San Francisco, California – Lucky Penny Restaurant

Restaurant: Lucky Penny
Cuisine: Breakfast/Brunch/Diner
Last visited: November 7, 2010
Location: San Francisco, California (Pacific Heights)
Address: 2670 Geary Blvd
Price Range: $10USD or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2 (based on breakfast)
Service: 2
Ambiance: 1
Overall: 2
Additional comments:

• Breakfast all day
• Popular for breakfast/brunch
• Serves lunch/dinner
• Casual diner
• Bang for buck
• Cheap eats
• Budget friendly
• Free/limited parking
• Open 24 hours
• Eat In/Take out
  

**Recommendations: n/a

I can’t stop laughing as I write this post. I can’t even believe I’m writing on this, but I blog about everything, so why not about a 24 hour breakfast joint? It’s one of those late night diners perfect for college students with the munchies, yet it’s still popular with older locals looking for a bang for their buck. It’s a place where the dress code is probably pajamas, or at least if you wore them nobody would care. I tried it, honestly I did! And nobody batted an eye.

I was in San Francisco, California for the Foodbuzz Food Blogger Festival and I decided to skip out on the Farewell brunch and let my friends take me to this “gourmet” breakfast joint instead. I can’t call it a “waste” of a dining opportunity, because the whole experience was actually quite memorable and fun.

I mean where else am I going to go (besides a bubble tea place) where the restaurant has a $3.00 minimum charge per person?! I also love how this 24 hour diner/dive prohibits the use of cell phones and requires pre-arrangements for business meetings. It was definitely classier than I thought!

If you’re looking for cheap eats, no fuss breakfast and well… cheap eats… this place is for you! My expectations were incredibly low and I’m “rating” it based on what it was, by no means am I going to compare it to gourmet diners.

On the table:

Good Morning Special – 2/6

• 2 slices of bacon or 2 sausage links with 6 dollar sized pancakes and 2 eggs $6.45USD
• It’s actually not bad. The eggs were fine, the sausages were your standard club pack sausages from your grocery store. They’re a bit overcooked and super greasy though.
• The dollar pancakes are actually pretty good!  They weren’t dry and not as fluffy, but decent!

2 Egg Breakfast – 3/6

• 2 eggs served with hash browns and toast or 3 buttermilk pancakes $5.45USD
• The poached eggs were prepared as requested.
• The hash browns are actually pretty good as well. It was almost like a potato cake with a creamy mash inside and crispy exterior.

Buttermilk Pancakes – 2/6

• Oddly enough these weren’t as good as the dollar sized pancakes. I found them a bit drier and flatter, but I guess it just depends on the cook making them.
• For buttermilk pancakes I did expect them fluffier and a bit tangier, which they were slightly tangy though.
• The syrup actually comes in sugar-free as well.

French Toast – 2/6

• $5.45USD
• They’re on a roll, this was actually not bad too!
• The bread is a thick store bought white bread and it was really soft and fluffy. It was fried crispy and still moist.
• The batter was very eggy though and of course it wasn’t going to have your vanilla and cinnamon spices or any additional flavourings.
• The icing sugar was clumpy and I could have done without, but I’m surprised they even bothered.

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