Search Results
Feed me now (brunch)
I tend to be worthless when I go too many hours without food. If I get to the point where I’m hungry, I can contribute. I can come up with ideas of where to eat and what I might be craving. If I miss that point of awareness, though, I get stupid. Like today. Luckily I live with John who takes over. Like today. Today he said “let’s have crepes”. Off to Yelp I was to research what was nearby and we were directed to Soccer Cafe. In the easy to park area of the mission (16th and treat).
We’ve driven by this place tons of times while going to Poc Chuc. We’ve never noticed it before. A shame, since it has outdoor seats (dog friendly!) and good food.
Soccer Cafe is a pretty cavernous space. More like a school gymnasiums with TVs to broadcast soccer games. You order at the counter and pay; they deliver (and incredibly quickly) food.
Soccer Cafe has a pretty extensive breakfast/sandwich/crepe menu. Since we set out to get crepes we stuck to that. They have both sweet and savory crepes. We both opted for savory crepes.
John had a breakfast crepe — eggs, cheese and ham. I opted for the Amir crepe — spinach, mushrooms and cheese — and I added tomatoes. We both had a beverage and our total was less than $15. bargain bite!
But on to the crepes… They both arrived quickly, perfectly prepared and neatly folded.
Both crepes looked identical but they had delivered them appropriately.
The breakfast crepe:
The breakfast crepe had a great balance of cheese, ham and egg. The crepe itself was tender and eggy. The cheese could have melted a little bit more and the flavor was overwhelmingly of ham. You are given your choice of cheese; this one had cheddar. This was a good portion but I think it could have used some other flavors. Without the ham this would have been a pretty bland crepe.
Amir plus tomato crepe
The other crepe had an abundance of spinach (this is a very good thing). Again, the crepe itself was simple and eggy (compared to the buckwheat crepe of Butler and the Chef). The tomatoes added some much needed flavor but again I found myself wishing for more seasonings. Luckily there are bottles of tapatio on the table so it’s pretty easy to doctor the dishes yourself. As in the breakfast crepe, the cheese could have melted more. I found myself eating around chunks of not melted enough cheese.
I wouldn’t hesitate to come back here. The service was extremely friendly and quick. The food was quite decent and the atmosphere was pretty relaxing (though I wouldn’t advise coming here during a heated soccer match). I look forward to trying more of the menu.
Overall thumbs: Two thumbs up. The food was good, service was quick and friendly and it’s a total bargain.
Tastiness Rating: Fair. The food was good and quite edible.
Service Rating: Good. Service is friendly and super quick.
Dog friendliness factor: Outside seats make this an easy spot to hang with the dogs.
Brunch at Poc Chuc
Sunday workouts have left both Big and Small hungry. The planned exploration to a new to us vietnamese restaurant finds the restaurant closed, so the backup plan—a return visit to Poc Chuc—is put in place.
We’d first gone to Poc Chuc a few weeks ago. It was closer than our original destination of El Metate. The first time around Small (me) ordered a turkey taco and a ground pork taco. Big ordered the signature Poc Chuc. The combination of these 3 things was quite substantial. And given that the tacos were under $3 each, the meal was quite economical and incredibly satisfying.
This time around Small stuck with the two taco combo, this time opting for turkey mole and carne asada. Big ordered a pork pibil (I can’t remember the exact menu description).
Even though the selections below spanned two visits, I’ll do my best to remember the details of each.
- Housemade tortillas: I break this out because this was the base for each of the tacos and also served on the side of the main dishes. These were some of the best I’ve had in a while. Perfectly prepared with a great texture.
- Shredded turkey taco: This was served with pickled onions. Good flavor.
- Ground pork taco: Served on a black bean puree with a roasted tomato sauce and avocado. The flavors of this were Small’s favorite and her motivation for a return visit.
- Poc Chuc: Grilled and marinated pork served with a side of black bean puree. The citrus flavor of the marinade comes through wonderfully here. The portion is substantial and the accompanying tortillas let you make your own tacos. This was another favorite.
- Carne asada taco: This has the same presentation as the ground pork taco above. On a black bean puree with roasted tomato sauce. This also has roasted peppers and satisfying Small’s craving for the return visit (the ground pork weren’t available).
- Turkey mole taco: This was Big’s favorite. The mole was more a black pepper sauce than what we’d consider a traditional chocolate based mole. The flavors were great and very unique. The turkey was shredded (same as the turkey taco above).
- Pork stew: because I can’t remember the exact menu selection. This was a large bowl of shredded pork and broth. It comes with a side of bean puree and tortillas. This was rich and flavorful. Between the two I preferred the poc chuc, but that may be because I really loved the poc chuc.
With the exception of the Poc Chuc, everything we’ve ordered is from the daily specials menu. There are no tacos on the regular menu.
Overall thumbs: Two thumbs up. The food is consistently good and flavorful. The prices make this place a great value. Both time we’ve visited there’s been no wait for a table.
Tastiness Rating: High. The flavors are unique for a mission Mexican restaurant.
Service Rating: Good. Service is friendly and accommodating, though sometimes a teeny bit slow.
Dog friendliness factor: No outside seating. No spot for dogs.
Weight watcher points (Small’s selections): 6.5
Tracking points…
Small is a huge fan of Weight Watchers® and the points tracking system. Small is also a big fan of quality food. How do the two combine?
Sometimes not so well, and sometimes very well. Either way, the beauty of Weight Watchers is you can plan for either. So how does this fit in?
I’ll try to add points values to my meals out but I’ll keep them off the regular reviews. Here’s a stab:
2 points for a glass of wine
.5 point for each bite of gnocchi, fettucine, beets, and skate
5 points for the halibut
2 points for the remnants of sauces
total points for dinner plus wine - 11.
1.5 points for three corn tortillas
2.5 points for 1 oz carne asada
2.5 points for 2 oz turkey mole
6.5 points total
