Brunch, Without the Wait

As many of my friends and coworkers have learned the hard way, I’m not the nicest person pre-coffee. Or pre-breakfast. If I’m going to brunch, I usually have a snack right when I wake up. Not because I feel hungry, but so that when my neighbors put on their fancy hats and walk arm and arm to church, dropping smiles and good mornings left and right, I don’t respond with a growl. An even better remedy for my morning moodiness is getting to brunch and not having to wait forever to sit down, which is damn difficult most places. Here’s a small list of brunch places in the East Bay that share two things in common: good food and a short or no wait. I can’t guarantee that will always be the case, but all these places were visited at regular brunch hours (10 am -12 pm) on regular brunch going days (weekends).
Cafe M, 4th Street Berkeley

The thought of finding parking near 4th street on a weekend morning is enough to make most of us stay under the covers and hide. But think about this: cinnamon twist stuffed french toast, freshly brewed Peet’s coffee, and sunny outside seating. Can’t fully visualize the french toast? It’s a pyramid of thick french toast with homemade strawberry jalapeno jam and marscapone filling, baked and topped with spiced banana compote. Cafe M is an unpretentious lunch and breakfast joint on the corner of 5th street, hidden just enough from the crowds of Betty’s Diner. This is a place to order the most ridiculous items on the menu and push them to the center of the table for sharing (please, please don’t try and eat that french toast by yourself). The no-nonsense service and the open kitchen give it a bit of a diner feel. Our other favorite was the eggs blackstone, poached eggs atop grilled tomatoes stuffed with bacon bits, over English muffins.
Most dishes run $8 to $10.

Cosecha, Old Oakland

If unlike me you’re best friend doesn’t live ten blocks down from you and make the best huevos rancheros you’ve ever had, you should probably head to Cosecha for a good Mexican brunch. Cosecha is a farm-to-table eatery located in the Housewives Market inside Swan’s Marketplace, a restored half empty space in Old Oakland housing a few food stalls and pop-ups. It’s got the feeling much like a Mexican market (albeit a really clean and quiet one): the large counter hosts jugs of agua frescas, the chalkboard menu lists daily specials, patrons sit at communal wood tables that spread out into the center of the market, and a long seating counter looks out into the street through a sunny glass window. Start your morning right with a giant agua fresca, we had a pomegranate and an orange (which suspiciously tastes like tang and we didn’t mind.) The chilaquiles had a solid salsa and a nice ratio of chips to eggs, and a hefty portion of surprisingly good avocado. The chef, Dominica Rice has spent some time in the kitchen of Chez Panisse and you can tell from the ripe and delicious produce on each plate.

When I saw a torta ahogada (drowned sandwich) on the menu, I was taken back to my very first torta ahogada: a sandwich totally submerged in spicy red sauce that dripped menacingly through a flimsy plastic red basket. I was sitting in the patio of a neighborhood taco stand in Morelia, Michoacan, watching my friend curse and then laugh every time a drop of salsa fell on his white shirt. This is the kind of meal, like ribs or buffalo wings or a melting ice cream sandwich, that is so good, you don’t care what happens to your shirt or your manners. The torta ahogada at Cosecha was hardly drowned in sauce, and I’ll admit that before I took my first bite I felt a little cheated. But, it’s hard to go wrong when a giant sandwich includes bacon, scrambled egg, avocado and tomato. To the chef’s credit, most people may not want salsa all over themselves first thing in the morning. Dishes run $7-$8.

Bocanova, Jack London Square

I’ve had mixed feelings about this place. Usually regarding the service. It’s a huge floor, with a separate dining room and a patio, and on both my previous visits (when I’m assuming the restaurant was understaffed) waiters have arrived at my table consistently late and looking exhausted like they just came through the seventh circle of hell. The food, however, has always been good, which is why I gave it a third try on New Year’s day. What could have been a disastrous hangover meal (my New Year’s resolution is to be more kind, but I wasn’t really ready to test it) was in fact, a perfect morning. The patio faces the port in Jack London Square and soaked up the rare December sun better than anywhere else in the city. The eggs, cooked perfectly. The tortillas, handmade and fresh. The lamb chorizo and egg tacos, tasty and filling. The baby beets in my omelet- Say what, baby beets in your omelet? Yes, the farm egg omelet with beef and potato hash and baby beets was so smooth and fluffy it made me resent every time I’ve had one of those greasy omelets that looked like Patty and Selma’s wrinkly butts. Dishes range $9-$12. I’m sorry I said wrinkly butts.

Got the travel bug?
Bocanova Call first to see if there’s a wait.
Cosecha
Cafe M