#77 Eggs benedict on the back patio at Zazie

This morning, we had a nice brunch at Zazie in Cole Valley. We arrived around 10am, and they hadn't yet opened the back patio. Uh-oh. How were we going to fulfill the dictates of the list, which specified that we must eat on the back patio? It also happened to be the first sunny day in a week, and, <foot stomp>, I wanted to eat outside! Thankfully, there weren't any tables indoors, so we waited outside on Cole Street for about ten minutes before following the host back through the narrow restaurant, with its French movie posters lining the walls, to the vine-covered patio.

Outdoor table? Check. Here are my brother and his girlfriend, visiting from D.C., enjoying said outdoor table.

We blocked up, because it took the staff a few minutes to open up the big green umbrellas. Then we perused the menu. Lots of scrambles and French toasts and pancakes, but, keeping my eyes on the prize, I knew I had to have one of the many eggs Benedict. On the specials menu, I found my happy place: eggs Benedict with fresh crab and avocado.

Eggs Benedict la mer? Check. Not quite enough Hollandaise for my taste, and one of the eggs was a little over-poached, but flavors were delicious and the crab plentiful. I also love the roasted garlic bits in the potatoes.

B had poached eggs with eggplant (which sounds funny, doesn't it?). My brother had fried eggs with polenta served attractively in a cast-iron skillet, and his girlfriend S had poached eggs with salsa fresca. All good. Frankly, before this meal, B and I had been avoiding Zazie for brunch. In our one previous morning-time visit, our meal just didn't match up to our favorite Palo Alto brunch haunt (also with a French flair), Cafe Brioche. But now, we plan to return; the eggs were very well done. Incidentally, dinner is supposed to be good too.

Overall enjoyable meal? Check.

Foreign Cinema

I know, I know. Foreign Cinema is not on the list! But, as I already told you, I think the list, while generally inspired, has some holes. And since this is my blog, I can write about whatever restaurants I want to on it.

We've eaten at Foreign Cinema twice in the past week and a half. First, we had a lovely brunch there with my parents over Labor Day weekend. Delicious Kumamoto oysters to start, followed by little toasts with house-cured sardines. I was the only one who went sweet for the main dish, ordering French toast with berries and cardamom butter and maple syrup (along with a side of bacon). I don't usually put butter on my French toast, figuring that enough fat gets into the bread from the pan-frying, but this was awesome. B and the 'rents got various egg-based dishes, of which we all shared tastes (except for the chanterelle omelet, since my dad is allergic). It's apparently much less crowded on Saturday than Sunday morning, and we had a nice table outdoors.

But it's only at night that you get the true Foreign Cinema ambience. The front entrance is lit with perfectly-spaced votives, inviting you further in.

The white wall in the courtyard had Casablanca projected when we were there on Sunday, but we were ushered into the side room because we were there not for a regular old dinner. Instead, we were at A&K's long-awaited wedding reception. Interestingly, we could only pick beef, chicken, fish, or veg on the RSVP; since the menu at the restaurant changes daily, even A&K didn't know exactly what we were going to be served until the day of (incidentally, it is this frequent changing of the menu that I think precludes the restaurant from being on the Top 100 list).

We started with a Dungeness crab toast (which was funny, since we went to PPQ Dungeness Island the night before for the rehearsal dinner and had tons of crab!). Then a lovely, fresh salad. For mains, B had halibut and I had filet mignon. Both = yummers! I was impressed that the restaurant was able to scale up to provide their same delicious food for a hundred people all at once. We rounded out the meal with a slice each of peanut butter-chocolate cake made by the bride's sister, a pastry chef. It was a night to remember. Congrats again to A&K!