a bite of brownie

they say that when in seaside or cannon beach, one must visit this place. i came for breakfast and got the chance to pass by around dinner too. on both times, the restaurant was full with customers. that's a good indicator. there were a lot of options in the menu from breakfast items to salads to sandwiches and burgers. i set my sight on 3 little pigs in blankets which are hotdogs wrapped in pancakes and comes with generous serving of pineapple sauce and scoop of butter. it was a very heavy breakfast for me. two persons can share this meal. the pineapple sauce was a nice complement to the dish.

Verdict: 5/5 for breakfast, service was warm and personal, food was good and very affordable.

Pig 'N Pancake
323 Broadway St
Seaside, OR 97138

It was lunch time and the sun was hot upon our heels, and my sister had a meeting afterwards so we took ourselves for a treat to a restaurant we haven't visited yet. So, our solution to our dilemma was to try out A Cafe, part of the Abaca group of companies within the area.
The place was quaint, a little bit bigger than Phat Pho and the ambiance reminded me of a secret meeting place for people who liked privacy. It was good enough that it had plants growing as shelter at the patio for other the other guests, plus the tables and seats were arranged in a cozy manner.


Reading the menu, I figured that the menu specializes in breakfast items, particularly biscuits and eggs and bread. Their daily menu entitled Deli sandwich looked like half a loaf of french bread stuffed with greens and salmon and their secret sauces. The Eggs benedict was a plate full of sliced potatoes topped with fresh hot from the stove gravy and open faced sandwiches of bread, sunny side up eggs and smoked salmon. We also ordered a plate of buttermilk fried chicken with biscuits, much to my disappointment upon the recent knowledge that the last of the pork chop was bought by the previous patrons across where we were seated.

To top our lunch, we had a creamy bowl of creme brulee to share, as well as house teas and shake for use to enjoy.


A Cafe
Crossroads, Banilad


Verdict:
A: 3/5

Probably a lot of improvements here and there. I wasn't impressed by the buttermilk chicken; it was as if there was something. The deli sandwich tastes like a regular half sub. The eggs benedict was probably the best order among the food we ordered. The Creme brulee tasted like a richer version of Leche Flan, with a layer of caramelized sugar at the top. My sister tells me that it's not one of the best creme brulees out there

ihop is celebrating national pancake day today! they're giving out a stack of three buttermilk pancakes per guest for free. of course, i headed out to  get some free pancakes. i like how ihop presents their menu. it is well organized and has pictures, detailed descriptions and calorie information. it made me choose my order wisely considering i'm finishing those three pancakes with butter and syrup! i got the "simple & fit vegetable omelette" which has spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and swiss cheese with a side of mixed fruits. it was delicious especially with some drops of tabasco. the pancakes were just fine. i prefer their flavored pancakes like strawberry banana pancakes which don't make me reach for some syrup (traditional maple, blueberry, butter pecan or strawberry) because the whip cream, strawberries and bananas were sweet enough. i like the service here too. the crew is friendly and food is served reasonably fast.

IHOP
5403 Stevens Creek Blvd
Santa Clara, CA

Verdict: 3.5/5 (ihop offers very few vegetarian/vegan options.)

a friend recommended this bakery after reading or watching from some foodie. we got curious so we tried this famous bakery. when i got to the place, i saw a couple of customers having their breakfast. i read in yelp that they have good breakfast options too but i wasn't there for breakfast so i'll reserve that for future visits. i got one loaf of cinnamon bread since they are known for this. i also got a loaf of blueberry cinnamon bread and a round of almond sprinkled cinnamon bread. i got the last two items as discounted items since they were on sale. this is probably their way to keep their stocks fresh. i like each of the bread i got. the almond sprinkled cinnamon bread was the least sweet among the three. this bakery has very limited open hours so i was so happy to see that they sell their famous cinnamon bread at costco.

Greenlee's Bakery
1081 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126

Verdict 4.5/5 (it would be nice if they are open on sundays.)

one won't miss this restaurant if you take a walk at willow glen's downtown. its name is catchy to me so i stopped by for dinner one night. they do not only serve savory and sweet crepes but they also serve breakfast all day, pancakes, burgers and salads. i tried their san francisco savory crepe with smoked salmon (one can pick grilled or smoked), capers, red onions, spinach, dijon and dill havarti cheese. it comes with mixed greens salad with vinaigrette and fries. i had sweet potato fries instead of their house potato fries. the crepe was good and came in big serving. i didn't have room to try their sweet crepes for dessert which both tables beside me did. i was jealous! i'll definitely go back.

Crepevine
1100 Lincoln avenue
Suite 180
San Jose, CA 95125

Verdict: 4/5 (i prefer that they take the orders from the tables rather than on the cashier.)

the long line outside this restaurant has always made me curious to try this place. it has great reviews too so me and my friend ventured out to have a very early breakfast at this cafe. its menu has a wide selection of american breakfast items. i chose the fresh lox and bagel which came with eggs and pancake for additional cost. it also came with some veggies, not so salty capers and cream cheese. i enjoyed the lox and bagel but was only able to finish half of the bagel since i had the pancake for dessert. my friend ordered bill's steak and eggs. the steak wasn't that remarkable to me but it was tender and juicy.

Bill's Cafe
1115 Willow St, San Jose CA

Verdict: 4/5 (-1 for the steak)

What's the first thing you would do right before crossing the border at 4 in the morning? Eat a hearty breakfast! Especially when you know it's gonna be a long day with eat and sleep at the bottom of the agenda. So, IHOP it is, and I ordered their specials - the super rooty tooty fresh 'n fruity -  I just love saying that =) It's composed of two fluffy pancakes topped with either strawberry, warm blueberry or cinnamon-apple compote plus whipped cream topping - talk about carb and sugar overload! The combo also comes with hash browns and eggs and is worth $4.99; for a little extra you can add bacon, sausage or ham.

After a 13-hour flight, a two-hour layover, another three-hour flight and four hours of driving, I decided to get all the add-ons - yeah bring it on! Unfortunately, my poor jetlagged tummy couldn't really handle all those so I ended up just eating all the meat and having the rest to go. Imagine this conversation:

Border Patrol: So what are you bringing from the US?
Me: Two fluffy pancakes with strawberry and whipped cream toppings plus hash browns to go please, I mean sir. ^^

All I can say is IHOP in the States is definitely waaaayyy better than the lame greasy IHOP that I went to in Burmaby. I'm glad I stopped over.

N: 4/5 great service, friendly staff and good food

IHOP

	3619 Byron Street Bellingham, WA 98225-6018

@ White Spot. As I was cleaning up my dresser, I saw a pile of unused gift cards, remnants of my rewards for being a reliable software warrior back when I was still using my left brain. Since the rest of my place is empty, even the fridge, I decided to start using these cards to fill my also empty tummy 배고파요. No, I didn't stew them, if that's what you were thinking.

And so Boxing Day found me past crazy lineups at Metrotown, past Bubble Tea Time, past Jang Mo Jib, past KFC, past IHOP and finally stopping at White Spot. I have 25$ to spend so I got the works.

Just to have a comparison, I tried their Bellini which was on specials every Saturday. I loved the presentation, it was like a tower or shaved ice, with maybe .00001% alcohol, yes it was that negligible, none of my allergies came out to prove it.

For starters I got the Five Cheese Caramelized Onion Dip [A creamy blend of Asiago, Parmesan, Jack, Mozzarella and cream cheese with caramelized onions and shallots] served with fresh cooked tortilla chips. I love Nachos, I could just eat Nachos for dinner and I'd be fine, and that's basically what I did. The dip was ok, I would be happier with guacamole and jalapenos though, but then that would not be the same menu.

My entree was the Monty Mushroom Bigger Burger [6 oz., 100% pure beef patty with Jack cheese, sauteed mushrooms, lettuce, tomato & Triple “O” sauce] I was actually looking at the New York steak but I figured that would be way out of my gift card limit, and I'm sticking on my budget, so that was out. I didn't get to eat this burger coz I got so full with the tortilla chips and drinks so I can't really tell if it's good, and I'm sure it won't be the same after spending a night in my fridge.

For desert, yes there's room for desert even if I couldn't even eat the burger anymore, I got the Spot Sampler [Mini versions of the White Spot Cheesecake with strawberry topping, classic Apple Cinnamon Crumble topped with vanilla ice cream and Hot Fudge Brownie topped with chocolate ice cream] The desert was not spectacular, I took one bite from each then I was done. I guess was expecting something like the bite of brownie but the hot fudge brownie with chocolate ice cream failed my expectations. The cheesecake was not sweet and not creamy either, which was just the way I like it, so plus points to that one. The apple cinnamon crumble had slivers of almonds which I didn't really notice until I felt like I swallowed fibrous strands and my throat got itchy [allergy alert!]. I guess I wont be a fan of apple crumble for a while so I settled with the ice cream.

All in all it was an ok dinner, I might have been happier if I chose the steak though, maybe I'll do that next time.

Verdict:
N: 3.0/5.0 [-2 because the food was mediocre and the service was slow even though the place was virtually empty, ]

White Spot
5550 Kingsway,
Burnaby, BC V5H 2G2