Sun January 6 8

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We won Survivor Starbucks by enduring the grub eating immunity challenge and now our urban camping trip is over. Power has been restored to the cyberhutch so no more venting over ventis. Last week’s Bar Jules five dollar toast got a rise out of Eater SF and SF Weekly. Of course we all understand that when you are dealing with top quality ingredients, you should pay for them, but we knead to know the bread to bread ratio before the cost pops up on the bill and makes us feel crumby. Today’s toast episode at Canteen was a slice of heaven. Our lightly carbonized, processed mill products came with our entrees (at no extra charge) accompanied by some tasty preserves and butter: My gravlax omelette ($8.95): ... was an eggy tube lined with chives, shaved fennel and bits of cured salmon. The potatoes had the perfect balance of crispy bits to starchy bits. Each spud chunk had a brown crunchy expanse to justify its existence on the plate.



Chubby got the chicken hash ($11.95): The server explained that they poach their eggs a little firmer for this mountain of potatoes, chicken with self-saucing eggs. Every bite was flavorpacked and craveable. The service was friendly, efficient and improves with each of our visits (which are spaced further apart than the food warrants.) We love the music, books and overall vibe of this cozy diner: ... off the lobby of a dormitory for Academy of Art University which has been slowly buying up all the San Francisco real estate in a Monopoly game that is funded by book larnin’-averse young people with rich parents. They should consider putting Starbucks inside of Academy of Art Universities inside of Starbucks like Russian nesting dolls, it would be so much more practical. Canteen

817 Sutter St.

San Francisco, CA

415.928.8870

And speaking of Starbucks, from today’s Bunrab email, Steve A. writes about yesterday’s food puck:

Gutenberg, In fact, the eggs for all the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches served in the United States are cooked at just two locations, stuffed into sandwiches, and kept frozen for up to two days before being reheated in the speed oven... As the Starbucks sandwiches cooled, the texture changed noticeably (as is often the case with microwaved sandwiches), leaving tough bread and bacon, rubbery cheese and spongy egg. In your post about Starbux breakfast sandwiches you mention that they are equivalent to McDonalds Egg McMuffins. Even though Starbux should be better because their beverages are better and they market their chain as upscale with upscale prices, their breakfast sandwiches are actually inferior to McDonalds because they are frozen and merely heated up in a toaster in-store. McDonalds eggs are cooked and their sandwiches are made in-store. Until Starbux stores get a real kitchen instead of warming ovens, it will be this way. Steve

Gutenberg replies:



Dear Steve, Thanks for the info. I think that presenting the egg muffin in a bag with a sticker that reads: “Great Coffee deserves Great Food” is actually a cautionary reminder before you reach the point of desperation necessary to break the seal and access the launch codes to detonate this belly bomb.

-G





