Dottie's True Blue Cafe

I met up with my friend Dave on Friday to check out Dottie's at their new 6th St location. It's definitely a bigger, better space that the one on Jones St, but some might still be weary of where it's situated.  Nevertheless, it didn't bother me, and the food is still good. 

While waiting in line I was torn on what baked good I was going to try, and our server suggested the crumb cake.  I would have liked to have more blackberries (you can barely see any from the photo), and it was a little dry towards the bottom.  The rum infused whipped cream was a good accompaniment.  It was good, but not as good as I was expecting it to be. 

 

We then spilt the grilled chili-cheddar cornbread with jalapeno jelly which is always good, but I would of liked it grilled just a bit longer on the bottom.  We really enjoyed the slightly spicy and sweet jelly that goes with it. 

I decided to go for a spinach, mushroom and cheddar cheese omlette.  A little skimpy on the veg, but it was still tasty.  I love the buttermilk dill bread it comes with!

Dave opted for the Open Road, which comes with everything - juice, 2 eggs, choice of meat and pancakes or french toast (he decided on Dottie's signature whole wheat buttermilk, spiced with ginger and cinnamon).

Needless to say, I was stuffed after eating all this food.  I actually only had 2 bites of crumb cake and brought it home for the family to try (Mav loved it)! 

Shamrock Shake

Feelin a wee bit Irish today, I decided to get a Shamrock Shake from McD's.  I usually never go here, but since it's only  available for a limited time, I had to get one!  It's a lot different from when I was a little kid - the McCafe cup, whipped cream and cherry on top.  It's an upgraded 2.0 version - super sweet with just a hint of mint (I had to share with Mav).

 

PIZZA! PIZZA!

Pizza is definitely one of my favorite foods.  I would eat it more often, if it wasn't so fattening!  Needless to say, during my last trip Chicago, I decided I would forgo my restrictions and eat as much Chicago-style deep dish pizza as possible within a 5 day span!  Here is the list, in order of preference. 

Lou Malnati's - The "Lou" contains spinach, mushrooms, topped with tomatoes and little cheddar cheese.  My favorite I must say.  The crust is a bit crispy on the outside while remaining tender on the inside.  I also love the fact that I could order a personal size for dinner.  So yummy, I went back on my last day to bring frozen pies back to SF.

Gino's East - Spinach & Cheese.  Their crust is super crunchy and golden color with lots of cornmeal.  Not like any other crust I've had before, but I really liked it.  Unfortunately, they only sell personal size pizzas at lunch, so I had to buy a small (4 slices).  Too much to eat in one night, but I surely wasn't going to waste it and finished it the next day!   I found out that they have frozen pizzas available at my local Lucky store - though not as good as hot and fresh from the source!

Uno's - Mushroom & Garlic. A decent pizza, tender crust with some crunch to it.  It could have been cooked a minute or two longer as I would have liked this just a bit more crispy on the outside.  This was 3rd on the list.  I went for lunch on my last day, so I was able to get a personal size. 

Giodano's - Spinach (Stuffed Crust).  My least favorite of the 4.  Super doughy, dry crust and lacking in flavor.  I think there was just TOO much in this pizza, and the middle top layer of dough was not fully cooked.  That ruined it for me.  No personal size available, so I had to buy a small (10", 6 slices).

So, if you are ever in Chicago, make sure you try some Chicago-style deep dish at least once!