Sunday, November 7, 2010

THE MUSTARD SEED CAFE (Los Feliz)...Sunday brunch, around 11:30am - just the 3 of us


So, we've wandered by this place several times always impressed by the busyness.  Our trusty motto - "if it's crowded it must be good", unfortunately did not work in our favor this time.  When we arrived, although crowded, we scored a table right away - a cozy booth amongst a room of seating designed for parties of two and four at most.  We slipped in and were immediately given menus - within five minutes flat drink orders taken and served.  Argh, the first of many blunders - the tea bag, although loose leaf, was served in the (metal, no less) container of hot water!  Not only is it a pet peeve, but simply uncouth.  After mom could breath again, we made our order and waited - waited and waited.  40 minutes later our luke warm food arrived and the fun began....

successes                                                                  
  • napkins and flatware stored on each table within reach right when you need it
  • breakfast potatoes were crispy and well-seasoned and made with red potatoes
  • pancakes were thick, fluffy and moist
  • the bananas and strawberries served with the pancakes were sweet and ripe
  • eggs benedict had the perfect amount of hollandaise sauce
  • busser was energetic and helpful
  • waiter was friendly, but inefficient and oblivious
  • the restroom had a kid-friendly toilet seat
  • the atmosphere was cozy, not too cold, not too warm on a cloudy day;  it was kid-friendly (but not to the extreme)
  • outdoor and indoor seating

failures
  • wobbly table led to spilling of tea pot
  • nearly everything was served luke warm including our drinks (hot tea and coffee)
  • eggs Benedict - english muffin wasn't toasted, thus became soggy
  • omelette - the cheese inside wasn't melted
  • the eggs were dry and overcooked; the vegetables were not cooked with eggs but added later
  • only milk instead of real cream was served with the coffee
  • syrup was not real maple and came in an annoying container which made it difficult to pour
  • side of fruit was either unripe or old and overripe
  • coffee - had been sitting, thus became sour
  • waiter was absent for most of the meal
  • took a long time to get anything (extra plates, more water, etc...)