Restaurant Review: Bette's Oceanview Diner
Mar. 5th, 2011 10:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hrjBette's Oceanview Diner is one of those iconic Berkeley places that a certain type of eater loves to mention loving. It's located in the 4th St shopping area at the foot of University that has the sort of collection of establishments that earn the nickname "gourmet ghetto". In addition to the Diner, Bette's has a to-go bakery next door and a line of baking mixes for their scones, pancakes, etc.
Although I regularly find myself swinging by 4th St on a weekend morning for one reason or another, I don't usually attempt to have brunch at Bette's due to the horrific waits involved. The first time I ate there, maybe half a dozen years ago, I had a maybe 20 minute wait just to sit at the counter and felt too intimidated by the "move 'em along" bustle of the staff to enjoy my usual paper-reading weekend brunch experience, although I recall the smoked salmon scramble as being delicious.
But this morning, having gotten out of the house before 7:30 to drop Dad off at BART for his conference in SF, I was looking for some breakfast place that opened before 8am and found that I'd hit the sweet spot where one could at least get a counter space with no wait at all. (I might have even been able to get a table with a minimal wait.) On the plus side, I'll note that the staff were cheerful, friendly, attentive, and prompt with every service they offered. On this occasion I felt none of the "move 'em along" vibe that I did last time.
On the minus side, based on today's meal, I have no idea how Bette's gained the reputation that leads to their popularity. I had an herb and cheese omelet, which comes with home fries and a bread item of choice for which I chose the lemon & current scone (my favorite among their commercial baking mixes). The scone was excellent: crumbly and moist -- crumbly enough that I had a near scone tragedy when my attempt to butter it led to structural failure and I was left buttering the resulting chunks individually. But they were delicious.
Alas, I can't say as much for the rest of the meal. The home fries were horribly greasy and rather scorched. Home fries should be crisp and browned, not crunchy and black in places. The herb and cheese omelet was so bland that I nearly committed the enormity of dousing it with ketchup. The handful of chopped herbs provided color but no flavor that I was able to discern. I was unable to determine what type of cheese had been used as it also provided no contribution of identifiable flavor. (It was a white melty cheese, so maybe a monterey jack or colby?) There was also a greasy feel to the omelet but I think that came mostly from the cheese rather than the cooking method.
Perhaps I should have tried the pancakes or waffles, given that the starch dishes seem to be their specialty, but on the whole I think I'll give Bette's a pass in the future ... even if I do find myself up before 8am on a Saturday and looking for food.
Although I regularly find myself swinging by 4th St on a weekend morning for one reason or another, I don't usually attempt to have brunch at Bette's due to the horrific waits involved. The first time I ate there, maybe half a dozen years ago, I had a maybe 20 minute wait just to sit at the counter and felt too intimidated by the "move 'em along" bustle of the staff to enjoy my usual paper-reading weekend brunch experience, although I recall the smoked salmon scramble as being delicious.
But this morning, having gotten out of the house before 7:30 to drop Dad off at BART for his conference in SF, I was looking for some breakfast place that opened before 8am and found that I'd hit the sweet spot where one could at least get a counter space with no wait at all. (I might have even been able to get a table with a minimal wait.) On the plus side, I'll note that the staff were cheerful, friendly, attentive, and prompt with every service they offered. On this occasion I felt none of the "move 'em along" vibe that I did last time.
On the minus side, based on today's meal, I have no idea how Bette's gained the reputation that leads to their popularity. I had an herb and cheese omelet, which comes with home fries and a bread item of choice for which I chose the lemon & current scone (my favorite among their commercial baking mixes). The scone was excellent: crumbly and moist -- crumbly enough that I had a near scone tragedy when my attempt to butter it led to structural failure and I was left buttering the resulting chunks individually. But they were delicious.
Alas, I can't say as much for the rest of the meal. The home fries were horribly greasy and rather scorched. Home fries should be crisp and browned, not crunchy and black in places. The herb and cheese omelet was so bland that I nearly committed the enormity of dousing it with ketchup. The handful of chopped herbs provided color but no flavor that I was able to discern. I was unable to determine what type of cheese had been used as it also provided no contribution of identifiable flavor. (It was a white melty cheese, so maybe a monterey jack or colby?) There was also a greasy feel to the omelet but I think that came mostly from the cheese rather than the cooking method.
Perhaps I should have tried the pancakes or waffles, given that the starch dishes seem to be their specialty, but on the whole I think I'll give Bette's a pass in the future ... even if I do find myself up before 8am on a Saturday and looking for food.
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Date: 2011-03-05 10:11 pm (UTC)http://www.littlehousecafe.com/
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Date: 2011-03-09 04:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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