Cooking amnesia has taken hold since boarding school piqued our son’s interest then emptied our nest just two short years ago. Now my hubby and I trek the streets of San Francisco in search of culinary delights every Saturday morning. We leash up our ScotJacorgi (our son’s clever breed name for our Scotty/Corgi/Jack Russell mix, Ms. Wendy, and walk to a delectable destination for breakfast (SF is a dog-friendly town. Water stations and doggie biscuits are readily available at many neighborhood eateries should one decide to park one’s four-legged BFs while one dines).
We typically treat ourselves to “off the beaten path,” neighborhoodsy-type eateries as we can nosh on great food without breaking the bank. On this particular saturday we walked about three-quarters a mile to Sally’s Restaurant & Deli on the corner of DeHaro and 16th streets, and to our delight, they offered a Weekend Special item: “Waffles with Fried Bananas, Nutella & Powdered Sugar – $9.50.”
We’ve dined at Sally on numerous occasions, and each time have never swayed away from our anthem dish: eggs scrambled with salmon and cream cheese with fruit (a substitute for potato and bread), as I typically don’t begin my mornings loading up on carbs and sugar. However, I couldn’t redirect my eyes away from the signage nor reason against consuming such a unique marriage of favorite food items, tastes and textures, so I simply placed my order, for one, to share with my hubby.
The hubby also ordered one for himself to my great surprise, as he was also smitten by the sheer lure of this inexpensive epicurean pleasure. Game over. My only choice was to enjoy every morsel; and, enjoy, I did—when finally the meal arrived to our table, as it was the most popular item on the menu. We patrons endured the 15-20 minute wait for the treasured dish, and boy was it worth every second:
The single Belgium waffle was soft and spongy. It was placed on top a powder sugar-dusted white plate, crowned with organically-shaped golden-fried bananas chunks that were drizzled with Nutella syrup. My first bite of this fried banana catapulted my memory to a beachside cafe in Nigril, Jamaica, where fried plantains were generously offered with everything. However, Sally’s served an authentic banana—its fruit so sweet it offered an exquisite contrast to the crunchy batter and spongy waffle. Each one flavor and texture was discernible yet all merged into one fantastic, palatable experience upon the first bite. Maple syrup would have over powered the delicate balance of the slightly salted crunchy pastry batter and the sweet, silky-smooth, piping-hot banana fruit. I thought I had died and gone to heaven, even tapped my shoulders in assurance that wings had not sprouted.
Fru-Fabu Rating:
Food: 5 Fabu’s – I thoroughly enjoyed this meal, as did my husband and other diners lucky enough to order this offering before Sally’s ran out of the precious ingredients.
Price: 5 Fru-Fabu’s – $9.50 per plate is a deal by any measure. But, when you add quality in prep, presentation and taste, it’s a Steal. This is so Fru-Fabu!
Service: 2 Fabu’s – Normally I’d give them a 3-1/2 to 4 Fabu’s but they just didn’t anticipate the popularity of their Weekend Special. Extra waffle irons would have made the difference between a 2 and 4 rating, in my opinion.
Ambiance: 2 Fabu’s – If you are looking for chic, exotic, fabulous decor, white table cloths and a branded chef with model-like waiters at hand, this is not the place for you. Sally’s has a very Mom & Pops, down-home feel to it—a place where the staff knows you by name. You order your food at the register and await hearing your name bellowed out when your food is ready to be picked up. It is clean, family friendly, and a hidden treasure—a place where we always bump into folks from bordering neighborhoods: SOMA, Mission Bay, South Beach. It is located in Potrero Hill’s Furniture District.
We live in SOMA (South of Market) which, 15-years ago, was a blighted area of town that has since been transformed into a Mecca of mix-use residential real estate that can now boast of attracting a global demographic of young, sophisticated and wealthy professionals that rent or purchase their residences. AT&T Park (home of the 2010 World Series Champions- SF Giants) and the University of San Francisco at Mission Bay Campus (UCSF), are two main anchors that have aided in making SOMA the newest international residential and commercial Destination for many city newcomers and natives (me) alike, who enjoy a truly urban experience. We own our SOMA loft.
