USA -> California -> San Francisco
Brenda's French Soul FoodRecommended for: Anybody who likes New Orleans-style food, adventurous diners, people who like breakfast/brunch Not recommended for: Large groups (seating is limited) Let me just start out by saying that I loved this restaurant. It was probably about a mile from our hotel (if that) and we just decided to make the walk after hearing good reviews of this place. It is in "The Tenderloin," which is an area of San Francisco that has a lot of homeless people. That being said, we took our 18-month-old and I never felt unsafe in the neighborhood. When you get to the restaurant you will see a clipboard hanging up by the door - here you put your name and the number of people in your party and then you just hang out outside until they are ready to seat you. Make sure that your entire party is there - if your turn comes up and you're not all there, you will not be seated (we saw this happen to one lady). While waiting in this line we had a homeless guy come up and ask if we would like to make a donation to the "United Negro Hamburger Fund" - I actually would have given him a dollar if I had one on me. Seating Seating here is tight - I mean really tight. In fact, I don't think I've ever been in a restaurant so small with that many people in it. If you prefer to have a lot of personal space then this probably isn't the restaurant for you. Watch the video above to get an idea of what I'm talking about. Also, I can imagine that the wait times can get really long - we went at about 11 o'clock on a Saturday morning and had a 45-minute wait. It didn't seem like there were that many people ahead of us, but you are just waiting for diners to finish so I'm sure it can be a lot quicker or a lot longer. Service I think one of the true tests of a staff's patience is bringing a baby to the restaurant. Brenda's was great - they quickly located a high chair and made arrangements for our stroller to be stored in the back while we ate (since there wasn't room in the main part). Our son really enjoyed the food and they made sure that he had juice and was happy. If you can get past the limited seating this is actually a pretty good place for taking kids because it's so loud that your kids probably aren't going to bother other diners. Food The food was so good - I would go there again in a second, even braving the Tenderloin and a long wait to get in. First of all, you have to try a beignet. This is like a doughnut without a hole in the middle (and not quite so sweet). They had 4 flavors, but the crawfish beignet was by far the best. I know it sounds weird, but just try it - it is delicious. A good way to sample the beignets is to get the "Beignet Flight" - it includes one of each (apple, chocolate, plain and crawfish) for $8 (buying them individually would cost $20). I also ordered a bacon-oyster scramble. It sounds weird, but I really enjoyed it. I also had grits (delicious) and a huge biscuit. In retrospect I wish I had just ordered one dish to share with my wife - after the beignets we were already feeling a little full. My wife ordered a pancake with a pecan syrup - it was also delicious (but maybe a little too sweet for a breakfast entree, in my opinion). My parents-in-law both ordered a vanilla-bean granola pancake that had fruit piled high on top. When my mother-in-law was done (she could only eat about half, if that), I pounced on it and it was so good I might order that if I ever go back. Price I think a reasonable price range for this place is about $15 each if you want to have a beignet to start and an entree for everybody. However, you could easily get full for $10 each if you are willing to share an entree and start with the beignet flight. Considering the quality of the food I thought this was a very good value. Conclusion If you're staying in San Francisco (or live there) you probably have a million reasons to not go eat at Brenda's - you need to get over them and go try it. It's a delicious treat and even the walk from the JW Marriott Union Square was quite pleasant. Don't forget to take a couple of dollars to donate to the "United Negro Hamburger Fund." |
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