I can't believe that this place is so close to our house and we didn't even know it was around. Apparently Aunt Mary's has been open for a year. I dunno how we missed it, but I'm glad we finally found it.
We've eaten brunch here twice now. After my last disastrous experience at my go-to brunch place of yore (Cock-a-Doodle), I've been looking for a new one. And may we praise the Brunch Gods now, for it is found. And it is good.
The menu here can best be described as Southern-meets-California, which now gives us 2 places close by (Pican is the other) that service this need.
First off, I love what they've done with the space. Warehouse-chic is up my alley and P.I.C. also loves high ceilings and concrete floors. Secondly, I love that our server wore retro glasses and a housedress and an apron. Thirdly, I love that our server had a sassy attitude and brought Partner in Chow out of a bad mood (we thought we'd missed brunch hours) and into a good one (we did actually miss brunch hours, but they made it for us anyway).
We ate here one weekend and brought friends back about 2 weeks later.
What we've ordered: red flannel hash, pain perdu, succotash (w/bacon and heirloom tomato), hang-town fry
Service: hip, local sass
Atmo: urban hip warehouse
Crowd: penultimate Temescal neighborhood crowd
Spent: around $30.00 for two
Overall rating: 4.5 sporks
The first time we ate here I had the succotash and P.I.C. had the pain perdu. Both were really fresh, really delicious, and overall something we'd both order again. The second time I had red flannel hash and a friend had the hang-town fry, which had fried oysters on top. These freaked him out because he hadn't noticed that part of the menu description, but I suppose if you like oysters (and need something called hang-town fry) these are probably pretty darn good.
I can't remember what his wife or P.I.C. ordered, because I was sitting next to my brunch pals' newborn and therefore just completely distracted by his insane cuteness throughout the meal. Yes, I am a terrible food reviewer. On the other hand, I'm a great babysitter.
The red flannel has is a combo of root vegetables with eggs on top. To be honest, I was chatting away and playing with a month-old baby and catching up with old friends and basically so distracted that I don't really remember it that well, but I ate the whole thing and I'd order it again, so I think it was really good.
On the succotash/pain perdu day I was a bit more focused, as there was no sinfully cute newborn hogging my attention. Both were fantastic - the heirloom tomatoes weren't overwhelmed or made too hot and soggy by the succotash, and there was just enough bacon to flavor without making it too bacon-y or fatty.
The coffee here was also good. Bonus.
The pain perdu was really delicious and the presentation was artsy and fun. The sauce didn't make the bread too soggy, and P.I.C. ate all of it with no troubles.
Overall, we're thrilled that this place is around and will be eating brunch here again soon.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Aunt Mary's Cafe - 4307 Telegraph Avenue
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Bakesale Betty's - 5098 Telegraph Ave
Sweet Jesus, I thank you for bringing this establishment into the world. Good God, how did I live this long without that Fried Chicken Sandwich being just down the street?
I love this place. And I'm not particularly into pastry or baked goods, but my God I will eat them here.
The reason I came to Betty's was to try the Fried Chicken Sandwich. It's a huge sandwich double-stacked with perfectly crispy, seasoned fried chicken breasts on a fresh-baked roll, and the only other ingredient is a delicious, crunchy spicy cabbage slaw that is mercifully mayonnaise free.
This sandwich is awesome. In fact, I just ate one. Mmmmmmm.
Betty's has the best apple pie I have ever had in my life, and I even eat the crust. Normally I hate crust; not her crust. Another standout is the date cake with delicous rum butter sauce that you heat up and dump over it. We found ourselves eating this sauce with a spoon, and I'm not ashamed of it.
Other standouts: the ginger cookies, the scones, and the banana bread.
Everything's great here, with a single exception: if you like traditional egg salad, you might not like this one: there's no mayonnaise (woot for mayo-haters like me) and it's simply a ton of fresh eggs and arugula. I personally like this sandwich, but I can't imagine bothering when a fried chicken sandwich is there.
What we've ordered: apple pie, pecan pie, lemon-curant scones, apricot almond scones, pear ginger scones, date cake with butter rum sauce, fried chicken sandwich, egg sandwich, ginger cookie, blueberry pie
Other things they've given us to try: lemon ices, banana bread, strawberry shortcake, brownies
Service: super friendly local hipsters
Atmo: nouveau urban hipster bake shop - the tables are made out of ironing boards
Crowd: The neighborhood + the in-the-know-non-neighborhood
Spent: it varies - we always leave with something free, so there's that
Overall rating: 5 enthusiastic sporks
Extra bonus points for using the chicken and the egg in the 2 sandwiches offered...
At some point I will try the chicken pot pie, and I'm guessing I'll rave about that too.
And oh Lord, that strawberry shortcake was good. And another thing I don't generally eat. The banana bread isn't greasy, and was so good we actually bought a whole loaf.
So beware: do not go to this place if you're dieting. Somehow, you always leave with more than you planned to get.
Betty also gets extra bonus points for wearing a bright blue wig and her baby in a sling around the joint. It's nice to see a funky young gal make a go at something she loves to do, and it's clear that everything Betty's offers is a house specialty.
So yes, I hella heart Bakesale Betty's. May she do this for the forseeable future so that I might never go without a Fried Chicken Sandwich.
