38072 Fri Jul 22 14:54:08 -0700 2005 4 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 178508 Stopped by Dotties for brunch yesterday with a few friends. I've been here once before and really enjoyed it. After about a ten minute wait we were seated and brought large glasses of water and a half orange/half grapefruit juice for myself which came in a very large glass, nice. We waited another 10 or so minutes to have our order taken, which was long but the place was pretty busy, so no biggie. What we ordered: -A friend and I split the Berry-Cherry French Toast and a side of Sausage. The French Toast was the best I've ever had. The cherries and berries were mixed into the batter and the outside of the toast was crispy and yummy with a soft center. Sooooo good. The sausage was good but I'm not crazy about sausage to begin with. -The b.f. had the Black Bean Cakes with scrambled eggs. He loved it. I had a bite and the bean cakes were nice and spicy. I bet this dish would be great with over-easy eggs. -Another friend had plain pancakes. I didn't taste them but he said they were the best pancakes he's ever had! He said he could taste ginger in them. I'm not sure if they actually did have ginger in them, though. I almost got a piece of their pear coffee cake to-go but after all the (real maple) syrup on the French toast I just couldn't contemplate eating that. The service was really friendly and relaxed. This is my favorite breakfast place in the city, with Kate's Kitchen coming in a close second (although Dotties has cornmeal pancakes on their menu which are probably better than Kate's). I tried the Just For You cafe recently and was totally disappointed with it so I'm glad I won't have to resort to eating there again next time I'm in the mood for a good breakfast. Happy Eating! Fri Jul 22 14:54:08 -0700 2005 0 That Girl 1 178511 Good choices! I think you hit all my personal favorites on the menu: black bean cakes, french toast, the coffee cake of the day, and pancakes (in that order, on most days). If you like to cook, Deborah Madison's blackbean cake recipe is a pretty good approximation of Dottie's. The trick is to mash the beans just enough, but not too much. Delicious! I've never seen anything like these suckers anywhere else. Kate's Kitchen beats out Dottie's for biscuits and gravy, but overall I too like Dottie's better. Does anyone know where all the kitschy salt and pepper shakers at Dottie's come from? Do regular customers bring them as gifts, or is the owner a collector? Fri Jul 22 14:59:13 -0700 2005 178508 0 nooodles 2 178542 What cookbook of Deborah Madison's is the recipe in? Or care to post it on the "Home Cooking" board pretty please? Fri Jul 22 16:53:45 -0700 2005 178511 0 Kimchee 3 178544 I was ready to whip out my cookbook and paraphrase it for you, but forgot that it's actually THREE recipes: Basic Black Beans, which you then turn into Black Beans with Chipotle and Tomatoes, which then get turned into Black Bean Cakes. It's not as complicated as it sounds, but you'd best look at the book. Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone can be found at almost any SF bookstore, and I checked it out from the San Francisco Public Library before I owned it. Fri Jul 22 17:03:38 -0700 2005 178542 0 nooodles 1 178515 I watched the cook make several orders of french toast last time I was there - he liberally sprinkles each side with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon while they're frying to get that crunchy crust. I'm definitely going to order it next time...or will I get the black bean cakes? Decisions, decisions! Fri Jul 22 15:09:00 -0700 2005 178508 0 Absonot