Oola La!

Welcome and welcome back, readers! Pinkies up if you're fancy! My first breakfast visit as an official Bay Arean (wait, scratch that... and stop reading out loud!) ...let's just say Oaklander. My first breakfast visit as an official Oaklander is San Francisco's Oola!

The Lady and I met up with mutual friends for brunch last week. It's in a funny spot by the Yerba Buena Gardens, and seems to be a bit of a secret for now. Going for brunch at 9 o'clock on a Saturday is dangerous business, this city loves it some brunch! So I was surprised when we opened the giant, industrial door to find we had the place pretty much to ourselves! The interior is a little cavernous, in that repurposed-warehouse sort of way that is the look du jour. We fell into one of thei soft-leather booths. The Lady and her friend both ordered the Mission Standoff, which includes a shot of Patron, a Bloody Mary, and a PBR. Our other friend ordered all day mimosas, which allowed him to choose which juice he would like each time, as he rotated through their options of orange, blood orange, mango, and pineapple.

I ordered a coffee, which was a surprisingly delicious French Roast from Equator Roasters. Along with the requisite ramekin of cream it came with a tiny mason jar full of sugars, including both raw and bleached sugar cubes, which was a very nice touch. Our server was pretty much THE NICEST guy ever, even acknowledging the shameless foodstagramming going on by waiting patiently until we got our shots. We ordered a round of oysters on the half shell that were pretty incredible, and then a round a fairly hearty breakfasts. Our friends ordered the Loco Moco and two poached eggs on mascarpone polenta, The Lady got some swedish pancakes, and I could not pass up some good old fashioned chicken and waffles.

The chicken comes in nuggets, with lemon and black pepper, and is damn tasty. It's lightly glazed with their apple maple syrup, but comes with another healthy serving if you want to drown those chickies. The Lady's meal was probably the lightest (I fell I should have known this, but apparently "Swedish pancakes" means "crepes"), but the rest were fairly substantial. The Loco Moco was definitely the crowd pleaser, with that seductively tender pork belly. Seriously, it's obscene.

We spent the rest of the morning shopping along Market, before we went our separate ways for the day. Oola is most definitely recommended for a City brunch, especially if you're tired of fighting the morning crowds in Hayes Valley and other feeding zones!

 Atmosphere: 9/13
Clean: 2
Structural: 2
Decor: 2
Signage: 1
Service: 2

Menu: 6/8
Variety: 2
Size: 1
Beverages: 2
Prices: 1

 

Food: 6/9
Presentation: 2
Portion: 2
Taste: 2

Bathroom: 3/5
Clean: 2
Structural: 0
Decor: 1

Overall: 24/35

The Glorious Return

Hello, again readers! How are you? How have you been? As some of you may know, I have recently relocated. Nowhere near as exotic as Iran or India, but I have recently left the tree-lined streets of sunny Sacramento for the saline shores of the lovely Lake Merritt in Oakland. Do you know what that means? A whole new major metropolitan area to explore! Designer donuts, copious cafés, and so much more. So the Morning Constitution will return, now bringing you the best breakfasts in the Bay! See you soon!