My all time favorite breakfast place is not IHOP or Denny’s. (BTW, please do not ever take me to those places!) It is Millbrae Pancake House, hands down. Nestled quietly in a quaint red building on El Camino Real lies an old fashioned breakfast place with authentic hot chocolate overflowing with whipped cream, delicious omelettes that come with pancakes

Vegetarian Omelette

Swedish Pancakes

(regular or Swedish) and perfectly crisped hash browns, and more. My favorite item is the vegetarian omelette and Swedish pancakes (delightful, thin crepes served with Lingonberry butter).

Other items on the menu include waffles, eggs and sausages, classic American breakfast items, sandwiches, and dinner entrees like Chicken Fried Steak, served in plentiful portions with steamed vegetables, baked potato or rice pilaf, soup or salad and a delicious, buttered and toasted Hawaiian bread dinner roll. Dinner is also served all day.

If you go on a Saturday, try arriving before 10am to avoid the crowds.

Millbrae Pancake House
1301 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030

It was Friday night, around 6pm and I was starving. We were going to go out for dinner in an hour but I needed a light snack… quick! After scouring my fiance’s kitchen, I managed to find this unopened box of Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola. And, yes, it filled that void, the void of my hunger pangs. I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was this Flax Plus pumpkin flavored granola delicious as a handheld snack, without milk, but that it wasn’t too sweet. I have this thing about not being able to eat too much sugar now, now that I am over 30. (sigh!) My body doesn’t like too much sugar although my taste buds still do. Anyway, as I read the back of the box, I learned that this pumpkin granola was full of healthy omega-3, zinc, and iron from flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds. Who knew? Although I did read online that it’s better to get omega-3 from fish oil rather than flaxseeds because it’s easier for your body to digest the fish oil. But if you don’t eat fish, then you can eat flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and pine nuts to get your omega-3. This special 2 pack of Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola, pictured above, is available at Costco. The one pack is available at Whole Foods or other health food stores.

Yo Baby, yo baby, yo! Yes, that is baby yogurt you are looking at and it is fantastic! I don’t even know how I got started eating Stonyfield Farm’s Yo Baby Yogurt. (But I am not ashamed!) Maybe it was because Yo Baby yogurt is organic, and low in sugar, only 13 grams of sugar in a 4 oz container. Most other yogurts are way too sweet for me and the serving size is too big. Yo Baby yogurt is just right. Since the yogurt is made with whole milk, it has a buttery, creamy taste, which lends itself as a great, healthy dessert or breakfast. It doesn’t have too much fat since it is only a 4 oz. portion. What you’ll notice when you peel off the cover is that Yo Baby yogurt is topped with a layer of velvety cream… dee-licious! Yo Baby’s vanilla flavor is my favorite. I wish the 6 pack was all vanilla, instead of 3 packs of vanilla and 3 packs of banana. I’ve tried the berry flavors, but they’re not as good as the vanilla and banana yogurt. If Yo Baby yogurt is good enough for babies, it’s good enough for you!

Emporio Rulli Cafe is conveniently located inside the Union Square plaza in San Francisco. If you sit outside of the cafe, you can see a 360 view of some of the biggest department stores – Macy’s, Tiffany and Co., Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. It’s breathtaking!

On the menu, this cafe has a wide variety of tempting, Italian pastries and desserts and Italian coffees. What you’ll notice when you walk in is that there is no menu displayed on the wall, like most cafes. But they have a restaurant menu that you can look at. Emporio Rulli Cafe has the standard coffee drinks – latte, mocha, cappucino, and espresso. I tried their mocha, and the Italian espresso they use is a rich, dark roast that I’ve never had before. And I like it! I also tried a pastry that had a filling and was really good, but forgot the name. All of the pastries and desserts displayed in the glass case, look really good.

I also went for lunch one day, but was disappointed. They have pre-made paninis and salads. What made the experience bad was that the waiter never gave us our check, even after we asked for it 3 times and waited over 10 minutes. We were so frustrated that we left our money on the table and left.

My suggestion is to order your food at the counter instead of being waited on, at a table. Nevertheless, it’s a great place for a coffee and dessert break from shopping or work, with a beautiful background.

Emporio Rulli Cafe
333 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 433-1122