“My mom and sister are coming to the city for breakfast, where should we go?”
“Stacks.”
Excellent. One question, one answer. No fuss. No reservation. It was a Monday (New Year’s Eve), so none of the hip brunch-y places in North Beach near my place were going to be open. And, apparently, my knowledge of City breakfast places outside my brunch neighborhood is slim. So, Stacks it was.
Bloody Mary with bacon. Mother was pleased.
Stacks is bigger than your average SF restaurant. Which means the turnover is greater. Which seems to mean the wait is less. Booya. After 15 minutes, free coffee outside the front door, and one oddly-timed power outage (I think it was just a flipped breaker), we were seated in the lushly decorated establishment right in the heart of super cute Hayes Valley. There was even (metered) street parking. Imagine such bliss.
The menu is immense. It’s like a Cheesecake Factory but not shitty. Crepes. Omelettes. Scrambles. Pancakes. Waffles. Fritattas. They even had lunch available as well: sandwiches, salads, burgers, panini, savory* crepes. The selection is intense. And the food does not disappoint. Also, the hash-brown-ish potatoes are amazing.
Behold, food:
Eggs Louis. Like an Eggs Benedict except with crab instead of ham. Yummmm.
Chorizo Scramble for Mom. Mom loves scrambles.
Sister had a Mighty Meat Crepe. Mom voted it the winner of the three of our dishes. I did not try it.
Also, their mimosas look like this, which is adorable:
Mimosa!
And lastly, all the miscellaneous stuff on our table looked like this, and I liked it:
Stuff on table!
*My mom does not understand the definition of the word “savory”, with respect to food. I have described it as “not sweet” or perhaps “salty”, and used examples such as a “ham and cheese crepe”. The internet did not readily help with an all-inclusive definition (via a 30 second Google search). If you have any thoughts, please do comment.
Yes…please comment on “savory”. This review of the food and the day was spot on! I love this restaurant!
First of all: “It’s like a Cheesecake Factory but not shitty.” Love.
Second: Can we go here and eat savory crepes?
Third: A savory definition….I guess to me it just means that it melts in your mouth a bit but is not sweet. It’s not salty necessarily, but like something sweet it’s made to be tempting, delicious, and rich in flavor. I’m thinking about these Point Reyes blue cheese and scallions scones I had recently. Epitome of savory.
I just made that definition up. So not sure it helps.