Visiting the Old Neighborhood

Since we were staying overnight in town last weekend, I suggested to Mary that after we checked out from the W Hotel we take a drive up to Adams Morgan.  It had been a while since we'd been up to the neighborhood where we lived from 1994-1998 - I had moved there in 1992, and we maintained our trendy bi-coastal marriage in 1996, but we had a great condo in the Vernon House that we called home for all of that time.

Just as we were planning our move to Alexandria in 1998, we went to a condo board meeting and were introduced to a fellow named Eric, who planned to open a diner in the long-derelict building next door.  The diner is still there, but now it is owned by some friends, by coincidence, one of whom introduced to each other during the 1992 Clinton campaign.

We had a nice breakfast there while we took in the neighborhood.  A nod to my friend Brian, who keeps the Breakfast at Epiphany's blog...while I wouldn't try to use his proprietary scale, Mary enjoyed a traditional eggs combo, and I had chicken and waffles.  The place was as lively as ever and was every bit the urban experience we remembered.

As we walked around the neighborhood, it was a lot of fun to point out the buildings where Jamey, Carrie, Mark, Daphne, Chris and Rob, and even Jeff had lived back then.  We had many Sunday afternoons' worth of entertainment checking out condos for sale in this neck of the woods, and what I wouldn't give to still have that apartment in the Vernon House...

Finally, as we made our way up 19th Street to where we parked, we looked back down the hill to the south.  In the distance were the dome of St. Matthews, and the Washington Monument.  This spot was great for viewing 4th of July fireworks.  Great stuff.

I'll get back to posting some construction updates on the brewery next week.  Until then, you can call this a nostalgia episode...

Dottie's on TV

I wrote about Dottie's True Blue Cafe this morning, and as I mentioned in the post, Mary's and my visit was not the first time I'd been there.  I was in San Francisco in the summer of 2010 and met up with Brian for breakfast when Dottie's was located in the Tenderloin District.  Here's a link to Brian's post from that trip.  http://breakfastatepiphany.blogspot.com/2010/07/dotties-true-blue-cafe.html

Now, the place has also been featured on the Food Network - also at the former location.  In that episode, they showed how the chili was made - and the dish that comes out at the end looks great...may have to get by there for lunch sometime!  Here's a little YouTube snippet:

Back to Dottie's

I reckon I still have four or five posts left to make from our vacation to the west coast back in May.  So today I'll check off one from the list - after our drive up to Mendocino and our first day back in the Bay area, we'd arranged to meet one of my Air Force friends, Brian, for breakfast and sightseeing.

Brian keeps a blog called Breakfast at Epiphany's about his exploits at unique breakfast joints in San Francisco.  On the one hand, having ready access to so many fine venues is great, but on the other, there are so many great venues so it can be hard to choose which one to go to...in the end, I recommended that we join him at one of his favorites, and one I'd been to with him before - Dottie's True Blue Cafe.

Dottie's is famous for a couple of things - great breakfasts are the primary one, and there are menu items and daily specials on a big board.  It also was famous for its location in the Tenderloin District, although it has moved to a new location recently - still in the Tenderloin.  Finally, it's notable for the long lines outside - often people will wait for an hour or more to get in for breakfast there!

When we arrived via a short walk from the BART station, Brian was already waiting in line there.  So we had maybe 20 minutes or so to wait until we could be seated.  I was really impressed with the new location - more seats, looks like a bigger kitchen, and all that.

The line outside is still a colorful experience, too, although not quite as entertaining as it had been before.  I suppose that is going to strike some people as a good thing, and some as a bad thing.  Different strokes!

After we were seated and had started catching up, Brian gave us the orientation briefing about the menu and the board.  He's written so often about ordering the specials that we all did just that - Mary and I both chose the Sweet Potato Tart, and Brian picked the black bean cakes (I think they are a favorite).  Money shots follow:

Breakfast at Dottie's simply doesn't disappoint.  I'd go there quite frequently if I lived in San Francisco...I think I might even make excuses to have business meetings there on weekdays.  And as a matter of fact, Brian has already been back there on his rotation since we made our trip to Dottie's together!

Meanwhile, here' a link to his blog post about the day - I'll have another post about the rest of our activities together soon.  http://breakfastatepiphany.blogspot.com/2014/06/dotties-true-blue-cafe.html

Catching up in San Francisco

I've said it before, I was really lucky to have the chance to travel to Yosemite last week on business.  I was also lucky to be able to find time to visit some good friends along the way, including Brian McGowan, who was stationed in Berlin with me way back when.

Brian keeps a blog, which is in the blog roll column to the left, called Breakfast at Epiphany's (link:  http://breakfastatepiphany.blogspot.com/2010/07/dotties-true-blue-cafe.html) - he's already got a post up there about our trip to one of his favorites, Dottie's True Blue Cafe.  If you are planning a trip to SFO the blog is something you need to check in advance to make sure you start the day right with your most important meal.

Brian was a great sport and we had fun catching up on old times while sightseeing around the city - more to follow.  But first, let's get down to business. 

Brian referred me to the specials board for some choice breakfast selections - he picked the Portobello Frittata, and I had the black bean cakes with two eggs over easy.  I expect food to be good in San Francisco and have rarely been dissappointed there - and Dottie's delivered and then some.  Categorically, those were the best black bean cakes I have ever eaten!

Using his trademarked Glen Bacon scale, Brian gave his frittata a high rating of 7.5 - I gave my black bean cakes a 7.1.  It was truly a good breakfast and prepared us for the grueling trip to Sausalito and Tiberon to follow!