The Butcher & the Chef Bistro

I met up my cousin who's getting her PhD at Berkeley (she’s the smart one in the family) for breakfast at the Butler & Chef Bistro last Friday since I was up for a wedding in the wine country. I arrived into SFO Airport at 8:30 assuming that I would make it to the restaurant by 9:15 but boy was I wrong, and luckily my cousin knew that…I arrived at 9:45--.a fifteen-minute walk from the BART station.


Butler & Chef Bistro is situated in a quiet part of SOMA where there is a park for people to wait for their guests to arrive--like my cousin. It’s a cute little restaurant with three tables out front so I imagine on the weekend the wait must be long. I had picked this restaurant because my cousin needed it to be near a BART station and more importantly they are known for their eggs Benedict. The chef greeted us immediately after we were seated. He was charming and funny.

We shared the Neiman Ranch Ham eggs Benedict and waffle. Butler & Chef Bistro serves their eggs Benedict with olive bread instead of the traditional English muffin. The hollandaise sauce was perfect –light and lemony. My cousin felt the olive bread was a bit too much because it was difficult taking a bite of the bread with the egg and ham. Despite feeling like we were at a dentist office, opening up and saying “ah,” I still enjoyed the eggs Benedict. The spinach were light drizzled with a lemon dressing.

I was planning on just sharing the eggs Benedict so I can go on a dumpling crawl but the cousin wanted waffle. Damn.

Actually I was fine with the waffle because there was no way hell that I would have time to go on a dumpling run since my ride to Napa was in the evening. The cousin wanted to eat it without fruit to see if the chef was right about their waffles being the best in the city. They add cornmeal to their waffles. I am not a waffle expert, so I’m easy to please—the waffle was delicious. My cousin enjoyed it as well, but she said that the best waffle is still on the East Bay…forgot which restaurant...but still we had a good time, and they gave us chocolate treats at the end our meal!

Go for their eggs Benedict!

Address: 155A South Park St., San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone#: (415) 896-2075
Share

Alice's Breakfast in the Park

When you live in Los Angeles, you learned to hate driving--especially in traffic, so when my out-of-town friend was staying at a hotel in smack-dab Disney hell, I knew I had to make the most of the trip and didn't want to take her to some touristy eatery yet I was tired of driving so I thought the Hacienda Tivoli Terrace would have been a perfect place but to our bad luck it was closed. Well, I guess it was a blessing because I ended driving more to Alice's Breakfast in the Park.

Alice's Breakfast joint is actually in a park. The scenery is beautiful --a big lake with lots of ducks!

I had thought the theme would be like "Alice in Wonderland," but it's actually named after Alice Gustafson the owner for the past twenty-some years, and it was more like dining at a thrift store...they sold old tin cans, bird cages, and random knickknacks.

Alice's Breakfast in the Park is known for their bake goods. I knew we had to order their famous cinnamon bun. Isn't it beautiful?

The bun was right out of the oven and it just melt in our mouth. We decide to go with the eggs Benedict since the waitress recommended it. Occasionally I have a habit of quickly glancing at the menu and not reading the ingredients carefully...so I was surprised that there was cheese in the eggs Benedict.

The hollandaise sauce only had the correct color of a hollandaise sauce and not the taste--in fact, it had no taste, making the eggs Benedict taste more like a hot ham & cheese sandwich. I loved their thinly sliced home fries. I think I'm on the path of gaining 10lbs before my friend's wedding instead of losing 10lbs...oye. Nonetheless, I am happy to see my friend and dine at Alice's Breakfast in the Park before they close down.

Address: 6622 Lakeview Dr., Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Contact#: (714) 848-0690
Share

Aroma Coffee & Tea

If you’re looking for a good brunch restaurant in Studio City, Aroma Coffee & Tea is your answer. Aroma Coffee & Tea is like Alcove Cafe & Bakery in Los Feliz. You stand in a long line to order your food/drinks, trying not order one of their amazing cakes, and then grab a number and a table. Despite it’s crowdedness, there’s plenty of seating inside and outside the restaurant.

I went for their eggs Benedict. What a surprise?

Instead of English muffins and Canadian ham, they are served with
prosciutto, and focaccia. Eggs were poached perfectly. It’s not a traditional eggs Benedict but I enjoyed it and plan to order it again when I’m in the Valley.


Don’t miss this cute brunch restaurant!

Address: 4360 Tujunga Ave, Studio City, CA 91604
Phone#: (818) 508-0677
Share

MUSTARD SEED CAFE

Mustard Seed Café is a good brunch option when you’re not in the mood to wait in line at Alcove at Home—that’s what happened to me last Saturday. After grabbing a table outside, it took awhile to get a menu…once I did, I knew immediately that I was going for the eggs Benedict w/ potatoes.



Their organic coffee is not bad but not as good as Intelligentsia Coffee. I should have drank their green chai; I had that last time and it was the bomb! Service is a bit too relax…I got my food 45 minutes after being seated. I must say that their eggs Benedict is the best on the eastside. Granted that they have a tomato in there….it was pretty darn tasty.

The home fries are home fries.

Address: 1948 Hillhurst Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone#: (323) 660-0670
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

ANISETTE BRASSERIE

I found you!

You're perfect and oh so delicious! I don't know why it's so difficult to find you, but I'm happy you exist in La La Land. Granted I thought you were small at first, but you know what it works -makes me feel less guilty.


I like how the sauce is not flooded. Even though your sauce is thick, it's surprisingly not heavy -perfect balance with the lemon and butter.


*$14 + $4 for a big pot of the best Earl Grey tea = priceless

**The bathrooms are on the 2nd floor -no elevators...cute and clean


***The men behind the counter are not good at multi-tasking in chaos, but when it slows down they're very attentive.

**** I don't care if you ripped off from Balthazar. You have perfect eggs Benedict!

Addesss: 225 Santa Monica Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone#: (310) 395-3200
Rating: 5 out of 5

Photo credit: Kelsey G (top photo only)

CLIFF'S EDGE

You're almost perfect.

On my most recent trip to Cliff's Edge, my friend and I shared the eggs Benedict, the black forest ham with gruyere cheese crepe and the blood orange sorbet; we love to eat.

The eggs Benedict were almost perfect--perfect poached eggs, good ham quality, English muffin toasted just right, but sadly the Hollandaise sauce was flavorless.

Luckily we ordered the tasty black forest ham with gruyere cheese crepe--that's a must!

Although it was too cold outside to be eating sorbet, I was happy that we did; it was delicious!

Despite the flat Hollandaise sauce, I love Cliff's Edge. It's all about sitting outside with the big tree decorated with Christmas lights and the sea shells blanketing its roots -just be sure to sit next to a heater. Great service and good food!

Addres: 3626 Sunset BlvdLos Angeles, CA 90026

Phone: (323) 666-6116

Rating: 4 out of 5

BREAD & PORRIDGE

With a name like Bread & Porridge, I am not surprise it’s a popular brunch eatery in Santa Monica. I herded eleven other hungry hippos to BP after Sunday service. Since it was a last minute decision, I speed-dial BP prior to heading out to make reservation; I’ve read that the wait period can be a nightmare. There’s ample of parking spaces on the side streets.

To our luck, a big party was wrapping up their meal. However, the staff was not pleased when our party grew from 9 to 12 as they felt that we wouldn’t be able to fit around the table…meanwhile they have huge leather couches for people who are waiting for a table…I would have swap them out for tables/chairs to maximize my profits, but then again, not everyone can be like me.

I was a happy hippo once the food arrived; my usual, eggs Benedict and blueberry pancakes. I heard that people have traveled far for their eggs Benedict; one gentleman drove from San Diego, another flew from San Francisco.


Well, I’m letting everyone know that they should go to Anisette Brasserie instead. BP’s eggs Benedict were almost perfect; the hollandaise sauce needed more lemon. Mama told me never to settle for less –especially when it costs $14!


The blueberry pancakes were ok; John O’Groats’ are better…maybe it’s because they serve the syrup warm and the blueberries are better?

If you’re in the neighborhood, Bread & Porridge is not a bad choice; just don’t go out of your way to come here.

Address: 2315 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90403
Phone#: (310) 453-4941
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Photo Credit: Diana A. (top photo only)

JOHN O'GROATS

Came here after a Sunday service with a party of 12. I originally made reservation for a party of 9 at 7:30AM that same day, and had no problem changing it to 12 fifteen minutes before our reservation time. For those who detest waiting, call and make reservations. If you're lucky, there's tandem parking behind the restaurant. We scored. No parking attendant so it's slightly annoying when you're blocked in -hostess needs to track down the owner. Our table was clean and ready for us. John O'Groats sure made me looked good!

Simonster who recommended this joint was right about their corned beef disappearing really fast... we arrived around 1PM, and it was gone, so I shared their eggs Benedict, biscuits and gravy, and blueberry pancakes with a friend. HOLY COW! I've finally found a restaurant in LA that makes perfect hollandaise sauce! It's just too bad the poached eggs weren't perfect, but still, their eggs Benedict is the best in the Los Angeles area thus far (I still need to try Joe's Restaurant).

Their blueberry pancakes were fluffy and delicious! My friend pointed out that the blueberries were fully intact and not smashed into the batter.
I'm not a biscuit expert...so I thought they were just biscuits. The country gravy was good, but I prefer Mel's Diner's.

I tried another friend's spicy turkey sausage - yum! It's not too spicy.

Service was great. Although I have to admit it was odd that one of my party members waited for a long time for her sandwich...

I'll be back early in the morning to try their corned beef!

Address: 10516 W Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone#: (310) 204-0692
Rating: 5 out of 5

EATING ESTABLISHMENT

I should rate Eating Establishment higher as it's the ONLY restaurant (not hotel restaurant) that serves breakfast until 4PM, but the food is just average. Since it's the only breakfast joint (I don't know why there aren't more restaurants serving brunch during Sundance... Sundance = parties = late nights = drinking = waking up late = eggs @ 1PM = :D ) wait time is usually 30 minutes.

The eggs at Eating Establishment are basted; I prefer my Eggs Benedict to be 100% poached. I also prefer to have the lemon juice already in the Hollandaise sauce (had a slice of lemon on side).

The Home Fries were boring. Their Fresh Strawberries Waffle looks better than what it tasted.
The side of Chorizo links was good. With coffee and juice, the total was around $30 not including tax.

So, if you're craving eggs in the afternoon, you are screwed and need to eat the Eating Establishment.

Address: 317 Main Park City, UT 84060
Phone: (435) 649-8284
Rating: 3 out of 5

Photo credit: Phil H. (top photo only)
Share

THE LITTLE CAFE

After 4 hours at the mall on Black Friday morning, my friend and I were famished! The lack of food caused us to make us think we missed Cici's, so we ended up at the Little Café. Thank goodness we didn't go to Cici's, because I was malfunctioning and the wait time was 45 minutes. Little Café's was 20 minutes. I was leaning on the rail, holding myself from fainting, taking the Little Café in.

The Little Cafe is a tiny Ma & Pa diner. I don't recommend party of 6 or more coming here. Nothing fancy except all the celebrities' headshots adorning the wall. The hippo's picture was not on the wall.

The server and host were nice. The food...eh, could be better. I ordered my usual, the eggs Benedict . The hollandaise sauce was so buttery (you can kinda tell by the sauce's thickness) that I only could only finished 1 egg.

I finished my home fries instead. My friend had omelette -forgot which one but it had bacon and spinach. The omelette was better than the E.B.

Our meal came out to $24.

p.s. CASH only (there's an ATM in the shop next door) & don't forget to write your name on the board -you snooze, you loose.

Address: 19204 Ventura Blvd Tarzana, CA 91356
Phone#: (818) 705-8335
Rating: 2 out of 5

TIARA CAFE

I wanted to wear one of my tiaras at the Tiara Cafe.

Yes, I really do own a tiara; it's all the pageants I've won. I'm kidding about being in pageants. I was Holly Golightly one year. Anyhoo, before I go to the deep end...I had brunch with a friend over the weekend. I had tried coming here earlier this year, but they decided to close early, so call beforehand.

The interior is absolutely adorable. Think Lily Allen's "It's Not Me, It's You" music video --dreamy. It's divided into two spaces. On one side you have the cafe with a zillion Japanese Pop toys starring at you, which is cool, yet weird and creepy, but then again, I collect snow globes. You have the restaurant on the other side. Sadly the waitress wasn't wearing a tiara. On to the important stuff: the food!

I ordered the Poachers aka Eggs Benedict w/ prosciutto, tomato & hash brown Here's a close-up on the prosciutto, tomato & hash brown: I give it a 5-star on presentation, and a 3-star for taste. The Hollandaise sauce needed a kick of lemon. The prosciutto was good. Oh, I wanted ham but the waitress said that they don't have ham...even though it's noted on the menu... the hash brown was crispy, but soggy...

Service was meh. It was funny how the busboy asked us if we wanted coffee and he never came back to refill our cup...oh, when our waitress brought out our coffee, a strand of hair was in my coffee...luckily, I was kind of tired. I complain less when I'm tired.

There's a parking lot next door and you get a discount with validation...don't know how much as I parked on the street.

Well, I can remove this restaurant off my bookmark list. Peace.

Address: 127 E 9th St Los Angeles, CA 90015

Phone#: (213) 623-3663

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

CAFE ALMA

If you're heading to the Salvador Dali Museum on Sundays, I highly recommend coming to Cafe Alma for brunch. I'll admit I was scared when I read the negative reviews on-line, but it was difficult finding a brunch place in St. Petersburg (it's quite dead on the weekends) and surprisingly had a lovely time at Cafe Alma.

They have good eggs Benedict selection. I went for the standard e.b. --think it's called Southern Traditional. It was pretty close to perfect --just a little heavy on the butter:

You only get a fruit salad as your side --I guess it balanced off all the butter I ate. Everything on the brunch menu looked tasty -like the strawberry waffles and their special omelets --next time when I'm in Tampa...

Address: 260 1st Ave S Saint Petersburg, FL 33747

Phone#: (727) 502-5002

Rating: 4 out of 5

ROSE CAFE & MARKET

2 good reasons to head to Rose Cafe & Market:

1) If you have friends coming into town, take them to Rose Cafe & Market on a weekend for brunch --it has such a "L.A." feel --it's bright, white, everyone wearing shades, sipping their mimosas (be sure to sit outside), and then you can walk to Venice Beach.

2) EGGS BENEDICT



Address: 220 Rose Ave Venice, CA 90291
Phone: (310) 392-4191
Rating: 4 out of 5

FOUR SEASONS BILTMORE HOTEL

Food review:

I had the most expensive eggs Benedict at the Four Seasons over the weekend. We dined at the Ty Lounge because we weren't hungry enough for their Sunday brunch buffet at their Bella Vista restaurant (a colleague told me it costs $75/person - yikes!) --both dining locations offer the beautiful view of the Butterfly Beach. I was expecting to die and go to heaven since the e.b. costs $19, but nothing happened...there was no wow factor. It was light. I'll give it that. I give it a 3-star.

Now their profiteroles were a different story. It's true what Lemonjelly L. said; their profiteroles are "amazing," and you pay a price for them - $17.



Ice creams flavors come in chocolate, banana rum, caramel, and vanilla. Yummm.......Mmmm....Ooooohhhh....sooo good!

Address: 1260 Channel Dr Santa Barbara, CA 93108
Phone#: (805) 969-2261
Rating: 4 out of 5

CAJUN KITCHEN CAFE

It's true, Canjun Kitchen Cafe is a long wait after 11am. I don't mind the wait, I just get irate when the host totally skips over my name on the list. I went up to the counter to check where we were on the list and found four names crossed off after me. The host was like, "Oh yeahhh....sorry..." It's true, the service is terrible.

I ordered my usual eggs Benedict, and I had better. Sauce needed some lemon zest. The hash browns were good but that's hard to mess up.

Oh swell, I can check this place off my list. What a disappointment...

Address: 901 Chapala St Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone#: (805) 965-1004
Rating: 2 out of 5

FIDDLER'S BISTRO BAR & GRILL

Back in the days I would come here for brunch after a night of drinking and order their chicken pesto frittata --the perfect greasy dish to soak up the alcohol.

B has never been there, so we went there for brunch last weekend. I decided to try their eggs Benedict, and boy, that was a HUGE MISTAKE. It was the worst e.b. that I had this year. The ham was a generous portion, but the hollandaise sauce was gross. I tried to scrape the sauce off.

To make matters worse, we sat outside because it was so loud inside, and I didn't realized that we were sitting next to the bathroom entrance...so there were a bunch flies flying around.

The fruit salad that came with the e.b. was not fresh. The cantelope and melon tasted a few days old. The banana was the only thing that was ok.

Bf's eggs and pancakes were fine --hard to mess that one up.

Disappointing...

Address: 6009 W 3rd St Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: (323) 931-8167
Rating: 2 out of 5

BLD

We came here last weekend for brunch. I ordered my usual --eggs Benedict. BLD's Benedict looked better than Overland Cafe's, and the hollandaise sauce had flavor....only BUTTER flavor --was missing the lemon kick. Their Benedict comes with crumpet. B had his usual -eggwich, and like Overland's, his eggs were a bit running for him.

I'll have to try their Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes the next time around.

Address: 7450 Beverly Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: (323) 930-9744
Rating: 3 out of 5

OVERLAND CAFE

I was hoping that TeeJay & Beth's reviews on O. C.'s Benedict were wrong, but unfortunately it's true...I ordered their eggs Benedict with chicken sausage, and their hollandaise sauce was bland --needed more lemon?? The chicken sausage looked weird --bit on the red side even though it was fully cooked, not spicy at all. I finished only half of my meal. It was disappointing to drive to the West side just for below average eggs Benedict.

B's eggs were runny. He asked for well-done, but then again, like some of the Yelpers pointed out that it's so freakin loud, the waitress missed his request. They should remodel their ceiling (the bar side) and install sound baffles.

Oh, and we waited 30 minutes for our food.

Come here if you want drunch, not brunch. You should finish 2 bottles of champagne before you eat.

Address: 3601 Overland Ave Los Angeles, CA 90034
Phone#: (310) 559-9999
Rating: 1 out of 5

PEACH CAFE

Since it's the 4th of July weekend, I figured that the drive to Monrovia would be less painful to see if all the rave was true about Peach Cafe. It's true, Peach Cafe's blueberry pancakes are f'ing good. They're so fluffy! I didn't bother putting syrup on my pancakes. The Croissant French toast was pretty good. Oh and I love the cheese sauce with Peach Cafe's benedict! I was disappointed with the Open-Face HBAB as I was expecting the brie to be spread evenly on the ham instead of clumps here and there...they should also put apple slice with the sandwich. Their Bourbon sweet potatoes were interesting...(I'm not a sweet potatoes fan, but my company liked it). As you can see..I went crazy and tried to order everything...

My company wished their coffee was as good as their food. I'm not a coffee expert, so I was content with my drink.

Service - 5 star -no complaint at all, but then again, it wasn't packed.

Address: 141 E Colorado Blvd Monrovia, CA 91016
Phone#: (626) 599-9092
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

HELL'S KITCHEN

Hell's Kitchen is the perfect brunch place. Their lemon-ricotta hotcakes will melt in your mouth, and I'm not a big lemon fan. No need to use maple syrup!



I tried my friend's bison sausage and her man's bison Benedict and they were soooo good. Who needs beef when there's bison!


B was daring and tried the Wellington Benedict (Toasted brioche Bread with duck liver pate, charbroiled beef tenderloin filet, poached eggs, black truffle hollandaise sauce and white truffle oil). Count me out on the duck liver pate part...but the beef tenderloin filet was good althought it was a bit on the red side for medium well done...

I'm not a fan of Bloody Mary, but I made my friend order it because it look too pretty. Oh yeah, our server said that they make the "original Bloody Mary" --with beer, not vodka.



I'm def hitting this spot again when I'm back in MN.

Address: 80 S 9th St Minneapolis, MN 55467
Phone#: (612) 332-4700
Rating: 5 out of 5