Sunday Brunch at Olea

I finally caught up with Herrick for brunch at Olea on the corner of Larkin and California. We decided on Olea too late to make a reservation, so we had to wait 15 minutes for a table, but that was reasonable, especially since I was five minutes early and Herrick was five minutes late, so I would have been waiting for ten of those minutes anyway. The brunch menu is extensive, but substitutions aren't allowed, which helps the kitchen to get orders out quickly. It's also varied, so there's something for everyone. The sample menu says no reservations for brunch, but when Herrick called, he was told it was too late to make a reservation but half of the tables were unreserved. The white sign in the middle photo instructs those with reservations to wait at the door, and everyone else to line up at the fire hydrant on the corner.

You can't miss the place. The door is on the corner, the name is on all three sides and there are outdoor tables on both streets.

  

And there's an inspirational quote at the door.

There's a special brunch menu.

I had the scrambled egg sandwich. I tried to substitute the Apple Cider Slaw for the Mixed Greens (Tea Time loves slaw!), but unfortunately that wasn't possible.

Scrambled Egg Sandwich on an Acme Rustic Roll 

w/ Tomato Slices, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese. Served with Mixed Greens

Herrick chose the Omelet, which also came with the Mixed Greens.

Omelet;  Fresh Spinach, Green Onions, Mushrooms, Almonds, 

Provolone-Mozzarella Cheese,  w/  mixed greens

The food was excellent, as was the service. We repeatedly emptied our water glasses, due to the heat, but our waiter cheerfully kept them filled, even after we finished out meal.

Mel's Diner Mission

I was downtown shopping and needed some lunch, so I decided to try Mel's Mission Street branch. I sat at the counter, next to a jukebox.

My frosty glass of water arrived immediately, but I had to wait a while for my sandwich.

I ordered the meatloaf, with coleslaw as my side. Nothing surprising here, just a good, tasty sandwich. Mel's Diner is an SF institution. They have several diners around town including one on Geary Street with Parking! They serve classic diner food including fried chicken and hearty breakfasts. If you're in California, but not in SF, look at the Mel's website for more locations all over the West Coast. Or if you've got a hankering to see the original Mel's, check out the opening scene of American Graffiti.
 

meatloaf sammie

Full Irish Breakfast – The Clarence – Dublin

Your Correspondent’s first hotel stay in Ireland was The Clarence, on the Quay at the edge of the Temple Bar.  This stretch is Wellington Quay; the names change every couple of blocks.  This hotel is owned by Bono and The Edge of U2, who were out on tour … not that we were likely to run into them anyway.  The accommodations were lovely.  Breakfast for guests was at a discount, so on a big tour day we made sure to fortify with the full Irish breakfast.  The Clarence’s version is done well, with smaller portions than we had elsewhere.  All the elements were there:  eggs, sausage, Irish bacon, black and white pudding, a grilled tomato half, mushrooms, and baked beans.  It’s similar to the full English breakfast, of course, but the Irish bacon is back bacon with a wing that the Eggs Benedict slices don’t have.

We had this breakfast elsewhere with two slices of bacon and two sausages.

The “puddings” are actually rounds from sausages.   The white pudding is on the bland side, but the black pudding can be spicy.  In San Francisco, the Eazy Freezy market on West Portal carries Irish bacon, bangers, and a blood sausage that’s the black pudding but not as big around.  It’s on the spicy side, and does go well with eggs.

The Irish bacon aside, I don’t think this beats an American breakfast of eggs, bacon and hash browns.  It’s not something I could eat every morning … and so I didn’t.  Salmon and eggs, when on the menu, made a lovely change of pace.

Bob's Red Mill

Bob Moore was at the Fancy Food Show again this year, posing for photos and chatting with attendees while signing his new, Breakfasts cookbook. Tea Time really enjoys Bob's products! There is such a huge variety and they're all top quality.

Angela got to see the Big Red Mill while visiting a friend in Oregon over Christmas. She saw their entire line of products as well as a few stone mills used for grinding. Of course she picked up some breakfast cereal for J.K. while getting a few hard to find grains (kamut?) and crockpot meal builders like their Whole Grains and Beans Soup Mix (she made the mistake of overcooking the beans, they were so fresh-no need to soak).

Bob's is your place to grab gluten-free mixes and pantry staples. We tried the brownies and they were delicious. If you can't find Bob's in a store near you, or they aren't selling the product you need, just check out the online store. You'll find it there!

The Fancy Food Show is great place to spot new trends or simply enjoy the news from old favorites. Everyone walking past the Bob's booth would stop and say, "Is that Bob? Oh! Let's get in line!" The line grew quite long while we waited the short time for J.K. to get her photo and recipe book. Bob is a popular guy.

Beth's Excellent Adventure—Part 7: Breakfast at the Brandelhow Guest House, Penrith

Heya, Adventurers!  This is JK’s friend Beth, reporting from England, where I had many culinary adventures and remembered to take pictures of some of them.

Lanie and Mel at the Brandelhow Guest House have four breakfast specials (in addition to Continental buffet).  I had a proper English breakfast on my last morning there (eggs, bacon, tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, toast, baked beans), but I fortified myself for a significant outing with kidneys.  Stewed in tomatoes with potato cakes and an egg.  They are one of the gentle organ meats, and this version was indeed tasty.  And, I got points for going beyond any imagined American comfort zone.

Day 13 Maui

The Road to Hana. It's on the list of every Must do Maui article. Excepting if it's raining all day. We had made it to Twin Falls (take the short loop walk to see the tallest waterfall) when the sky started drizzling, so we decided to postpone Hana and head for the sun.

The town of Paia is nearest to our basecamp right now so we stopped and checked out what the shops have to offer. Even though there are no chain stores, there is a wide range of prices (and overpricing). Coming from Molokai where goods can be scarce it's sticker shock to have abundance at ridiculous prices. (Including fruit stands! $15 for a fresh coconut is nigh on highway robbery!!! They were 3 and 5 dollars on Molokai. Sigh. Fingers crossed that the actual Farmers Market will be decently priced and not a tourist trap.) While in Paia we saw a Stupa. Neat.

Time for Shave Ice! (We don't joke about shave ice.)

Angela: coconut ice cream, cotton candy, watermelon, coconut Dawn: Lilikoi (passion fruit), coconut, strawberry. We'll be back. At the beach we have a picnic lunch snack. Lunchmeat, etc. Hawaiian shortbread cookie for dessert.

Lots of snorkeling this day again. The cemetery (we saw an amazing blue fish we have Never seen before), Oloawa (disappointing of beach, but looks like it might be better far off shore) and finally down the coast to Makena.  The water was too stirred up and silty with sand by the time we got there, but a snorkeler who was just leaving said the fish were awesome. Perhaps she went out farther than we adventured. Timing was also probably a factor.

The trip down the coast was so worth it. The drive down to the end of the road entailed the other worldly lava fields and beautiful coastline. We ended up watching a glorious sunset sitting on top of the jeep. Best sunset of this vacation. So far!