San Francisco: Brunch with Waffle Shots at 15 Romolo

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to 15 Romolo in San Francisco but I always knew I’d return for their Punch Drunk Brunch. Their motto is, “with no drink in hand, brunch is just breakfast.

I loved that they served us complimentary waffle shots as we looked over the menu. The “maple syrup” for the waffles was actually a shot with rum and Firelit, a coffee liqueur made by the local St. George distillery in Alameda.

To start, I got a Red Snapper. 15 Romolo makes their own Bloody Mary mix and they easily accommodated my request to use gin making it a Red Snapper. They did warn me the mix was spicier than usual but I thought I could handle it. Within seconds of the first sip, my face went numb and I started sweating. That is spicy. A friend asked if they could tone it down and they did but it was still really damn spicy. Proceed with caution.

A much kinder and gentler brunch cocktail would be the Beetlejuice (gin, beet juice, lemon, tomato, sesame oil, creme fraiche). Another friend ordered and though I had heard it was good, I was a little unsure of the sesame oil. It turned out to be a fantastic savory cocktail full of umami. This is way better than borscht in a glass.

 

We tried the biscuits and gravy since I have a weakness for biscuits. It turned out to be a wonderful savory gravy with housemade fennel sausage. The biscuit was a little on the thin side reminding me more of a flat English muffin. It was good but I could probably eat another if I was just having this dish. On the plus side, you can have another since it’s only $5.

During brunch, punch by the glass is $5. I didn’t try any since I was still sipping cautiously at my Red Snapper.

 

I almost went with the fried chicken sandwich for brunch but I was still fresh on my Bakesale Betty high so I decided to get chicken fried steak instead.

I’m so glad I did! I loved the little square hash browns. The same great sausage gravy covered the chicken fried steak. I went with a healthy side salad (snicker). You can get your eggs any way you want but I went with a soft scramble which turned out be perfect… covered in more sausage gravy.

Towards the end of the meal, I finally recovered from the spicy Red Snapper and decided to order the Coctel Antigua (Rittenhouse Rye 100, PX Sherry, bitters) which I noticed was also on the evening menu. It was a great “dessert” but don’t think I didn’t think about another biscuits and gravy.

15 Romolo

15 Romolo Pl., San Francisco, CA 94133 – (415) 398-1359

© The Minty 2014