jinky's cafe

santa monica, ca

website

my blog is exhibit #1 to explain why i joined a running club. exhibit #2 is cindy c, who joined the running club with me. we lasted about two months before we decided that running 11 miles on a saturday morning was just too much to ask. anyway, back when we used to run on saturday mornings, we would head over to jinky's cafe afterward for our reward - giant omelettes and crunchy tater tots. perfect to cancel out all of the calories we had just burned running. i think the post-run tater tots are the only thing i miss about the running club.

kc donuts

austin, tx

link to yelp

you might think that getting a freshly fried doughnut topped with bacon and maple syrup icing would satisfy our doughnut cravings for at least 24 hours. you would be wrong. the next morning, jinny and i headed to the very popular kc donuts for doughnuts and kolaches. completely unassuming, tucked away in a strip mall, no fancy chalkboard menu, and no hipster decorations (ironic owls, anyone?). it's just a mom-and-pop (sometimes mom-and-son) shop. i ordered two doughnuts to go with my coffee - one sugar and one with chocolate icing - both delicious. nothing fancy about these doughnuts - they are simple, but perfect. fresh, soft, and with just the right amount of sweetness. yum.

millbrae pancake house

millbrae, ca

website

stacey finally came to the bay area for a visit! we picked her and her friend up at the airport and headed directly to millbrae pancake house. okay, maybe not directly - our GPS decided to take us through san bruno first. anyway, we eventually arrived around 11 am and there was already a crowd lined up outside. we grabbed a number and waited about a half hour before our table was ready.

the restaurant is basically a huge diner with a giant menu of breakfast options. the chatty waitstaff refers to everyone as "dear" or "darling." it was very difficult to decide, so i just ordered everything - chili cheese omelette, side of hash browns, side of swedish pancakes, and biscuits and gravy for the table. the omelette was massive and delicious - chili had great spicy flavor. everyone at the table agreed that the swedish pancakes - crepes served with strawberry butter - were amazing. great food, great atmosphere, close to SFO - we'll definitely be back.

bread winners

dallas, tx

website

derek and i were in dallas for two days to celebrate c+j's wedding. took the opportunity to see some friends who were nearby - eric, tony, and kate. tony and kate recommended bread winners for sunday brunch and eric graciously headed there early to wait for a table. clearly a very popular spot - there was a crowd waiting outside and an intercom system announcing seatings.

man, i love eating in texas. i didn't take a picture of everything we ordered but trust me, everything was texas-sized. to start, the table shared a giant cinnamon roll and a sticky caramel pecan roll. for my entree, i ordered biscuits and gravy with a side of sausages. heavy, but good. pictured is derek's chicken fried steak topped with sausage gravy. the brunch cocktails were a little too sweet for my tastes (i ordered the frozen cherry limeade), but the food was excellent.

cock-a-doodle cafe

oakland, ca

website

i haven't lived in the bay area for very long so all i know about oakland is what i see on the local news and it usually involves protestors and/or violence. i had to take my exam in oakland so i was stuck there for a few days. turns out, there's this very charming and hipster-ish hood called "old oakland" near downtown. that's where i found cock-a-doodle cafe.

the cafe was nearly empty at 11 am on a wednesday, it was just me and one other person who was clearly studying for the same exam. service was very friendly and it was a perfect spot for breakfast. excellent iced tea, served with giant wedges of lemon. the chicken-apple scramble was amazing - chicken-apple sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella, spinach, grilled onions, and roasted pepper. the biscuit was a little dry, but their homemade blueberry jam covered any and all imperfections. delicious.

main street coffee

redwood city, ca

website

now that derek and i live in california, we've become very familiar with the DMV. there's no DMV in palo alto, where we actually live, so we've made a couple of trips up to redwood city to visit the lovely DMV office there. since we had an early morning appointment, we decided to get some breakfast after the DMV but before heading into the office. derek did some yelp searching and found main street coffee, just off of main street in redwood city.

cute little coffee shop with some surprisingly substantial breakfasts. i had the yellow cornmeal buttermilk pancakes with a side of eggs. delicious. great coffee too. tons of baked goods, bagels, and other breakfast treats but we stuck with the griddled goods. will definitely have to come back to this coffee shop next time we have to go to the DMV.

omelette express

santa rosa, ca

website

since we weren't in any hurry to get to our extended stay hotel in mountain view, we decided to wander around the "historic railroad square" area in santa rosa and get some breakfast. most of the restaurants were closed (it was a sunday morning) and the others were pretty empty. but one restaurant was completely packed, with a line spilling out onto the sidewalk. so of course that's where we went.

the owner or manager of the restaurant was actually outside with all of the waiting customers, entertaining them with some story. he took our name and told us "not to go far." so we joined the other customers hanging out on the sidewalk. about 15 minutes later, a table opened up and we got to order something from their huge menu of omelettes. i can't remember what i ordered, but i do remember that the omelette was the size of a football. the highlights for me were the slice of homemade sourdough bread and the salsa they served on the side. another good find.

voula's offshore cafe

seattle, wa

website

i lived in seattle for 4 years and i never knew that this place existed until i saw it featured on diners, drive-ins, and dives on the food network. voula's has definitely embraced its new-found fame. the front of the restaurant now has a giant "food network" sign on it and the menu advertises a "guy fieri" special - with ham, pineapple, and bbq sauce. yikes.

derek, cindy, and i brought baby m to voula's for some breakfast. we stayed away from the special and stuck to the classics. derek had the hobo, which was a giant plate covered with country sausage, onions, mushrooms, hash browns, and eggs scrambled together and topped with cheddar cheese. a big gooey mess, but derek enjoyed it. cindy had the greek version and i had a smoked salmon scramble. the hash browns were my favorite part, though - nice and crispy. i'm not sure the place is worth all the hype, but it was a big yummy breakfast for a good price.

cafe at hyatt shatin

shatin, hk

website

i love breakfast buffets at hotels in asia. unfortunately, this one was over $210 HKD (almost $30 USD). but there was a lot of food. a noodle soup bar, a congee bar, continental breakfast, various pastries, fruit, cereal, and other typical breakfast buffet stuff.

derek and i liked the congee bar the best. flavorful chicken congee with an array of possible toppings. i topped mine with thousand-year-old egg, dried pork, pickles, and you tiao. derek chose salted duck egg and pickles. yum. but everything else was just okay and it is outrageous to pay 30 bucks for congee that we can get in NYC for 5. we'll probably try to get our congee fix elsewhere.

kitchenette

new york, ny

website

one of my favorite spots near my old apartment in morningside heights. great comfort food - amazing brunches - delicious baked goods. now that derek and i live further downtown, we try to go to the tribeca location whenever we can, which is not that often. derek, however, has the luck to work way downtown, so kitchenette delivers to his office through seamlessweb. to celebrate me running 6.2 miles this weekend without dying, he ordered a slice of my favorite cake and brought it home for us to share!

rich, almost dark, chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. seriously amazing. i also love their fake hostess cupcakes - same great chocolate cake, but filled with a light whipped cream. chocolate trifle to die for. their restaurant menu is great too - very comforting comfort food. sandwiches are made with challah bread, the best grits in the city, yummy omelettes, good fried chicken, etc. it's really hard to go wrong there, except when you forget to save room for dessert.

acadie french crepes

santa monica, ca

CLOSED

i wandered into this little place near the farmer's market in santa monica. a perfectly light fluffy crepe (i like mine "plain" with butter and powdered sugar) and a good cup of coffee. sat at the bar with a nice view of people walking through the market.

i know i typically do two paragraphs, so here's the second one. not much more to say about this place and i still have two more places to post about!

bouley bakery & market

new york, ny

CLOSED

jenny-recommended. it's my go-to place for a lowkey breakfast/brunch whenever i'm downtown. it's market-like with a pastry station, a sandwich station, a buffet station, a coffee station, etc. once you make your purchase you can take your tray to the next room which has comfortable chairs and a lovely view of people walking by with strollers.

i've never been able to resist the pastries so no idea if the buffet/sandwiches are any good. i had the vegetable quiche which was filled with carrots and i ate it so fast i almost forgot to take a picture.