I live in Central Vallejo, I guess. West of the freeway and quite near Tuolumne. The neighborhoods here are quiet and tree lined with an almost systematic rollup of the sidewalks every evening around 7. As far as I can tell, Vallejo is still home to the working family. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers tend to close our drapes and turn out the lights closer to dinnertime than midnight. The sound of a car traveling down the street at 9 p.m. gets me up to poke my nose at the window wondering what shenanigans may be happening. A backfire on the freeway or fireworks spent outside the designated dates of approval can start quite a row on Nextdoor.com. The fact that I know this tells you, gentle reader, that I spend WAY too much time on the inter-web and not nearly enough time mixing with others. So from now on I will refer to myself less often as a Shut In and more often as a Stepper Outer.
So, question: Where should I step out to? (No grammar police please. GP)
Well I thought that I might continue to break the fast of stepping out by actually stepping out to breakfast. In the 16 years that I have spent here in V-Town I must confess that I have ventured out from time to time, when the sun shone brightest, to break my night time fast with a local breakfast. As many of you know there are a few popular places here that seem to get a certain level of notoriety. This time, since I was going to be writing about it, I decided to go someplace I have never been before. “Cool,” I said out loud to myself, “I wonder where that might be?” (Again, please no GP.)
Being arm-linked to the internet, and Google being my first and sometimes only resource for information, I Googled ‘Breakfast Vallejo.’ The results where few but interesting. Actually very interesting. Not far from where I live is a place I must have driven passed a hundred times or more. It is a place that I have, upon occasion, stopped in for donuts. Drawn to it of course because there is a sign saying DONUTS, in large block letters up on the roof just above the window shade awning, right next to Tennessee St. I mean, I did see the Restaurant sign and when I went in for fritters I saw that there were tables and chairs and stuff. “So,” I ask myself, “Why not try it?”
The place I speak of is SCOTTY’S of course, on the corner of Tennessee and Tuolumne. Now this may not come as a surprise to many of you but their food is good, really good. The first thing I noticed was not the smell. That is an odd sentence to be sure, but it is the truth. Scotty’s does not smell. The restaurant is immaculate.
The next best thing for me, to be found in a restaurant, is an open kitchen. Having spent my time ‘On the line’ I truly appreciate watching professionals at their task. The guys in the kitchen where organized, clean and quick. They worked the flat-top like it was nobody’s business. Potatoes to the left, eggs to the right, and there, all by its lonesome, was my breakfast ‘Stuck in the middle again.’
In just a few minutes after speaking with the waitress my order of corned beef hash and eggs arrived. The sunny side up eggs seemed to almost greet me with a smile and the hash brown potatoes were strung perfectly and browned to perfection. The corned beef hash they served was pre-prepared and not made in house.
BUT, I am not complaining. Let me explain, when I go out for breakfast and I see corned beef hash on the menu I always order it. But many times I have not been happy with it. Even the corned beef hash of trained chefs, seeking to create signature dishes liking to their individual palates, has come up short for me more times than not. For me, when it comes to corned beef hash, I prefer the tried and true recipe that Scotty’s serves.
I honestly cannot tell you the last time I went out for breakfast where nothing about the place put me off. Scotty’s is a treasure to be mined by all of us foodies here in V-Town. I would put their food up against ANY little local bistro or chi-chi café you can find. AND . . . wait for it . . . they have donuts! Some of the lightest, tastiest fritters I have ever had the pleasure to gum. With their restaurant being centrally located in V-Town, we have a perfect trifecta.
Coffee, I must speak about coffee. Again, Scotty’s succeeded where some other restaurants fail. To my delight and surprise, Scotty’s offers 7 different flavor of coffee. Me, I am a French roast fellow and like my coffee dark and rich and round. But for you others with a more venturesome palate there are 6 more varietals to entice you to dine. It was another 2 cup breakfast for me.
My advice: Go to Scotty’s, go there now! Bring friends.
Thanks for taking the time to indulge me with a read. Please follow my Facebook page The V-Town Social Club and don’t forget to stop in my website http://www.the-v-town-social-club.com
Eat Well and Smile Often