Breakfast is my favorite meal, well after dessert. My perfect breakfast is a typical Filipino breakfast of a cup of garlic fried rice, tuyo (dried fish) or beef tapa and fried egg with the yolk barely set. I can eat this any time of the day. The only problem is I seldom wake up early enough to enjoy breakfast leisurely.
It was my second morning in San Francisco and I was still suffering from jet lag so I took the opportunity to have breakfast with my good friend Jeanne. Ariel suggested Dottie’s True Blue Cafe and after researching it on Yelp, where it scored a consistent 4 stars, Jeanne and I decided to eat there. We read that there were always long lines so we went there before they opened at 7:30 am.
We arrived at 7:20 am and there was already a line. Luckily we were included in the first batch that got in.
The restaurant was quite small no wonder there was a line.
This was the owner and chef who worked behind the bar on a small griddle whipping out breakfast plates non-stop for his hungry patrons.
The regular menu featured the usual eggs, bacon, ham and sausage. The specials were on the board.
Jeanne and I were the only ones who went to the board to read the menu. I guess everyone there were regulars.
I don’t really like scrambled eggs or any kind of eggs except for the occasional fried egg for my garlic rice. Other than that I never eat eggs. But all the reviews on Yelp raved about the scrambles so I had to try it. I ordered the smoked whiskey fennel sausage, mushroom & spinach scramble with grilled cornbread & potatoes.
The sausage was good but it wasn’t really spectacular. It tasted just like good Italian sausage to me. I did eat some eggs but mostly I ate the sausage, mushroom and spinach. I was quite disappointed with the grilled cornbread. It was hard and dry.
smoked whiskey fennel sausage, mushroom &
spinach scramble $11
Jeanne chose the pulled pork, roasted onion & jack cheese scramble with flour tortillas. She put the scrambled egg mixture in the tortilla and ate it like a burrito. I tried the pulled pork and it was really very tasty. I wouldn’t have imagine pulled pork and eggs would go well together but it did. I actually liked the pulled pork more than the sausage.
pulled pork, roasted onion & jack cheese scramble $11
We were very curious on what blueberry cornmeal pancakes tasted like so we shared an order. It tasted just like regular pancakes. What a bummer. And it was expensive to boot. Their coffee wasn’t very good too.
blueberry cornmeal pancakes w/ pure maple syrup $9.95
Overall the food was fine but for me it was nothing to line up for. Well maybe it’s because I’m not an egg eater. In the end I’m still a Filipina who’d rather have garlic fried rice and dried fish. That I will line up for.
When we left at 8:30 there was still a line and this was on a Saturday morning.
Dottie’s True Blue Cafe
522 Jones St., San Francisco CA 94102
(Between Geary Blvd & O’Farrell St)
telephone: (415) 885-2767