog entries before going back to a place, as I ordered the same thing I did the last time I was there: California Omelette ~ Avocado, artichoke, Jack cheese, onion, and tomato; served with cottage fries. I also had a large glass of orange juice. (Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "But, Brian, no coffee with your breakfastary repast?" Well, I waited until I got home and actually made a pretty decent cuppa Bettys Christmas Coffee and am enjoying it while typing this out.)

Even though I had the same dish last time I was there, it was still a mighty fine choice. This was made with lots of artichoke hearts, Stymie; and they were the brine-marinated, not oil-marinated, type ~ this really does make a difference in the flavour and texture of the omelette; however, I do like the oil-marinated ones in salads or just as a side snack right outta the jar. The cottage fries are basically a cross between hashbrowns and home fries; sliced/shredded potatoes with some secret Italian herbs and spices ~ all very nicely crispy and tasty.

La Cucina offers as condimentary supplementation solo Tapatío® on the tables (I think they also have Tabasco®, or did the last time I was there). I used some of my own Palo Alto Fire Fighters Pepper Sauce (Thanks agains, Amys!) on the potatoes and some Mango Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy!) on the omelette.

Wild Parrots of San Francisco Update

While driving back home through the Presidio, I first heard then saw about 5-6 of my fine-feathered friends flying overhead (near the Lombard Gate).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  California Omelette ~ 6.5


[1] If they were located on Lombard Street, I am sure they would change the name accordingly.
 
[2] The Hollywood Stars were a professional Baseball team that played in the old Pacific Coast League from 1926-1957 (give or take a few years off). 
 
My cap is a replication of their 1940 insignia, made by a company called Blue Marlin®; I have had this particular cap for about 15 years now. Blue Marlin® is a good source of vintage-style sportswear; I have a few other hats of theirs, too: Mission Reds, 1929 (San Francisco, Pacific Coast League) and Memphis Red Sox, 1937 (Negro Baseball League).

http://www.bluemarlinclothing.com/

Noah’s New York Bagels/Peet’s Coffee & Tea/jamba juice

http://www.noahs.com/

http://www.peets.com/

http://www.jambajuice.com/

(Consider today's EweToob links as a PSA against child abuse.[1] Parents, if you feel it absolutely necessary to have to resort to beating your children in order to maintain discipline… at least let the rest of us get a whack at the little brats, too.)


I decided to try something different for a change and have breakfast from three places in a local shopping center: Noah's New York Bagels, Peet's Coffee & Tea®, and jamba juice®. They are all located in the Potrero Center over on 16th and Potrero Streets, basically on the border of Potrero Hill and the Mission; and they all happen to be lined up next to one another. This shopping plaza sits on the area where Seals Stadium used to be (which was the home of the San Francisco Seals from 1931-1957, the Mission Reds from 1931-1937, and also the San Francisco Giants from 1958-1959). Somehow, it always seems to come back to food and Baseball with me…

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

The interesting thing about all three of these chain restaurants is that they were all originally founded in the San Francisco Bay Area or in Central California. Noah's was started in Berkeley. Peet's® was also started in Berkeley (in 1966). jamba juice® was started in San Luis Obispo (in 1990). Both Peet's® and jamba juice® headquarters are now located in Emeryville. However, Noah's "New York" Bagels is now owned by a company in Colorado ~ the same company that owns the Boston Market® chain (coincidentally enough, of which there is also a restaurant in the Potrero Center); I hear that they are also thinking of purchasing UNO® Chicago Grill. (The real joke here is that UNO® is now headquartered in Boston, MA.)

At one time back in the late 90's, it seemed that there was even a sort of a relationship between Noah's, jamba juice®, and St*rbucks. I think that the CEO of St*rbucks served on the Board of Directors of both Noah's and jamba juice® back then. Whenever a new St*bucks location was going up in the Bay Area, you could be sure to see a new Noah's and jamba juice® being built in the same complex or nearby. (There was already a St*rbucks inside the Safeway® at the Potrero Center, and maybe Peet's® had beaten them to the punch to get the vaunted spot that they did.)

Noah's is a New York-style bagelry (this is not a real word, and, for which, I am being warned by der Führ-Gates & his Green Police Spell-Check goons) and offers many different types of freshly-made bagels and baked goods. For breakfast you can have an Egg Mit® Sandwich; this is just scrambled eggs in a bagel with your choice of ingredients. I had one mit[2] spinach, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese, on a toasted and buttered whole wheat bagel.

Peet's Coffee & Tea® only has one caffeinated and one decaffeinated coffee ready to go daily. Today's caffeinated (Who really goes to a coffeehouse to get a decaffeinated cuppa, anyway? That is like ordering a "light Beer" at a bar. Just stay at home and drink water, dammit!) offering was Uzuri African Blend. Noah's also offers fresh-brewed coffees, but I made my mind up many years ago to not buy my bagels at Peet's® and the vice is also the versa.

jamba juice® has many different types of smoothies, fresh juices, and drinks from which to choose. I usually go with one of their juicy selections, but went with a smoothie this morning: Peach Pleasure ~ peaches-bananas-peach juice-orange sherbert. They are now offering (For a limited time!) fruit refreshers with coconut water; one of the seasonal choices is Watermelon Splash™; had I seen that before ordering, I probably would have gotten it instead.

Noah's bagels are decent enough, just not quite as good as House of Bagels (see 'blog-entry from May 2nd, 2010). I had actually asked for a plain sesame bagel, and the lady at the counter said "Whole Wheat Sesame?", to which I replied "No, plain Sesame." That must have really confused her and I didn't even get any sesame on it. I really wanted to get it on a Peppercorn Potato bagel, but didn't see any fresh ones available this morning. The sandwich was good, but nothing I probably couldn't have made at home myself… if I had eggs… or spinach… or mushrooms in my refrigerator/kitchen… and actually cooked. On the plus side, Mrs. Morin, I do usually have 2-3 different types of cheeses in my refrigerator at all times (right now it's sliced Havarti, sliced Jarlsberg, and Bavarian Red ~ a soft, creamy cheese; sort of a Teutonic twist on Brie); I am not a complete food hermit, after all.

Peet's® coffee is always good. Uzuri African Blend is a new one for them and I am not sure that I have ever had it before. I liked it a lot, but it's not my favourite of theirs. I mean, the only time I ever have a Peet's® that is just "okay" is when I make it at home myself; even then it's generally better than 50% of the "perfeshinul koffee joints" around town.

As for the jamba juice® smoothie, I really liked the peachiness (which, oddly enough, actually seems to be a real word, as the Spell-Check Nazis at Microsoft® don't seem to have a problem with me typing it here; maybe I shoulda typed "peachiosity") of the drink, Sergeant Carnehan; there were even small cubes of real peaches still left in the bottom of the cup when I was done (which I felt necessary to upend into my mouth, of course).

I didn't even bother to see what Noah's had for condimentary supplementation, as I went with a little of the newest acquisition to my collection, Youk's Hot Sauce (Thanks, Brian!), on the Egg Mit®. This is a pretty decent flavoured and heatiness (again, not a real word; tough, bite me, Billy-boy!) sauce. And I am not saying this just because I am a Boston Red Sox fan (I don't care much for Boston Market®, though). I should probably point out some follow-up information from yesterday's breakfast on my new HB™ Guinness® (Thanks again, Cindy!), too; I liked it a lot (It has real Guinness® in it. What's not to like, Arthur?) and am sure it will be put to good use on many more potato dishes.


Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  Noah's Egg Mit® ~ 6.0 (but it is still a 7.5 compared to the normal crappy breakfast sandwiches that are available at most fast food joints, e.g. Eggamuffin, etc.); Peet's® Uzuri African Blend ~ 6.8; jamba juice® Peach Pleasure ~ 6.7


[1] I suppose I could have linked "Noah's Dove" by 10,000 Maniacs instead today, but then I would have been hard-pressed to find two other decent EweToob songs that incorporated "coffee" or someone named "Pete", and you just try to find any titles with "jamba" or "juice" in them.

 
Ah, what the heck:

[2] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, Nummer eins:
 
"Mit" simply means "with" in German or Yiddish, Mr. Romney.

Plow

http://www.eatatplow.com/

(I think Linda Ronstadt had it right, Mr. Plow is a loser and a boozer; Ian Anderson was a bit of one, too.)


Congratulations, Lizzie, on 60 successful years! 

(So what if it's Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, this happens to be my 250th 'blog-entry; now that really is an amazing feat.)


I had breakfast this morning at Plow on Potrero Hill, on the corner of 18th and Texas Streets. It is always nice to see a semi-posh place that opens early (in this case 8:00am) for Sunday "Brunch". For such a small neighborhood, this part of 18th Street has several restaurants all within just 3-4 blocks: Hazel's Kitchen (breakfast and lunch);  Farley's (coffeehouse); Chez Papa Bistrot (sic) (lunch and dinner); Café Chez Maman ("Brunch", lunch, and dinner); Pera (lunch and dinner); Rocketfish (lunch and dinner); Goat Hill Pizza (lunch and dinner); Aperto ("Brunch", lunch, and dinner); and Sunflower (lunch and dinner).

Plow's "Brunch" menu really isn't all that extensive, but you would never know that from the line of people waiting to get in this morning before it had even opened. I was thinking about getting the farro salad (grilled summer squash + spring onions, shaved fennel, arugula, parmesan, fava bean, toasts) and a side of crispy potatoes, as someone recently commented to me that my cholesterol level must be very high as I usually have egg dishes on the weekends (not really, though, as my normal weekly cholesterol intake would only be from eggs on the weekends or cheese during the week ~ one of the perks of being a vegetarian, not so much cholesterol unless you are eating the dead, decaying animals). Even so, I decided on the less cholesterol-laden lemon ricotta[1] pancakes ~ with pure Vermont maple syrup, and a cholesterol-free side order of crispy potatoes (because you can never get enough carbohydrates). I also had a cuppa Equator™ coffee (but I didn't ask which blend, and, hopefully, it contained no cholesterol, too).

These were three medium-sized, thick pancakes; they were very good. The ricotta (yes, I know that is also a source of cholesterol, Mrs. Huneycutt) makes these very moist, if not a bit heavy. I had a thought that some fresh chopped basil would have been a nice addition in these even; not that they needed any extra flavour, but a savory-sweet pancake just sounded nice. Not that I could really tell "pure Vermont maple syrup" from the fake stuff, but it's nice when they have it and don't charge extra for it (you'd be surprised how many places do). The crispy potatoes were very good; fried and then roasted with large slices of onions; they almost seemed as if they were lightly battered (they weren't, as I had asked and was told how they were prepared).

Plow has as a condimentary supplement solely Youk's Hot Sauce; now, this was a nice surprise, as I have only ever had it at Kevin Youkilis' brother's restaurant, Maverick (see 'blog-entry from July 24th, 2011). I didn't use any while there, but I did buy a bottle to take home (it's not as if I really need yet still another hot sauce, but this is also a collector's item for any Boston Red Sox fan; plus, I have already tried all of Big Papi's hot sauces, so it only seemed fair). I did use a little HP™ Guinness® (Thanks, Cindy!), which is brand new (as in I just got it yesterday in a really cool swag/C.A.R.E. package) to my collection of sauces, on the potatoes.

http://youkshotsauce.com/

 

Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  lemon ricotta pancakes ~ 7.0


[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numero uno:

"Ricotta" simply means "recooked" in Italian, which comes from Latin "recocta", feminine of "recoctus", past participle of "recoquere" meaning "to recook".

Velo Rouge Cafe

"Je veux faire de mon bicyclette…" 
~ Frédéric Mercure et Reine

http://www.velorougecafe.com/

(This is their official website, but I had problems loading it. It might still be a valid/working website, but I can't tell for sure.)

(Do I really need to explain the connection between today’s EweToob video selection and the restaurant?)


For some time now, I have been meaning to get to Velo[1] Rouge[2] Cafe, which is located in the Richmond District over on the corner of Arguello[3] Boulevard and McAllister[4] Street (just one block north of Golden Gate Park), and I finally got there this morning for breakfast. They have been open for about five years now and are basically a corner neighborhood coffeehouse. Due to its proximity to Golden Gate Park, this seems to be a very popular spot with bicyclists (and all their stupid, healthy ilk); plus, they are a bicycle-themed joint (hence the café name) with many bicycle posters and photos on the walls, as well as some pretty cool chairs and tables made from old bicycle parts.

Velo Rouge Cafe does not have a very extensive breakfastary menu, but what they do offer all looks pretty good. I thought about getting the Mt. Ventoux[5] sandwich or Leipheimer[6] Breakfast Burrito, but ended up going with something I could pronounce: McAllister Scramble sandwich ~  three eggs scrambled with bacon (skipped the dead, decaying porky-flesh), grilled onions, mushrooms, spinach, and Feta cheese on an English muffin; served with roasted potatoes (which they do not state anywhere on the menu, but I was very happy to see on my plate). I also had a cuppa mighty fine Blue Bottle Coffee Co. Mexico - Chiapas PROISH (each cup is personally made as a fresh-drip for you).

This was all simple enough, but very good. This was served as an open-faced sandwich (à la Oeufs Benedict); I was not expecting that at all, but was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it very much. Plus, I am always a sucker for anything that has both spinach and Feta in it.

Surprisingly for "just a coffeehouse", Velo Rouge Cafe has a pretty selective condimentary supplementation: Tabasco® (the standard red); Tapatío®; and Pico Pica®. I was not figuring on them having more than the ubiquitous Tabasco® red, so I used some of my own collection with which I had come prepared:  a little Cholula® (Thanks, Brian!) on the sandwich and a little Cherry Republic® KaBob‘s Kick‘en Hot Sauce (Thanks, Cindy!) on the potatoes.
 

Glen Bacon Scale Rating:  McAllister Scramble Sandwich ~ 6.5; Blue Bottle Coffee Co. Mexico Chiapas PROISH ~ 7.0


[1] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numéro un:
 
"Vélo" (avec accent aigu, which is the correct spelling; I am not sure why a Frenchy-named place would omit it ~ as well as in "Café") simply means "bicycle" in French. It can also be called "vélocipède" or "bicyclette". "Vélocipède" word roots comes from Latin "velox" (the genitive* is "velocis") meaning "swift" (as in "velocity", etc.) and "pes" (the accusative* is "pedem") meaning "foot" (as in "pedal", etc.)

*(One of these days I probably should explain the different cases of nouns used in some ferren languages: i.e. Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Ablative, Accusative, and, most importantly, Guitarative.)

[2] Stupid, useless cunning linguist pointer of the day, numéro deux:
 
"Rouge" in French simply means the colour "red/rouge". Now did I really need to explain that?
 
[3] You may be asking yourself: "Just who the hell was this 'Arguello' guy and why the hell did he deserve a street/boulevard named for him in San Francisco?”
 
José Darío Argüello was the founder of Los Ångeles and twice the Spanish colonial governor of Alta California.
 
After reading that, you may still be asking yourself: "But why the hell a street/boulevard in San Francisco?"
 
I don't have an exact answer for that. Sorry.
 
[4] You may also be asking yourself: "And just who the hell is this 'McAllister' guy and why the hell did he deserve a street named for him in San Francisco?"
 
(And I would really hella appreciate it if you would just stop the using the word "hell" so much in my presence.)
 
This street was named after the McAllister family. Apparently, they were some prominent (read: snooty-assed white folk) San Francisco family in the 19th Century.
 
[5] As far as I can discern, this is some little hill that is prominent in a stupid little annual "bicycle race" in France.
 
[6] Levi Leipheimer is some stupid 'merican that likes to participate in the same stupid little annual "bicycle race" in France.