Red's Java House
Categories: Coffee & Tea, Restaurants [Edit]
Pier 30Bryant & Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 777-5626
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Wi-Fi: Free
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: Full Bar
227 reviews
Neighborhood: Cole Valley
"Sorry, Gil, but I love this place. It's got your San Francisco-crepery essentials: chalkboard menus, savory and sweet crepes, woodsy…" read more »
195 Reviews for Red's Java House
Oh yeah. This the spot. Heard this place had good breakfasts so that was my mission when set forth. However, much to my dismay,if you want breakfast around noon at Red's java house, you're ass out. I hate it when places do that but, in this case it didn't matter cuz they had meatball sands as their special you dig? The bill was like $18 for 2 of them with fries and a couple of drinks. Not bad. So, suffice to say if I want breakfast I won't be coming here, however, there is a HUGE upside to having a bar on the water. I could very easily spend a day off leisurely sipping down adult beverages while sitting on the dock of the bay. Check it out.
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I guess 190 plus YELPERS agree...Red's is it!
What a great dive building! Need I say location, location!!!
Plus they are food tyrants...a funny hand written sign says...'no lettuce or tomatoes ever...don't ask and we won't tell' You get it, not produce guy delvers here!!
I had the fish and chips, which was very good...crispy outside, nice white fish, cooked just right. Shoestring fries were crispy, too. Coke is in a can, but it is cold.
Hubby loves the burger on sourdough...he used to work just across the street!
Anchor beer was $4.60, and they have a full bar out on the patio.
I am sure this legendary spot gets quite a crowd, and I can see why! A dying breed of "greasy spoon" places, that have a unique product.
Yea for Red's!!
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You should know ...
- I am vegetarian.
- I don't do decor/ambiance.
The review ...
Ah a weekend in San Francisco. Good to be back here, and even more so with the great summer weather! A long morning stroll down Embarcadero can leave you with quite an appetite. Red's is a great burger joint for a quick bite.
When you head in you'll see some interesting signs including one that says "we don't server tomatoes or lettuce - don't ask us." I asked them. I got an awesome look back from the server and I continued grinning at him.
One nice touch about Red's is that they serve their patty on sourdough bread (if you want it) and have a great selection of alcoholic beverages (including micro-brews). The fries are In-N-Out style with the skins on, and accompanying them will be some instructions not too feed them to the seagulls, to guard them from seagulls and in general not to provoke the seagulls with french fry related antics.
They were well justified.
Head past the bar, outside to the open area, and you can see dozens of the huge birds eyeing your fries.
Once you're settled though, bite into that burger. Red's makes the best garden patty I've had. Good combination of vegetables, rice and other stuff. The sourdough bun goes very well with it, and will ruin regular burger buns for you thereafter. Despite the no tomatoes, no lettuce policy, it was a very tasty burger and combined with the view outside, made it an excellent burger joint!
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Etiam magna arcu shh don't tell anybody but this place kicks ass. Sed malesuada, turpis vel cursus dictum, urna ante sodales magna, vel tempor est arcu breakfast is among the cheapest and best you'll find in the city.
Duis egestas, metus vel faucibus full bar in the back with damn good bloody marys. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus maybe not as good as Zeitgeist or The Ramp but pretty freaking close.
Pellentesque libero quam, facilisis sit amet, and spectacular views, especially on a clear day. Aliquam erat volutpat cops eat here regularly so you know you probably won't get sick either malesuada lacus eget dolor.
Don't go here, it sucks. Stay away.
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Do I have anything else to add?
Don't get stuck on the back porch after a Giants game lets out! One bathroom. Twenty people in line. They should let those of us who have drank several happy hour pitchers first right of refusal. Ha! The happy hour prices are very happy, at $2.75 for domestic and $3.75 for micros and $11 for a pitcher of Sierra Nevada. On the water, view of Oaktown, the Bay Bridge, and FiDi/SOMA, great breeze, careful about the nippin' out time at sunset- chilly! The meatball sandwich and fries hit the spot, it's cheap and 50s diner-a-riffic!
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I have season tickets right on the field and therefore am aware of places to eat around the park and all I have to say is this place is the best. Food is cheap, good and filling. Plus it is right on the water so you have nice views. A dive all the way but I love dives.
And it seems that yelpers are giving this place 5's just like me so yelpers much be cheap, great food lovers like I am. Go RED's.
This place was Grubbin!!! I went to Red's this weekend because I had seen good reviews of the place so my fiance and I decided to check it out! This is a small place where the service is friendly and personal and the food is exceptional! I was pleasantly surprised when I ordered the Corned Beef Has and expected the canned stuff but it was made with real chunks of corned beef. It was seasoned to perfection and came with two eggs and toast. My fiance had the two egg breakfast with a pancake and bacon. Everything was delicious and the price was right at $14.99 for the two of us with a cup of coffee!
Great location before the ball game or just to hang out on the water.
If you're looking for diner breakfast, it doesn't get any better than this. Red's has a limited menu, but its two egg breakfast with bacon and hashbrowns is the best in the city. THE BEST IN THE CITY!
You wanna know why? It's the hashbrowns and bacon, both of which are cooked to a perfect crispy, greasy perfection. The hashbrowns are fried *hard* on one side, flipped once and fried hard again allowing for one sheet of crispy, crunchy fried goodness that is lite and fluffy on the inside. Toast comes slathered in melted butter, and I always get my eggs over medium because once or twice I asked for over easy and sunny side up and got runny whites which is NOT OK.
Another reason why it's the best dinner breakfast in town is that Red's doesn't serve crappy dinner coffee! The coffee is ground fresh on location and is definitely NOT Foldgers.
And lastly, it's the "manbiance" (like ambiance, but manlier). When I go in the morning, the place is full of manly, blue collar types: construction workers, police officers, firemen and dock workers, usually bearded and older. I like to sip my coffee as I wait patiently for my breakfast, listening to the oldies and imagine that I am a fisherman, headed out early for the morning's first catch. YEAH RIGHT. I'm really just there for the hashbrowns and MENZ watching.
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# Red's Java House Review
if
i = hungry for really good American-style breakfast, including eggs, toast and the works
then
"Eat at Red's Java House"
else
"Eat at IHOP"
if "Eat at Red's Java House"; then
RESULT = "5 STARS ON YELP"
=========
There you have it. 5 stars on Yelp.
/aceventura\ "ALLLLLLRIGHTY THEN" //aceventura\
=========
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My first experience at Red's Java House was a late breakfast on a misty Saturday morning just before a Giants game against the [hated] Dodgers. It was awesome! Good old fashioned diner eats. Great family-like atmosphere with a dockside Old San Francisco feel. Herb Caan would be proud. Seagulls are optional, Giants gear a must. :-)
I would normally give Red's 5 stars because it has everything I love...outdoor patio, greasy breakfasts, super-divey atmosphere, great peeps behind the counter. But they're getting docked one star because I really, really like the super-soft Wonderbread hamburger buns - and instead, Red's serves their burger on a hard sourdough roll. And I'm just not a fan.
But...other than that, the place is awesome. And their chili fries are off the hook. No better cure for a hangover, that's for sure!
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I love this place! Great food & cheap drinks! The patio is dog-friendly too... which is a find or maybe the people working there are so awesome that they didn't kick us and the dozen or so pit bulls we had with us out. :)
Great fish and chips. The counter guy acts cranky, however just give him a $1 tip in the jar and he brightens up nicely :-) The only minor fault I have is that some pieces of the fish has too much coating so you get a thickly coated fried icelandic cod fish(according to the counter guy). It was so good that I got 2 extra pieces of fish @2.75/piece. Fish and chip and bud light, breakfast of champions. 555
So this place is across the street from my sister's apartment in South Beach, and we went the other day for breakfast. Mmmmmmmm! The breakfast sandwiches and potatoes were amazing. Really really good. I felt disgusting afterwards, but it was worth every bite. Nice people there, too.
It had been many many years since I had seen a beer-yramid , and I think it was with Natural Light not PBR. Head to the deck out back and you might see one yourself! Can't beat the view and price of beer (especially PBR) Great for pre-Giants game.
The #1 reason why you should never judge a book by its cover or a restaurant/bar by its store front.
Red's is located on the water off of Embarcadero next to many fancy restaurants. But I will tell you that I prefer going to Red's any day of the week for a nice beer, down-to-earth (DTE) food, and their raw view of the bay. The food is American comfort, meaning hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and fried fare. Everything is very inexpensive, its almost like their paying you to eat there (I had a hamburger on a steak sandwich roll for less than $3.00). The decor is simple and what you would expect from a DTE establishment. The patio seating area in the back is great on a hot sunny day, but can be freezing cold otherwise.
Don't miss out on one of the best hidden gems in San Francisco and pay a visit soon!
Tip:
On those nice summer days, grab some friends, order a basket of fries, and a bucket of Anchor Steam to sit on the patio and pay tribute to how amazing San Francisco is.
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The location is awesome and the prices are reasonable. The patio is incredible, you feel like you're sitting on a raft out in the bay. The food is decent, it can be a little greasy but the patio more than makes up for it. The people are laid-back and friendly. A great place to have a beer with some buddies and relax. I'd recommend Red's to anyone.
This is one of the great breaky places that is impossibly inexpensive, super friendly service, great outdoor dock seating by the Embarcadero especially on a clear sunny day. They serve basic but decent breakfast, lunch and drinks. I particularly like the all-you-can-drink coffee :) The unpretentious service and self-serve style make it less stressful as you don't have to worry about the server comes by. And the breathtaking view? Priceless!
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This place should be declared a landmark, and soon. If it ever gets bumped due to the cruise ship terminal I keep hearing about, I would be bummed out. The guy at the counter cracks me up one way or another every time I go there. You can get breakfast with your beer and start any hangover properly.
I have been parking in the lot next to Red's for 3 months and always ask myself why I don't go in there for breakfast before work. Red's seems like the perfect place to go on a foggy morning and get a warm breakfast or a sunny afternoon and have a beer out on the water.
I ended up grabbing breakfast the other morning and it was solid. Had scrambled eggs, hash browns the way I like them (the thinly sliced hash browns a little crispy), toast and bacon. Simple, but great, and CHEAP. The buddy I was with had the breakfast sandwich and loved it.
Red's reminds me of the places in Maine on the water where you can go get a killer breakfast after a long night out with the Lobster trappers getting up for an early morning. I read in someone's review that described it as a greasy spoon shack, it is certainly that and better!
Can't wait to go back and will definitely be getting a beer there on a sunny day.
Cut out early from work and spend a sunny afternoon on the back deck. The FISH N' CHIPS are among the best in the city (and, as said previously by another spot-on reviewer, "impossibly cheap.") And the cranky (is it an act?) man behind the counter taking food orders reminds of my home-town back in New England--"Just give me da' owdah'!"
Beer is great, food is great, atmosphere is great, especially on a warm sunny day. Bring the sunscreen!
I have a made-up story in my head about Red's:
Once upon a time there were two sailors who shipwrecked on Pier 30 There, they found an old fishing shack and they decided to set up a restaurant. Neither of them could cook very well, which explains the food, but everybody appreciated their salty mannerisms, including the cantankerous signs posted around the restaurant. Because they were sailors and not restaurateurs by nature, they often ran out of things like fish for fish and chips and chicken. However, all these things miraculously added to the charm and authenticity of the place. Plus the booze was cheap and the back patio heavenly in the sun.
Or maybe it's nice to find a place in SF that has zero pretensions. Anyhoo...I love it, even if the food ain't that hot.
*****************************
Update:
Alright, I'm removing one star even though I still love the location. Don't even think of getting fish and chips or chicken after lunch. They have been out the last 4 times I was there. If it happens on a regular basis, don't you think you would....dunno...order more???
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How can anyone not love Red's!!!
It's always there when you need it.
Hungover? No problem, chase it with Stella on tap, yummy french fries and the sun beating down on your face out on the patio.
Don't want a fancy breakfast or brunch? Here's Red's. Breakfast sandwich, breakfast plate, sides of bacon. Oh dear gawd, need I go on?
In the mood for some grub later in the day? Red's serves up a perfect salami sandwich, traditional hot dogs and the burgers are yum. And yet once again, Stella on tap.
Simple and easy food. Sun. Relaxing. Patio.
Done and Done.
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Double Dogg and an Anchor please! Haaa... I love this place. Have been going here since 99' and its great. Food is straight bachlor type so dont expect anything more than that! Fish n' Chips are some of the best too!
One morning I stopped in for the first time to kill time before work and was suprised that they also make an awesome breakfast buritto.
Make sure you park on the left hand side as you enter the pier. I have seen some folks get sweated for parking anywhere else as the area to the right is paid parking.
I have been to San Francisco twice in the past years and both times I ended up on the pier that Red's is on. The first was for Van's Warped tour where great breakfast and coffee made my entire morning. Then the second time a ship that I was working on moored to the pier. So I ate here every morning.
The inside has a good amount of seats that stretches around the side. Its location is lovely, right on the pier and very near to the Bay Bridge. The staff was always friendly with my tired, hungover, and groggy self. This is a permanent stop for all my visits up to San Fran.
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L a r g e please.
A medium. A medium white cup is placed before me. In Starbuck's lingo, the size Grande.
"What's this?" I query to the unassuming order taker at the counter.
"That's your coffee cup." he shrugs.
"This is your large?!" I ask, incredulous.
"I know. Everyone says the same thing." he smiles.
"Wow, I guess I need to bring a thermos with me next time," I reply, laughing.
Red's is right across from my work and usually, I rarely rarely make a pit stop here because usually I'm in such a rush to make the meager seconds given to me to run across the Embarcadero to the other side (try it in heels and in 12 seconds) but when I am simply craving the wondrous jolt of energy lifts my eyelids in a miracle blepharoplasty, I've made several stops here.
Not only do you get a cup, you get to serve yourself from one of those push coffee jugs.
But what I do see here, are locals and working people who need the hearty grease-laden works of gut stamping effects....I've heard the breakfast sandwiches are pretty good here. And the plates are mounded with eggs and hash browns.
In addition to seating inside, they do offer outside seating and when the Giants are playing at home, this place is packed with people catching a good encouraging moments of peace and food before hitting the bedlam at AT&T park.
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I know people love this place. I'm torn. I've been here a few times, and I must say, I'm disappointed overall. I think for me, it's the service. The last time we went, the woman who took our order, just couldn't get it. All we wanted was two cheeseburgers and an order of fries to share. She started having a conversation with the cooks in the middle of the order - and then we had to repeat what we wanted. Then she stopped again for some reason, and we repeated our order again. Then she read the order back to us, and it was wrong - and she got frustrated at us! Not good. My husband and I were the only two customers in the place, by the way.
When we got our food, we basically had small burger patties and a lot of bread. It was not a burger. I will admit the parts where I actually had meat with the bread was good. Kudos. But for the second half of my "burger" it was just bread with mustard on it. The fries were forgettable. I write that because I honestly don't remember them or if I liked them or not.
I remember the first time I went, it was with coworkers years ago. The burgers were good! And I remember thinking what a deal they had with the burger and beer combo. It was cheap! Not any more. I mean, they're not $$$, but they're not $.
I think I'll save my money and toast my own baguette with mustard at home.
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If you're looking for some authentic SF funky charm , this is the place. Super cheap prices for greasy spoon menu. Very amusing staff.
I love this place... I didn't stick to burgers or fish & chips... I got the chicken parm sandwich and an anchor steam... the chicken is actually pretty tasty but the tomato sauce is kinda watery so it made my chicken soggy... Fries are good... sitting on the dock in the sun is good... drinking beer at 1pm on a Friday is good... walking from my apartment door to red's front door in 5 min is good...
Gotta come back here for the pancakes...
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This place it great for sitting out in the sun and having a few beers. Its right on the water, and easy to get to.
Stars:
+1 for beer
+1 for Sun
+1 for The French Fries!~ so good
-1 for the baseball fans crowding up the joint.
+1 for when they get drunk and fall in the bay
-1 for not using buns on their burgers. Why can't you just use buns like everyone else?? Not some hard roll, that is a challenge in itself to bite through.
+1 for fast service
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Ok, so a lot of you know I'm a little pussy eater who eats a lot of whole grain and fruits and vegetables and blah, blah blah. Well, when you get to be my age, you better be too or you are going to look like this:
http://static.px.yelp....
But I wasn't always this way. I used to eat burgers and fries and all kinds of crap and I would head down to Red's all the time from my office in Hills Plaza. Red's is an SF institution, no less than Coit Tower, the TA Pyramid or the cable cars. Last week, it had been 3 or 4 years since I'd been to Red's and I had a craving for one of these greaseburgers and decided to head down there with a friend after a meeting in the city. I'm not often in a suit, but I was that day.
"I'd like a double cheeseburger and a beer, no tomatoes."
The guy behind the counter looked up and gave me the "look." You know the one. It says, clearly, "Are you fucking kidding me?"
From behind comes the voice of the Longshoreman in line: "Hey Fortune Five Hundred, you don't come here much do you?"
And he points to the sign that says "No Lettuce, No Tomato"
Oh yeah, I forgot. I guess Grey Poupon is out of the question too.
While I was paying I looked up at the board with all the items and prices and I saw the one that used to crack me up several years ago.
It was right beside "Bacon Dbl Cheeseburger - $3.75". And it said "Espresso - No Way"
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Red's Java House is really the closest thing we have to Cheers on this side of the country...
Makin' your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Takin' a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
http://www.youtube.com...
Oh sure, it's a dive. And OK, maybe they don't know my name since I don't frequent the place like Norm...NORM! But there's no getting around the fact that it's comfortable in here. It's a place where you can come unshaven, unshowered and with last week's boxers on...not that I would know. And still, the order guy is friendly as all get out. Red's is an institution for us long-timers in the Bay Area.
Over the years, I've had my fill of burgers and beers with friends I barely remember and ex-colleagues I would rather forget. We would gather the dilapidated tables on the dock and spend a few hours staring at either the underside of the Bay Bridge or the adjacent vacant parking lot. And of course, what would Red's be without the flurry of obstreperous pigeons and seagulls competing for the leftovers under the umbrellas?
But I have to tell you that I actually like to come here on a Sunday morning when it's empty and get the $5.50 Breakfast Special - two scrambled eggs, two sausage patties and a pancake with plenty of butter and syrup. Such a deal. It ain't gourmet food, not by a long shot (see the photo). In fact, it's probably the type of grub you get if you're in the mess hall at San Quentin and your cellmate starts to look pretty to you...not that I would know. But it hits the spot, and you can get free refills on the coffee to sustain you on the walk along the Embarcadero...NORM!
You wanna be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
FOOD - 3 stars...grub food the way I like it
AMBIANCE - 4 stars...a dive on a dock, but oh I like it
SERVICE - 4 stars...friendlier than Sam Malone or Woody or even Coach and definitely more than Carla
TOTAL - 4 stars...just because you wanna be everyone knows your name
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I've never met a single person who didn't like Red's. It's exactly what a greasy spoon shack on a pier should be: fast, cheap, greasy, tasty, and sunny. Oh, and 10 more cool points for the sense of humor of the staff and the owner. There's a sign on the wall that says "Reds NEVER serves lettuce and tomato. Ever. Don't even ask"!!! Love it! Eat the breakfast sandwich but switch the bread to something besides the baguette (it is usually too hard to bite into). Order a cheap beer (was it $2?) and sit on the patio outside. Hangover killer!
UN-pretentious Dining at it's San Francisco BEST!
Where else can you go for a quick beer and burger in a tee shirt and sneakers and have a waterfront view?
Red's is a nice little greasy spoon perched on the edge of Pier 30-32.
I have to admit I do not have much experience with the food but the breakfast sandwich i had there was very tasty.
Most of my experience with this place has been while meeting friends before a Giants game this is where Red's really shines.
On a sunny afternoon the back patio is the place to be. With a nice view of the Bay Bridge and the cheapest beer near AT&T Park it is a great place to stop and have a pregame brew with your buds. Bud and Bud light are just $2.25 and they even have PBR is cans for $2. Bejond that they have specials on certain days on buckets and pitchers.
To top it all off there is also a free shuttle that will take you from Red's over to the park. Be sure to tip the driver though (so I guess it isn't quite free).
So when you are headed out to the yard and the sun is shining and you want to save a little scratch before spending $9 on a beer in the park, stop by Reds and have a couple under the bayside sun.
This is a weekend breakfast favorite! Good old fashioned grub!
Read the paper, drink a bloody, and youare ready to start your weekend!
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It's hard to rate this place, as it is a quite awesome place but for different reasons than you'd think.
Obviously, the views have been spoken for. You get to sit on the pier and just hang out. There are chairs, tables and umbrellas.
There are drinks available, including $1.75 PBRs (every day) and a few deals on Corona, Anchor and some other beers. These of course enhance the previous point.
The food (at least the burgers) are relatively average but they are made very fast. Make sure you request a hamburger bun, I think by default they come on the rather unweildy sour dough roll.
The prices are very low. I thought my hangover had disabled my vision but the prices I was looking at were correct. Most of the sandwiches and other meals come in at around $4.
So in summary, if you want a quick, cheap meal while enjoying some beers outdoors, you can't go wrong here.
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Red's is a great little dive thats been around forever. On a nice day there is no better place to grab a burger and beer and sit out on the patio. No...the burgers arn't fabuolous...but tasty enough...oddly enough i really like the fish & chips they server mon-fri for $5.95 one good sized piece of fish and not too greasy. They also make a pretty good bloody mary in the back bar.
I have never ordered a coffee at Reds Java House. Why bother. They serve beer.
Reds is a reminder of what South Beach was before the Giants moved in along with all of the high rise condos and people who can afford them. The outside is a little worn down, weathered and small compared to its new neighbors. It is still somewhere the working class would be comfortable, sitting outside on haphazardly placed plastic tables and chairs watching the scenery with a burger and a beer, after a hard days work.
The inside is no more glamorous. You order your diner/deli foods at a counter and grab a bottle of beer out of a sliding door refrigerator case. The walls are adorned with decorative knick knacks that are all at least a few decades old.
I hope Reds never goes away and never changes, but I assume it is inevitable. Enjoy being taken back in time while you can because "progress" is hot on its trail.
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Good breakfast sandwiches, mimosas in a plastic cup (so I can take one for the walk home) and $2 PBR..PLUS they don't mind if I bring Molly and sit on the patio out back. All the things we look for in our weekend!!
