YumYum Give Me Some: Mission Beach Cafe

I'm not quite sure that I would call Mission Beach Cafe a cheap spot, but it's definitely a moderately priced place that's worth every penny -- the food is amazing and the atmosphere is well worth what you pay.

I went to MBC a few weeks ago with a friend. As with any decent brunch place, MBC was packed given that it was 1pm, but as soon as we walked in, Jason, the host, tried to squeeze us in since we were a party of 2. We got our drinks while we waited (all of 5 or 10 minutes), and I was not disappointed by the tangerine-pomegranate mimosa I ordered -- it's half a bottle of champagne, so be warned, do not order the large if you're driving!

The drinks were only the beginning of our brunch adventure. To start we had the veggie quiche, which was properly proportioned for $3, tasted great (probably the 2nd best quiche I've had in the city -- Butler & the Chef has the number 1 the Salmon quiche is divine), and got us excited for the rest of our meal. We then had the biscuits with pumpkin sauce -- a bit sweeter than I imagined, but I've never had anything like it. To round out our starters, we also got a pancake with fruit compote, which was one of the few distinctive pancakes I've had out to eat, fluffy but firm, not too salty but not too bland -- just right.

For our entrees, I had the Dungress crab Benedict with red and yellow peppers. This is the dish that won me over Completely. Basso's, which isn't too far from MBC, has a great crab cake Benedict, but it's nothing like this. The flavors of the sweet peppers with some of the best hollandaise sauce I've had in San Francisco -- not too much lemon, with just the right flavor to make the eggs and crab taste like heaven.

I didn't try my friend's huevos ranchero's (I don't eat pork), but from his gallant attempt at finishing his meal after our many starters, I know he wasn't disappointed.

The best part about every dish was that nothing tasted over spiced; everything we ordered had a very fresh-flavorful quality.We left full and happy. We had great service. It was a great atmosphere. And the food was just lovely. This may be my favorite brunch experience, it's well worth the trip to the Mission :)

All the Info:

198 Guerrero St
(between Brosnan St & 14th St) San Francisco, CA 94103

(415) 861-0198

www.missionbeachcafesf.com

Brunch Etiquette: To Drink or Not to Drink

I think the question of daytime intoxication is a big one. Monday-Friday, it's a no-no (I don't care how poplar the liquid lunch is in movies), but on Saturday and Sunday... well why else does the Bloody Mary exist? If you google the term "drunk brunch" there are 12,000 results. TWELVE THOUSAND references to (in quotes) the term "drunk brunch." Based on my fifteen minutes of in-depth researching, I am left to conclude that internet consensus is that brunch is a socially sanctioned time to get drunk. I don't disagree. Which is why I won't dig too much deeper in case I uncover that some people actually don't think brunch is an excuse to indulge in a good old fashion daytime drunk. Given yesterday's look into the history of brunch, I think I am going to adopt the motto: Go for the food, stay for the cocktails.

The only disappointment in my search results was the abundance of New York drunk brunches. New York City seems to be the drunken brunch capital of America according to Google. While New York is home to a lot of restaurants and tons of reason to drink like the fact that every day you wake up and you're still living in New York [ed. note: I'm from Boston and baseball season just started, couldn't refrain] San Francisco has more than a few reasons to show up in a google search for "drunken brunch." In fact, here are 10 reasons. Presented to you in no particular order:

[Warning! This list is out of date, leave a comment with your favorite bottomless mimosa (or bloody mary!) in the comments since I'll be posting an updated list soon]

10 Places to get Bottomless Brunch Cocktails in San Francisco

Mercury Lounge (SOMA)
http://mercurysf.com/?page_id=45
Sunday Brunch 10am-3pm
Bottomless Delights: $11 Mimosas, $11 Bloody Marys

Lime (Castro)
http://www.lime-sf.com/brunch-menu.php
Saturday & Sunday Brunch, 10:30am-3pm
Bottomless Delights: $7 Mimosas, $10 Pomegranate Mimosas, $12 Bloody Marys

Barracuda (Castro)
http://www.barracudasushi.com/location.php?id=5
Sunday Brunch 10am-3pm
Bottomless Delights: $7 Mimosas

Circa (Marina)
http://www.circasf.com
Sunday Brunch 10am-3pm
Bottomless Delights: $9 Mimosas

Darla's (Inner Sunset)
http://www.darlas-sf.com/
Breakfast All Day! (Saturday & Sunday Bottomless)
Bottomless Delights: $8 Mimosas

Paul K (Hayes Valley)
http://www.paulkrestaurant.com/menu-brunch.htm
Saturday & Sunday Brunch 10:30am-2:30pm
Bottomless Delights: $12 Mimosas, $12 Bloody Marys

Panam (Castro)
http://panamsf.com/
Saturday & Sunday Brunch 10am-3pm
Bottomless Delights: $10 Mimosas, $10 Bloody Marys

Luna Park (Mission)
http://www.lunaparksf.com/index.asp?page=brunch#link829
Saturday & Sunday Brunch 10am-3pm
Bottomless Delights: $9 Mimosas (2 for 1 Bloody Marys isn't too shabby either)

Moussys (Nob Hill)
http://www.moussys.com/menu.php?which=brunch
Saturday & Sunday Brunch 10am-2pm
Bottomless Delights: $15 Mimosas

Fresca (Noe Valley)
http://www.frescasf.com/movies/noe_menus/brunch.html
Saturday & Sunday Brunch 11am-4pm
Bottomless Delights: $12 Mimosas

And as an added bonus, I'll throw in the Hotel Utah Saloon, which I wrote up this past weekend, as reason #11 for San Francisco to be proclaimed Drunk Brunch capital of America (or at least the west coast.)
Hotel Utah Saloon (SOMA)
http://www.thehotelutahsaloon.com/menu.html#weekend%20brunch
Saturday & Sunday Brunch 11am until whenever they decide to stop serving you, I guess?
Bottomless Delights: $9 Mimosas