The French Press

I was back in Lafayette for a meeting today and, as I still haven't figured when I have to leave New Orleans to be on time but not too early, I was able to stop for breakfast. I had gotten a couple of recommendations so I decided to try the The French Press. It is located in a refurbished printing plant and has type drawers, letter trays and other decorations of its printing past throughout the place.

I had the Sweet Baby Breesus breakfast. The meal was comprised of three buttermilk biscuit sliders with bacon, fried boudin balls and cane syrup served with cheddar grits. The biscuits were light as air and the salt from the bacon, combined with the heat from the boudin and the sweet from the syrup made my mouth very, very happy. 

Their wait staff was quick and efficient and I was able to enjoy my meal and make my meeting with five minutes to spare. As they also serve my absolutely favorite of Chicken and Waffles as well as cream cheese and banana stuff French bread and grillades and grits, I definitely need to make a few more trips west!

Surrey's Cafe

We had a big day planned for today, so we decided to start with a good breakfast. I hadn't been to the Surrey's Cafe and Juice Bar in the Lower Garden District, so we headed over there. After a brief 15 minute wait for a table, we were inside and ready to order.

My Dad ordered the Banana's Foster Stuffed French Toast--perfectly cooked with a little crust on the outside, soft center, and a lovely praline syrup. My Mom had the Irish Stuffed French Toast with Bailey's and cream cheese. Quite excellent. I went with the shrimp and grits and the spice level was perfect. I really loved the rosemary in the grits, it was a very nice touch. The biscuit was a little on the heavy side and I would have preferred some local honey or jelly for it but the meal was otherwise very good and filling.

Santa Fe Restaurant

This time I was out with my feminist peeps on the final day of the NOW MidSouth Regional Conference. We headed to Mid-City for brunch at Santa Fe Restaurant. Chosen primarily for the $1 mimosas, the $3 Bloody Mary was a pretty good sell, too.

They were a little stingy with the jalapeno muffins--we had 12 people there and they only brought three small bowls! Other than that, the wait staff was pretty quick with refills of drinks, coffee and water and to check in with us.

I had the Breakfast Burrito with scrambled eggs, mushroom, corn, black beans, potatoes and poblano pepper sauce. With a layer of cheese melted over the top, it was a little unwieldy for eating it by hand, so I had to be proper and use a knife and fork. The burrito was very good and not being bogged down with rice was a treat.

I ate samples off of a couple people's plates. The shrimp and grits was very good--creamy with just a hint of heat. The Huevos Rancheros were very tasty and the layers of flavors melded together perfectly.

We arrived early so we had the place to ourselves for a while and could kick back with wide ranging dialogue on all sorts of issues. They do have an outdoor area and, on a day as beautiful as today, I can definitely see spending a long afternoon there, with a brunch that goes to dinner time!

Zut! in Berkeley

The Fourth Street area of Berkeley is a cool place to hang out. There are a lot of funky stores and eateries and the people on the sidewalks usually smell better than those on Telegraph Avenue! ツ

I went over there on Sunday for brunch with a friend and, while we had wanted to go to Bette's Oceanview Diner, we ended up at Zut! because of the long lines.

It was a little more upscale than we had originally anticipated but there were tables available, so we were able to be seated immediately. Despite the number of folks in the main room (with the mural), the place was well designed so it wasn't noisy at all. It was a working brunch, so the corner they put us in gave us quite a bit of privacy. It also led to the waiter forgetting we were there and had us scrounging on the other tables for salt and pepper and to the bar for refills on the water.

The orange juice was fresh squeezed but it came in a pretty small glass for $5. A couple of swallows later, I finished it before the waiter returned to take our order. I had the chicken fried steak with potatoes and a sunnyside egg. While the gravy was the blandest things I've every eaten, the chicken was good. My dining companion had the eggs but they were out of sausage at 11:30.

From what I understand from talking to others, the brunch menu is still fairly new and that the chef focuses mainly on showcasing his talents for dinner. Based on my experience, however, I won't be finding out that for myself.

Pier 15 in San Rafael

My business partner and I headed over to San Rafael for a breakfast meeting with a marketing guru for our consulting firm, Pacific Training and Resources. We went to Pier 15 Restaurant and Bar in San Rafael's historic wharf district. Being a Monday, we missed their Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar that is offered on Sunday's but we were there for business so I guess that was a good thing.

For the Bay Area in general and San Rafael in particular it offers super casual waterside eating. There is zero curb appeal and I thought we were at the wrong place at first with the decals on the windows for the sports leagues available on the bar's TV's. However, for a dive, it serves really good food.

They offer something called Swedish Cinnamon French Toast. I don't know what was Swedish about it (and neither did the waiter) but the pain perdu was delicious--a little crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I had the classic Benedict with Canadian bacon. The hollandaise was smooth and creamy and the egg was poached perfectly. The English muffin was a little on the small side but they include a side of potatoes that I was able to dredge in the leftover hollandaise and runny yolk so nothing was left on the plate.

Surrey's Uptown

Surrey's Cafe and Juice Bar has opened another shop past Napoleon in Uptown. There is seating outside to watch the passing cars on Magazine but, frankly, it is a little warm to eat outside in New Orleans.

Going in will find you eating with students, off call medics from Touro and Oschner and a few of those ladies who lunch. Surrey's serves all sorts of great breakfast foods from omelette's to fritattas to shrimp and grits but they also serve one of my favorite things--fried chicken and waffles. The fried boneless breast of chicken has a bit of cayenne in the seasoning to give it a little bite and they serve both maple syrup and Steen's cane syrup with the thick but light waffles. The plate also comes with two eggs and so you leave very, very full.

My dining companion got lost and arrived almost 45 minutes late, so I got to watch plenty of what other people were eating. I might have to try the BLT (bacon just hanging out of the bread) or the Ponchatula French Toast (stuffed with strawberries and cream cheese) next time.

New Orleans Coffee and Beignet Company

Attached to the New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood Company is the New Orleans Coffee and Beignet Company. Frankly, I think their beignet's beat out Cafe du Monde's. Add that to the cleanliness, the ease of parking and it being within walking distance from my house, makes this my new favorite place to get my fried dough fix. The hot chocolate is delicious but the frozen creme caramel is extraordinarily good.

Lil' Dizzy's Cafe

I had a morning conference meeting and we decided to head over to Lil' Dizzy's Cafe on Poydras. The cafe is located in the old Whitney bank building and we had enough people to use their vault room for our meeting. The glass table rests on two old safes and the walls are thick enough for your group to occasionally get raucous. I always worry when I take a table out of the way that the server will forget about me but the staff was quick to check back in and offer topping up of the coffee and water and getting the food to us very quickly.

The breakfast portions are good sizes with lots of extra bread and jelly to go with the delicious omelette's. I had heard the biscuits weren't too good, so I skipped them but the bacon was thick, the home style potatoes had a Cajun flavor and the eggs were light and fluffy. One of the diners was moaning over how good the grits were but wouldn't share so I can't report personal experience with them.

Everyone was friendly and the decor is amazing--imagine a diner dropped into an ornate bank lobby. I'm definitely going to have to head back there for lunch and see if their down home good cookin' is as good at that meal as it was for breakfast.

Stanley's Restaurant

Located right on Jackson Square is the companion establishment to Stella! Stanley serves breakfast and brunch all day with an old fashioned soda fountain bar to enjoy home made ice cream year round. The location is perfect for people watching and the food is pure comfort but with enough personality to raise their profile up a notch.

For breakfast, I had the poached egg poboy with creole hollandaise and canadian bacon. It could have used another slice or two of meat as they were sliced very thin but the flavors melded together terrifically. The Eggs Stanley with fried oysters was yummy and I loved the homestyle potatoes with creole seasoning on the Corned Beef Hash.

The coffee drinks were brewed to perfection so the meal was a hit on all levels. Be advised that it's location makes the meal expensive but as a treat on the last day that my friends were in town, it was a perfect way to end their magical time in the Crescent.

Oceana Grill

Oceana Grill on Conti Street in the French Quarter is a nice little place for a quick meal. Close to a number of hotels, the waitstaff is quick to offer help to hapless tourists trying to make decisions between Creole and Cajun and help our city earn our reputation as a friendly place to visit and live.

I was there for breakfast during the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival. I had the biscuits and gravy. It came in a large bowl with a spoon to help collect all the gravy and the sausage was nice and spicy. The omelette ordered by one of my dining companions was huge--this thing filled the plate and came with a big biscuit, too. The BLT ordered by another came on buttered bread and was perfect food for her post hangover stomach.