Mama's?
Red Door Cafe?
Dotties?
La Note?
Lois the Pie Queen?

Red Door is right around the block from me and fantastic.

Has now become Guerilla Cafe. Never been there, but seems pretty popular.

I still like Bette's Oceanview Diner but breakfast places have become pretty expensive. How much can eggs and toast cost?

Art's Cafe in SF at 11th and Irving is a nice greasy spoon owned by a Korean family. They have teriyaki dishes for breakfast and big flat-shaped hash browns. You can't beat the prices. It's a long, narrow restaurant with counter seating only, like you're dining in a submarine.

900 Grayson in Berkeley is also pretty good.

OneTopOneChickenApple;344420 said:

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Has now become Guerilla Cafe. Never been there, but seems pretty popular.

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they do good waffles. I believe it's a vegan place.

Rick and Ann's
I love Brown Sugar Kitchen in west Oakland. usually a long wait, but top notch fried chicken, shrimp and grits etc
Jodie's Cafe in Albany is a unique experience. He's got a little L-shaped counter that seats probably 7, and one table outside on nice days. Tons of unique menu items and great fried chicken on weekends. Definitely recommend it for anyone who hasn't been. (Just off Solano, in the shadow of the BART tracks.)

Mama's Royal Cafe
www.mamasroyalcafeoakland.com
4012 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94611-5618
(510) 547-7600

Jodie's Place in Albany is also good, specifically for the fried chicken on weekends. You can get fried chicken breakfast with eggs, grits or potatoes, and english muffins or chicken in a basket. It's a genuine whole in the wall with a menu on the wall that is overwhelming but go for the fried chicken!!!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/jodies-restaurant-albany

I like the Vault on Adeline and Sconehenge on Shattuck.

I used to always get the Reggie Jackson Special at Lois: two thin, peppery pork chops, two eggs, creamy grits (with tabasco) and flaky biscuits. Then a nap.

I may be in the airport area --

Any opinion on Millbrae Pancake House or Christie's in Burlingame? Anything else good in the area?

All of the "well known" brunch spots in the city, I've found to be pretty average. Waiting an hour for food that is just ok isn't really my style. I tend to stay away from Mama's, Ella's and (especially) Zazie for this reason.

Here are some lesser known places that do fantastic brunch:

SPQR
Kate's Kitchen
The Butler and the Chef Bistro
Brenda's French Soul Food (though I guess this one is becoming popular....but the food is still killer)

La Note, Berkeley, excellent -- petite dejeuner, french toast or les oeufs provencale, omelette.
Venus Cafe, Berkeley
Saul's, Berkeley
Espresso Roma, on Hopkins across from Monterey Market, Berkeley -- huevos +
Crepevine, Berkeley
Rick and Anne's, Berkeley -- they know how to scramble eggs -- soft

Silvia's in Antioch on Lone Tree just off of Hwy 4. They recently reduced their menu from the multitude of omelettes, but if you remember the names they will still make them. Hash Browns or home fries in a quantity that most can't consume. The offer of biscuits & gravy instead of toast or other bread items should not be overlooked....ummmmm!

Mama's Royal is amazing, though you have to get there before the hangover crowd if you don't want to wait a while. Personally I think Rick & Ann's and La Note are not even close to worth the insane wait. They're both very good, but overrated.

Mama's and Ella's are awesome but not worth the wait. I'm definitely a fan of Kate's Kitchen. I always get the flannel hash. My favorite SF places are Boogaloo's in the mission and Chloe's in Noe Valley. The croissants at Chloe's are as good as any I ever had in France, and somehow they manage to make scrambled eggs taste unbelievably good. The brie and tomato croissant sandwich is over the top.

My favorite brunch place is a few blocks from my house - Aunt Mary's on Telegraph. The service is inconsistent and sometimes it's a long wait for your food when they're really busy, but the food is incredible and you can have your dog at the patio tables. My favorite dish is the huevos benedictos - poached eggs on masa cakes with mole sauce, gaucamole, chorizo, and pico de gallo. Their chicken fried steak is unreal too.

RoseBowlBears;344510 said:

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Mama's and Ella's are awesome but not worth the wait. I'm definitely a fan of Kate's Kitchen. I always get the flannel hash. My favorite SF places are Boogaloo's in the mission and Chloe's in Noe Valley. The croissants at Chloe's are as good as any I ever had in France, and somehow they manage to make scrambled eggs taste unbelievably good. The brie and tomato croissant sandwich is over the top.

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My main knock on Mama's and Ella's is that, if you have to wait for an hour or more the food should be better than the places with no such wait. These places aren't better. As good? Maybe. But I'd rather hit SPQR or Kate's any day--I'd sit within a half hour and be at least as satisfied...possibly much more.

I like everything at Kate's.

I've been to Chloe's. It's pretty good. Not my favorite, but I'd definitely go again. I need to try Boogaloo's....just moved to the mission, and there are a lot of new places to try.

I left another excellent place off of my previous list:

Tangerine--they have my favorite French Toast.

CalBearRJ;344515 said:

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My main knock on Mama's and Ella's is that, if you have to wait for an hour or more the food should be better than the places with no such wait. These places aren't better. As good? Maybe.

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Absolutely 100% agree. That is my main beef with Rick & Ann's and La Note. Actually IMO there's no such thing as a brunch place that's worth waiting over an hour.

Try an omlette.

What I like about Mamas is the ancillary stuff, very good home fries (which should be easy, but few pull it off), great toast (pain au levain from Acme) and excellent coffee. I go early so the wait isn't an issue.

CalBearRJ;344468 said:

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All of the "well known" brunch spots in the city, I've found to be pretty average. Waiting an hour for food that is just ok isn't really my style. I tend to stay away from Mama's, Ella's and (especially) Zazie for this reason.

Here are some lesser known places that do fantastic brunch:

SPQR
Kate's Kitchen
The Butler and the Chef Bistro
Brenda's French Soul Food (though I guess this one is becoming popular....but the food is still killer)

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The topic (or off topic) is "Breakfast". "Brunch" sounds French. :p

BTW my vote is for Brown Sugar Kitchen on Mandela

I met Rick (of Rick n Ann's) at Barkley's while watching a Cal/UCLA basketball game. Was a really nice guy and was rooting for the Bears. That being said, I like Bette's, Lois the Pie Queen, and Rudie Can't Fail better.

Some good North Bay spots:

Hillside Inn-Santa Rosa
Garden Court-Glen Ellen
Boon Fly Cafe-Napa

wallyball2003;344552 said:

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What I like about Mamas is the ancillary stuff, very good home fries (which should be easy, but few pull it off), great toast (pain au levain from Acme) and excellent coffee. I go early so the wait isn't an issue.

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Their specials are always amazing and I love that they often have Jewish items like blintzes or potato pancakes. Totally agree on the coffee - maybe the best of any brunch place around.

RoseBowlBears;344566 said:

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Their specials are always amazing and I love that they often have Jewish items like blintzes or potato pancakes. Totally agree on the coffee - maybe the best of any brunch place around.

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the coffee at Kate's Kitchen remains my favorite. it's a brand called San Francisco's Best Coffee. maybe they just brew it strong but it's really tasty.

side note: Kate's Kitchen is the only brunch place where I've stepped past a couple kids smoking pot in the doorway, sat down at a table and then had one of those kids come inside and take my order

BearyWhite;344577 said:

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the coffee at Kate's Kitchen remains my favorite. it's a brand called San Francisco's Best Coffee. maybe they just brew it strong but it's really tasty.

side note: Kate's Kitchen is the only brunch place where I've stepped past a couple kids smoking pot in the doorway, sat down at a table and then had one of those kids come inside and take my order

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Second. It's very good, plentiful, and appropriately strong.

El Sobrante use to have a really good breakfast place called Jen and Todd's ...however i'm not sure if its there anymore. I loved going there though. Been quite a few years.

buster99;344563 said:

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The topic (or off topic) is "Breakfast". "Brunch" sounds French. :p

BTW my vote is for Brown Sugar Kitchen on Mandela

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Yes! The French regularly smash together two English words to make French words.

In fact that's what happened when they smashed together the two words "break" and "fast."

Deans Cafe in Pleasanton offers about 200 different omelets plus traditional breakfast items.

Black Bear Diner a chain that started in Mt. Shasta offers very large breakfast. The closest to Berkeley is in Walnut Creek.

http://www.blackbeardiner.com/

For basic breakfast that's not too expensive and you don't have to wait forever to get it:
The Vault on Adeline at Harmon; just a few blocks south of the Ashby BART station:
http://www.themenupage.com/thevault/index.html

Another decent not too expensive place is Chester's Bay View Cafe on Walnut near Vine:
http://www.chestercafe.com/

during nice weather, nice to sit outside

http://www.boorah.com/restaurants/CA/oakland/tropix-caribbean-restaurant/AE2CFF803D.html

not cheap, but not pricy either

food can be spicy, so that might turn off some

Brown Sugar is great, that's my number 1.

CalBearRJ;344584 said:

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Yes! The French regularly smash together two English words to make French words.

In fact that's what happened when they smashed together the two words "break" and "fast."

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Good comeback! "Brunch" just sounds like what young alums in the Marina eat :cheer

buster99;344621 said:

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Good comeback! "Brunch" just sounds like what young alums in the Marina eat :cheer

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Well, I'm a young alum in the Mission...does that count?

buster99;344621 said:

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Good comeback! "Brunch" just sounds like what young alums in the Marina eat :cheer

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Are you seriously bagging on someone for using the word brunch? It's neither yuppie or marina like slang - it's a word that's been around forever. And I'm pretty sure well over half of these restaurants mentioned call their weekend meals brunch on the menu.

Definitely a fan of La Note, we eat there whenever we are in the Bay Area. There are a smattering of other good places we frequent but I'm having problems digging names out of my noggin at the moment.

KoreAmBear;344415 said:

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Lois the Pie Queen?

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I have to say, I really like Lois's but was sorely disappointed in the soggy fried chicken there.

CalBearRJ;344584 said:

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Yes! The French regularly smash together two English words to make French words.

In fact that's what happened when they smashed together the two words "break" and "fast."

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Like this place:

http://www.flunch.fr/Default.aspx#/nouvoh/

(That's fast + lunch)