Saturday, August 14, 2010

Rick's Cafe--Los Altos, CA

My dad, the boys and I went to Rick's in downtown Los Altos for brunch this morning. Getting there by 10:15, there was plenty of seating, though by the time we left, at around 11:30, customers were waiting outside.

Perhaps still in the afterglow of the crab melt I had two days before, I had the Eggs Louis Cayenne, which featured two poached eggs, crab and spinach on English muffins. The crab was good (and, thankfully, real), but the raw spinach didn't go well with the warm eggs (which, by the way, were underdone) and muffins. Worse, the shredded potatoes seemed to be a stab at hash browns, but they fell short, being soft and mushy.


Dad's lox scramble fared much better. The cheese, scrambled egg and lox were delicious together. The boys had pancakes, which were great with butter and syrup. The only other comment here is that the older one wanted pancakes with strawberries, but they weren't available on the menu. So, the server said they could improvise. She asked if we wanted the strawberries inside the pancakes, to which we said yes. However, they were delivered to us on top of the pancakes instead; we were told they couldn't make the flapjacks with the strawberries inside. As a courtesy we should have been told this ahead of time.
Rick's is pleasant and is obviously an institution judging by the restaurant's popularity this morning. However, today's value being rather average, especially considering the cost ($47 before T and T for the two egg entrees, the two three-pancake stacks and an extra side of toast) with so many other restaurants to try for brunch in the area--and a very reliable one in A Good Morning--I think it will be a while before I drop by again.

Rick's Cafe
205 State Street
Los Altos, CA 94022
(650) 559-1941
www.rickscafelosaltos.com