Brendas Meat & Three (San Francisco, CA)

The most important meal of the day.  Well, anything that incorporates eggs can be counted towards “the most important meal of the day” slogan, because eggs are the top 10 things created on earth.  I once heard a story about a restaurant not having eggs on their menu for breakfast or brunch.  It made me wonder how do they make their pancakes and french toast, because you need eggs to make those dishes.  Strange.  I don’t like strange, I like simple, exciting, or something worth while.  This restaurant is definitely something worth while.  When I asked some other foodies where I should eat in San Francisco, majority of the people told me places that incorporated sushi, but no soul food restaurants.

Brendas Meat and Three is a southern restaurant with its owner being born and raised in New Orleans. The flavors of the dishes that were ordered made me feel like I was definitely eating a southern comfort meal that was exemplary.  The restaurant is a small quaint place, set up almost like a diner, and looks like it seats no more than 40 people at one given time.  They have numerous of southern dishes on the menu, but I had my eye set on two dishes in particular.  The Fried Catfish Benedict and the Stuffed Johnny Cakes were the two dishes that made my stomach growl when reading about them.

Let’s start off with the Fried Catfish Benedict.  I love fried catfish, you can literally eat it anytime of the day and it would be considered the appropriate meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  But, if you add a poached egg on it and smother it with hollandaise, you my friend have done the magnificent.  The Fish and Poached Eggs were served over a cream biscuit, which was a little crispy for my liking.  The catfish was lacking the meatier side that I’ve been accustomed to all my life, and it was over breaded.  The seasonings were good, but I think the catfish was either fried too hard or the breading should’ve been shaken off before being dipped into the fryer.  The biscuits were a little crunchy and I would’ve loved to see it on an English muffin.  the dish came with a side of grits.  These grits were the best grits I had in my life.  Not a lump in sight.  It was smooth, creamy, and buttery.  I guarantee someones grandmother was in the kitchen stirring these grits because there’s no possible way a human being of any other kind could’ve made these grits.  The overall dish was okay, but I think my hopes were too high for what was provided.

The next dish was the Stuffed Johnny Cakes.  What were they stuffed with?  I’m glad you asked.  The Johnny Cakes were stuffed with Shrimp, bacon, scallion, jalapeño, cheddar & corn, also served with a three-pepper butter.  These cakes were soft, moist, and delicate.  If you like a little “kick” with your dish, then this is the perfect one for you.  Although this item is listed on the appetizer section, it can definitely pass for a whole meal.  The shrimp and bacon worked well with each other to give it a salty, buttery taste, but when you had the Jalapeno Cheddar & Corn it takes the overall dish to another level. This was my first time having Stuffed Cakes and I’m pretty sure it won’t be my last.

Overall, if you’re in the area then I’d say give this restaurant a shot.  Although the Fried Catfish Benedict wasn’t my favorite because of the biscuit and the over-breading, the overall restaurant shouldn’t be overlooked.  The only reason this restaurant gets Business Class is because of how good those grits were.

OVERALL RATING : BUSINESS CLASS