Brunch Review - Doyle Street Cafe

A few weekends ago Andy and I had brunch at Doyle Street Cafe in Emeryville. We discovered Emeryville fairly recently and have had fun exploring what it has to offer. From the outside, the neighborhood appears to be filled with chain stores and restaurants. Once you take the side streets though, you quickly realize there are fun unique little spots that only the locals know about. Doyle Street Cafe seems to be one of these spots.

When we arrived on Saturday morning there was already a line out the door. Families and groups of young people were mingling outside the entrance waiting for their tables to be ready.  We groaned at the idea of waiting, but also realized that the food must be worth it. When we put our names in to be seated the host sat us immediately. It was our lucky day! Most parties waiting had over 4 people, so Andy and I being only two people, were able to get a table right away.

Hot delicious coffee was delivered immediately. We contemplated between ordering off the brunch menu or the specials board. Despite the mouthwatering items on the specials board we decided on the menu. Andy ordered eggs Benedict with salmon and I opted for the goat cheese and spinach omelet.

While we waited for the food our coffees were repeatedly filled, and a low hum of voices could be heard. The ambiance was simple, almost homey. The host was very friendly with people who came in, and when he wasn't busy he helped everyone else in the restaurant. He had his hands in everything, which made me think he might possibly have been the owner. Either way, he was a friendly presence and made sure that our waters and coffees never went dry.

Our meals came after a short wait and we dug in. It was delicious, though I must admit Andy ordered better than I had. Lucky for me, he was willing to share. Our food was scarfed down with the intensity one has when something tastes so good you think it may vanish. Unfortunately, our food did vanish after a short while. We came up for a breath and were greeted with yet more coffee.

Overall, the experience we had at Doyle Street Cafe was a pleasant one. Later in the day though, both Andy and I had horrible stomach cramps. We are still not sure if it was the food from our brunch, or something else. At this point, I will just remember our Doyle Street Cafe as a delicious experience and leave it at that.

If you feel like checking it out for yourself, here is the website: http://doylestreetcafe.com/, and if you haven't figured it out already, it is located on none other than Doyle Street.

Ellie-Style, Restaurant Week SF

It has been quite a while since I've done an Ellie-Style post. Last weekend Andy and I headed into San Francisco for Restaurant Week, so I took the opportunity to snap some outfit pictures. Restaurant Week is a tradition of ours. It goes back to the years we lived in Washington DC. We had a wonderful, knowledgeable friend who always picked the restaurant for us. Twice a year when Restaurant Week was held we would all dress up and enjoy a wonderful 3-4 course meal together at a restaurant that we wouldn't normally go to. It was something I always looked forward to.

Now that we are living in the Bay Area we have decided to continue the tradition. Restaurant Week popped up on my radar so I started researching restaurants. Let me tell you, it was a chore! A fun chore, but a chore none the less. With so many restaurants to choose from in an area that I hard know, I had no direction. I decided to start with the neighborhood that we have visited a few times- The Mission. From there, Andy and I narrowed it down to the kind of food we wanted. We decided on California Fusion...whatever that is. When in California, eat the Californian food, right?

blazer (similar)-JCrew, dress-Target, tights-ModCloth, shoes-Target, belt-clothing swap, purse-Etsy Vintage

So we made reservations at Luna Park. The food was great, like melt in your mouth amazing! Unfortunately it was too dark in the restaurant to take pictures, so I didn't get to document the experience very well...next time. It was a fun first time doing restaurant week in San Francisco. I eagerly await the next time it happens.

 The only picture I have of dinner. We started with goat cheese fondue- amazing!

Au Coquelet Cafe

Last week Andy and I were in Berkeley to get the oil changed in our car and we decided to grab lunch while we waited. We walked up the main street, University Ave., which we are becoming very familiar with, and found Au Coquelet Cafe.

The first part of the restaurant is a walk-up cafe where you can order cappuccinos and decadent pastries. Oh the pastries, they looked so good! How could a person choose only one? But alas, we were there for lunch, so we continued past the cafe into the restaurant.

The restaurant was very casual and decorated with plenty of fresh greenery and plants. We felt like we were sitting outdoors, it was lovely. Since it was a French restaurant we couldn't pass up the french onion soup as a starter. And let me tell you, it was amazing french onion soup! The cheese was full and stringy, the broth warm and filled with soft onions, and it was served with hard crusted french bread for dipping. Amazing.

For the main course I had a salad and a pastrami swiss on rye sandwich. I wish I had taken a better picture of the sandwich because it was chock full of pastrami and swiss all melted together. It was delicious, and far more than I could eat, so it was a win for leftovers!

We enjoyed Au Coquelet for a drop-in lunch. The service was quick, the food was amazing, and the location is convenient in downtown Berkeley. We have been enjoying Berkeley a lot these days, it seems to fit us better than Oakland. We live in Oakland after all though, so we'll just save Berkeley for occasional weekend visits.

If you find yourself in the area and want to check it out: Au Coquelet Cafe, 2000 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 9470.