Archive for the 'Breakfast Log' Category
If you ever find Bolinas, this is a great place for breakfast. Mind you, today it’s gone 11 so I suppose your could call it brunch.
The Coast Cafe is easy to find in the middle of town. There is seating inside and out and it has a very pleasant, laid back feeling about it.
This is not your typical diner sort of breakfast joint. As this is Bolinas, it is bound to be different. For a start, there are no booths or seats at the counter, just lots of wooden tables and chairs. There is even one very big table that seats 12. While we were there, several small groups ate at this table and, even though they didn’t know each other, they happily chatted together.
We decided to eat inside and could sit anywhere we liked. Our choice was a long table for two at the back near the counter. Our order was taken soon after we sat down. I ordered oatmeal ($4.50) with a side of wheat toast ($1.75). I asked if they served steelcut oats, this being a very organic, environmentally conscious community, but they didn’t. Tom ordered a French Omlette from the Specials List ($10) with English Muffin.
Let me tell you about one of the locals who was standing near us at the counter. She was a lady wearing a paint spattered jacket, old jeans and non matching, multicolored hiking boots. Round her neck she had a garish, wooden parrot on a rope. But the one thing that really caught our eye was her hat. Obviously her own creation as it was made out of twigs, newspaper and string. People like this are a common sight in Bolinas and nobody turned a hair. It’s a place where you can wear and do whatever you like.
Now to the decor. Definitley coastal. From the ceiling are suspended 12 surf boards, mostly old fashioned, wooden ones and some of them are huge. Glass floats in net bags and assorted floats are everywhere. There are several original paintings and framed photographs on the wall. A nice touch were the shelves attached to the walls filled with books, dolls and assorted objects. But the best feature is the old fashioned, pot bellied boiler in the corner which was lit and provided a real homely feel to the place.
We didn’t have too long to wait for our food. My oatmeal came in a big, deep green ceramic bowl on a huge red plate. The brown sugar and raisins came in small white ceramic pots. The milk in an old fashioned silver jug with a lid. The jam was home made strawberry. It was all scrumptious. Tom’s omelette had goat cheese, green onions, mushrooms and tarragon in it. The home fries had a seasoning on them which added to the taste. His verdict - excellent. We both loved the jam.
I asked for directions to the restroom and the server pointed to the floor and told me to follow the frog footsteps. How charming. They led out of the door, across the patio to the restroom. Inside was an entrance room with two doors leading to two stalls. In the entrance were two old bar stools and a blue wooden cupboard with a mirror on the front. The stalls could only be described as rustic. No decoration at all but an unusual touch was the toilet roll holder and the paper towel container which were both made out of small planks of dark brown wood.
We really enjoyed the food, the service, the ambiance of the place and it certainly is near the top of our list of places to go for a great breakfast. Needless to say, we will be back.
February 17 2008 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
Well, we should not be here at all but that’s a different story and you will have to wait for the next post!
Finding somewhere to have breakfast in San Francisco has been a hit and miss affair for us because we do not know where the good places are. We have been to the Cafe Rain Tree several times before so we headed for there before going to the De Young in Golden Gate Park.
It is on the corner of Irving and 8th Avenue. With a green awning outside, it is easy to find. Here you can get an Irish breakfast with two Irish bacon rashers, two Irish sausages, two eggs, homefries, black and white pudding, grilled tomatoes with toast and jelly for $9.95.
The place is quite small but a miror inside makes it look bigger than it really is. There are no booths, just scarred and pitted wooden tables with old fashioned, red upholstered and chrome chairs. At the counter are 10 stools. This is a bit of a dive but, heck, they serve a proper breakfast.
Tom ordered cheese omelet with hash browns and English muffin (7.50). For me it was the usual oatmeal ($3.75). I also ordered banana to go with it (50c extra). In no time at all our food was served. Tom always asks for his hash browns to be extra crispy but these didn’t look as if they were. The omelet to me looked small with just a slice of cheese inside. My oatmeal came on a plate in a small deep bowl with brown sugar, raisins and milk in small stainless steel bowls (much better than the plastic pots a lot of places use). I was expecting slices of banana on top of the oatmal but what I got was a whole, peeled banana on the plate which I had to cut up.
Tom’s verdict on the omelet and hash browns was mediocre. My oatmeal was good. Only complaint from me being there was not enough milk but there was a jug of milk on the table so I didn’t have to ask for more.
There were five paintings, or should I say canvases, on the walls and they looked original. There was no other ornamentation at all.
The unisex restroom was as you would expect. It was tucked away at the back and had cracked tiles on the floor and was grubby and old fashioned but at least the water was hot.
Verdict - OK and we will come again if we do not find something better in the vicinity.
February 09 2008 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
On our way up to San Francisco, we stopped at Vic’s for breakfast. Tom used to live in San Carlos and he came here often.
We arrived at 7:20 AM and there were only a couple of customers there, so no problem getting a table. By 9 though it will be packed. As diners go, it is quite big. There are 18 booths, mostly seating four, just three tables and 10 places at the counter.
Coffee and water arrived almost before we took our seats and our order was taken straight away. I ordered oatmeal for $4. I asked what it came with and was told brown sugar and milk. When I asked about fruit, I was shown the choices on the menu. There was one that took my fancy - walnut, cranberries and raisins - for $1.75, so I went for that. The server pointed out that it was $1.75 for each item. Mm… sounds a bit expensive but I went with the walnuts and cranberries. Tom ordered Vic’s scramble with spinach, onions, ground beef and cheese with hash browns - extra crispy requested - with English muffin for $11.75.
Now to look round the place. This is a classy joint - hence the high prices I guess - and it’s reflected in the decor. Lots of paintings on the walls all in matching frames. Near us, high up, were two shelves with assorted bottles, jars and knick knacks. Near the front door is a big sign which says ‘Vic’s dog wall’ and underneath are posted pictures of customer’s dogs - lots of them all noting name and breed.
There was a radio playing quite loudly. It would have been fine if it was music but there was talking as well and that was quite distracting.
The food arrived at 7:30 - that was just 10 minutes after our order was taken so we were impressed. My oatmeal came in a small, deep bowl on a large plate. Also on the plate, along with the spoon, was a small stainless steel jug of milk (but there was more than enough), two stainless steel cups, one with cranberries and one with walnuts and a fairly large plastic container of brown sugar covered in cling film. The walnuts tasted good because they were coated in something. I have one complaint about the sugar - it was stuck together. I had to break it up with my spoon before I could get any out. Oatmeal was good though.
Tom cleared his plate and his verdict was good but the hash browns were nowhere crispy enough.
Now off the to restroom. I’m expecting good things here but I came back disappointed. They were at the end of a long corridor. There were more paintings on the corridor walls but they were exactly the same bland mix with matching frames as in the main restaurant. The restroom itself had no paintings or decoration of any kind on the walls. The only artistic touch was a watering can made out of wood filled with artificial flowers. There were two stalls and one handicapped stall. The place was bright and clean but boring. Also, there was no hot water. Even though I ran the tap for a couple of minutes, the hottest was just barely warm.
Verdict - food OK but every expensive. Our final bill came to $23.11 with coffee and tax.
February 03 2008 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
What do you do on a wet weekend? Well to cheer yourself up, you go out for breakfast.
We wanted to try somewhere different without travelling very far so Tom did a search on ‘breakfast in San Jose’ and our zip code. Southern Kitchen came up and it’s pretty close. We’d passed it many times on Monterey Highway but had dismissed it as a bit of a shack. A quick check on Yelp to see if there were any reviews and we were so surprised. Lots of rave reviews, so this place we must visit.
It was 9:30 when we set out on this rainy morning. The car park at the back was nearly full. That is a good sign to start with but also meant we would probably have a wait - the reviewers had warned as much. We were lucky though and were seated straight away, even though the place was packed.
It’s not very big but its well set out with 9 two seater booths, 8 four seater booths, two larger booths, several tables and chairs and 8 places at the counter.
We were shown to a two seater booth at the side, right under a hatch through to the kitchen. We could hear them working in the kitchen but it was a cheerful background sound. There was music playing but it was lost in the general hum of conversation around us.
The menu choice is vast and exciting. Now I usually have oatmeal but today my eyes strayed to the rest of the menu and was tempted. I succumbed to that temptation - afterall it was nearly 10 now so it was more of a brunch than a breakfast. Our friendly server took the order - Country Benedict for Tom (country sausage on top of English muffins, two poached eggs, topped with hollandaise sauce) at $8.95 and California Scramble for me (eggs, broccoli, mushrooms, Jack & Cheddar cheese, topped with hollandaise sauce) at $8.95. We both had hash browns (extra crispy for Tom) and I had wheat toast as well.
Time to look around at the decor. There was the usual amount of paintings, mostly of views and flowers. Other assorted objects were hung on the walls including a collection of old tools and bizarrely a thick white rope round the ceiling line.
The food arrived 15 minutes after placing our order. The portions were big and they were steaming hot. Tom nearly cleared his plate but I struggled to get through two thirds of mine. Take my word for it, the food is good and the hash browns were just as Tom liked.
The restroom though could only be described as grubby but functional, apart from the fact that the toilet paper had almost run out and there were no new supplies in sight. One good point in its favor is the water was nice and hot. Some decoration on the wall would have cheered the place up a bit.
We have found a new place to go for breakfast and we will certainly be back here again.
January 27 2008 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
We have come to Campbell to go to the Farmers Market. Campbell is a nice little town not far from San Jose.
The Kings Head is a pseudo English pub which claims to ’serve food fit for royalty’. It is been built to look like a Tudor building with fake timbers. Outside there is a huge banner which says they serve breakfast from 7 a.m. Don’t be fooled by that - they don’t open until 8 on a Sunday.
We were the first customers to arrive at 8.15 and nothing had been set up. There was just one server and one cook. We seriously thought about leaving and finding somewhere else but decided to stick it out.
Our order for drinks was taken, one coffee and one water, but two coffees were brought. I had to wait another five minutes for the water.
The list of what was not available seemed endless - no hash, no eggs Benedict, no biscuits but -worst of all - no oatmeal. Hmm, shall we go or stay? Once again we decided to stay.
A party of 20 turned up who had apparently booked but the server had not been told. It was interesting to see how the served coped, but cope she did.
Now let me describe the interior. On the walls are swords and lots of brass plates. There are full sized figures of beefeaters and one knight. Hanging from the rafters are mock heraldic shields. There is an upstairs area for eating called the Kings Balcony. There are no booths - and you certainly don’t get those in English pubs - just table and chairs. Above the bar is a long painted log inscribed with the words ‘The Kings Head Wicked Wood, which is used in tossing the caber at Scottish Games. It is painted white with a Scottish flag at one end.
The floor is supposed to be flagstones but in places it is worn and you can see plain old concrete underneath.
Our order was taken after another fifteen minutes. Tom ordered the Joe’s Skillet ($8.95) and mine was for cheese omelet ($7.95). Twenty minutes later our food was served. Verdict, Tom said there was not much meat in his but apart from that it was OK. My omelet was good but the potatoes were barely warm. Also my toast was very crispy, more like crisp bread than toast.
The restrooms were labeled Knights and Wenches. Inside Wenches the lighting was inadequate. Just one dim light near the sink. The stalls were very dark. On one wall inside the stalls are boards with adverts but you can’t read them. There was no seat at all inside the handicapped stall. There were no little touches to brighten up the place. Also the handle on the hot tap was missing so only cold water was available.
All in all we were not very impressed with the Kings Head.
November 29 2007 | Breakfast Log | 1 Comment »
121 I Street, Niles, California, 94536. Tel 5010 791 6049
This is a real funky little cafe between Niles Blvd and Iron Horse Lane.
Outside there are a couple of small tables and dainty metal chairs all in need of a coat of paint.
Inside there are two large murals and one small on the wall on an Egyptian theme; one mural of flowers with a caption that reads ‘consider the lilies’ and one of Niles in the 1920’s complete with a train in the background.
There were no other customers so we had our pick of where to sit. The furniture is an odd mix. The table we sat at had a glass top over an amateurish painting. Some tables were round with tile mosaics and there was one large, round, table with red legs and a brown beaten up top. The chairs are worth a mention as well. Around our table were four black metal chairs with blue plastic seats and backs. In one window is a bar with three high wooden bar stools. Against the wall behind us are two, high backed, wooden, chairs with arms. One has the name “Julianne” painted across the top. I could go on but I’m sure you have got the picture.
The coffee is Peets, which is Tom’s favorite brew, so he was happy. I just drank water. We were brought the menus and perused them. Not much of a choice though I see the lunch menu is more extensive. Maybe this place gets more lively later in the day. There is no oatmeal so I chose 2 blueberry pancakes. Tom ordered a chicken and brie omelet with home fries and sourdough toast.
We waited twenty minutes for our order which was unacceptable. At least we knew that everything was freshly cooked. Tom’s comment on his food was that it was not too bad at all. My pancakes were very nice as well. The syrup bottle was a bit grungy though.
The restroom was more or less as I expected. It was in a cupboard at the back and there was just the one room for both sexes. Even though it was extremely small, every wall was covered in bright patterns and squiggles.
Don’t know whether we would come back again. It just had that run down feel about it.
November 27 2007 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
We have been to this restaurant many times but this will be the first time for breakfast. Usually we sit outside in their lovely garden and have lunch but it is too cold at this time of the morning though I did notice a couple of smokers braving the weather.
They open at 8 and we arrived shortly afterwards so it was not crowded at all.
It is a large restaurant but there is nothing really different or outstanding about it. There are no booths at all, just table and chairs.
I ordered oatmeal with nuts and raisins ($4.75) and Tom ordered bacon and cheddar omelet with sourdough toast ($9.25). He also had coffee of course. The oatmeal was very good. It was served in a fair sized deep bowl. The sugar, golden raisins and walnuts were served in stainless steel cups which were much better than the normal plastic containers. The milk was served in a glass, which was very difficult to pour. Tom enjoyed his omelet. The potatoes were crispy, just how he likes them and the sourdough toast was great. The jam was very good and fresh - not your normal jam in plastic containers.
There were separate restrooms for men and women. The ladies was a single room with a very small sink in the corner. On the wall was a framed poster of local varieties of fruit from Tuscany. The towel dispenser was awkward to operate, especially with my broken wrist.
Verdict - food was very good but the interior was rather bland. Service was not brilliant.
November 08 2007 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
We have had breakfast at Main Street Grill several times before but not for a while. Something
seemed a little strange. It was not quite where I remembered it and it looked slightly different. I’m positive the awning was not there and surely the sign was higher? We found out that indeed they have moved one block because the lease ran out on their original place. The current location used to be a restaurant. It is now opposite Half to Have.
Our order was quickly taken and I took stock of our surroundings. It is a bright and cheerful place. The main attraction here is the singing cook who occasionally breaks out with short bursts of opera.
The layout is pretty standard, booths around the outside with a few tables and chairs and 10 low chairs up at the counter. There are curtains at the windows. Just inside the door is a large, modern jukebox but it was not operating. On the walls were photos of Half Moon Bay pumpkins, a large painting of flowers and a print of a bulldog. Old theater posters abound featuring performers like Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines and Billie Holiday.
Our food arrived within five minutes. Can’t complain about long waits here. I ordered a fruit bowl for $6 and Tom had the Basin Street Scramble for $10.50. My fruit bowl was a bit disappointing. For $6 I expected a bigger portion. It consisted of 10 chunks of water melon, a sliced banana - some pieces were a bit brown - and 8 sweet green grapes. As you know, I usually order oatmeal but they only serve that on weekdays. Tom’s verdict on the scramble - good and spicy.
Checked out the restroom as is my custom. Separate rooms but only one stall in each. In the womens the stall itself was cold and grubby. It was very austere without any decoration whatsoever. The toilet roll was empty but there were two new rolls on the tank. There were no toilet seat covers in the dispenser.
The small section outside the stall where the sink was does have a few pictures on the wall - one of a song sheet for ‘In a Little Spanish Town’, one of a house in Half Moon Bay with a hand written note attached which said ‘January Hooker 1995′ and a small picture of a cat looking in a mirror with a lion reflected in the glass with a caption which reads “what matters is how you see yourself”.
The washing facilities are very basic with just kitchen roll to dry your hands on. The room is also used as a storage area with half a dozen boxes under the sink. On closer inspection, I discovered that two of the boxes contained toilet seat dispensers (but not covers) and at least one box contained records for the jukebox.
Summing up I would say the place is bright and friendly, the singing is good but the food is overpriced.
October 19 2007 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
The Safari Motor Inn did provide a complimentary breakfast but the lobby was full when we went in, besides which we had sussed out a decent place last night. So we walked the couple of blocks into downtown again. We wondered around a bit and finally found it. One thing we both noticed was the number of smokers there were out early in the morning.
At 7:15 am it was quite crowded but they also had an upstairs section and that is where we were taken. The ceiling was very low and the lighting was not very bright but our table had enough light for Tom to read his paper (the Idaho Statesman) and for me to write this review.
The server was friendly and fast. Tom ordered the eggs Benedict with cucumber ($9.25) and coffee ($1.50). I ordered my usual oatmeal ($3.95). I was asked what milk I prefered and when I said skimmed there was not problem.
This is a funky little place. No booths, just small tables and chairs. The walls are red and orange and they display a few pictures and small sculptures. Our table is up against a wall and just above elbow height is a shelf holding a plant and a modern bronze sculpture of a saxophone player. Also on the shelf is a carousel containing sugar and lots of condiments including three types of hot sauces.
The food when it arrived looks very appealing. The contrast of the hollandaise sauce and the salmon with cucmber looked very attractive. My oatmal also comes with a small bowl of walnuts. Both meals were very good.
Now to the restroom. To get to it you have to walk through the serving area and it is a bit cramped. The doors to the restrooms are tiny and the room inside is very small. I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland. It did have some little touches which made it more homely. On the shelf above the sink were a few knick knacks. There was a small picture of goldfish and a metal sculpture of coffee cups on the wall. A really nice touch was the tub of cocoa butter hand cream at the side of the sink. Only negative comment I can make is that the paper towel had run out and there was nothing to dry my hands on.
Back to the table and neither Tom or I had quite finished but twice somebody tried to take his plate away -my only other negative comment. The place was getting very full and noisy and I guess it was a subtle way to get us to leave.
Tom has noticed one disturbing feature about Idaho in general. On the merchant’s copy of the credit card receipt his whole card number is shown but not on the customer’s copy. So he left the latter and took the former.
On the whole a very enjoyable meal and we both recommend it so if you are ever in Boise give it a try. It is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. in the evening.
October 07 2007 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
We leave Ogden in the dark. The moon is full and beautiful. As we are driving north I catch signt of the moon gleaming on the Great Salt Lake and realize that it is only the second glimpse I have had of that great body of water. So we decide to stop somewhere for breakfast. Then by the time we have finished it will be light enough to have a better look at the lake.
We pulled into a gas station which had a restaurant. It was little more than a truck stop. Tom got a newspaper and realized two things - it was 50 cents more expensive than yesterday but, worse, it was yesterday’s paper!
The inside was not too bad but the server was not at all friendly. There was a buffet but you could also order from a menu, which is what we did. I ordered oatmeal ($2.39) and fruit ($2.29), Tom ordered French toast with sausage ($5.98) and, of course, coffee ($1.49).
There was only a ten minute wait for the food. While we waited I took stock of the place. It was large and clean with booths round the outside and with tables and chairs in the middle. The buffet selection doesn’t look too bad at all. There are not many other customers.
Attached to the wall at the end of each booth is a phone. I guess it is for the truckers to use. Up on the wall is a televevision tuned into Fox News. There were some pictures on the wall but few and far between.
Not too impressed with the oatmeal because it did not have a lot of taste. It think it was instant. Plenty of fruit though, two types of melon and grapes.
The restroom was big and bright but there was no ornamentation at all. One point in its favor, the stalls had solid doors with no gaps down the side.
After a very bland meal, it was time to go and check out the lake.
October 06 2007 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
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If you ever find Bolinas, this is a great place for breakfast. Mind you, today it’s gone 11 so I suppose your could call it brunch.
