Fast Food - Tangerine

When Daniel returned late from NYC last Saturday night, we decided that we deserved a proper Sunday brunch to celebrate his arrival. So the next morning, we got up and facing the cold San Francisco drizzle, headed down Sanchez to Tangerine. We'd spotted it when we were first looking at the neighborhood and were struck by the large number of dinner specials (the free dessert, free cocktail, please come and eat here variety). I couldn't help thinking that it didn't seem like a place with a lotta legs. That was before we happened by the restaurant one day during the brunch hours and saw the long line outside. When it comes to food where's there's a line, there's usually some good eating to be had, so we added it to the list of places to try.

We waited for about 20 minutes for our table in the crowded dining room. Daniel went for something truly special - a fried egg, macaroni and cheese, corn pancake. We spotted another patron consuming it happily, and it looked amazing.



Daniel cut into it and out poured the liquid yolk, drenching the mac and cheese corny concoction...


Daniel found it pretty thrilling and gobbled the whole thing. I have to admit, I found it a little flavorless. The cheese lacked any real sharpness and the whole thing needed some kind of tang to balance all the carb and eggy density.

I didn't find my dish to be particularly thrilling either. On the recommendation of the waitress, I got the Mexican omelet - filled with shrimp, spinach, and mozarrella (I got it w/o cheese) and topped with salsa and avocado. Again, the flavor balance was a little off. The salsa was without much spice and there wasn't enough of it to offer any real acidity. Granted I got it as an egg white omelet, so it did have that going against it...



Plusses of the meal - the breakfast potatoes were delicious (though a bit greasy) and the whole wheat toast and jam plate was really tasty and perfectly toasted. The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and attentitive.

But worth a wait in the rain? Maybe not so much. This tangerine is not quite ripe. (sorry, i'm tired.)