Frankie & Lola's Hours 6:30am to 2:30pm
Listen to a radio interview with Chef Kirk Sowell and Barrie.
Download mp3 file here: Part 1 / Part 2
A Sampling Fom the Menu
Breakfast Menu
French Toast (Brulée, Soufflé, Flambé) - French bread soaked in cinnamon crème Brulée, baked in the oven (soufflé) and topped with a caramelized pecan praline topping (flambé)
Potato Zucchini "Pancake" - Thin sliced potatoes and zucchini layered, browned, and smeared with herbed cream cheese. Topped with red and yellow Bell peppers, soybean pesto and fresh mozzarella.
Corned Beef Hash - House cured corned beef brisket and iron skillet potatoes commingled with scallions, garlic and bell peppers. Served with 2 eggs any style.
Avocado Bacon Cheese Omelette - Herbed cream cheese, scrambled eggs, and bacon topped with avocado and micro greens.
Lunch Menu
Hummus and Flatbread - Traditional hummus with cucumber salad and turmeric-fennel flatbread.
Steamers - Manilla clams, mussels, prawns and scallops steamed with white wine, leeks, garlic, scallions and butter.
Chicken Club Lettuce Wrap - Butter-leaf lettuce filled with chopped chicken, bacon, avocado.
Pulled Pork Sandwich - With housemade bbq sauce topped with fried green tomatoes, coleslaw and aioli. |
"Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing."
~Walt Kelly
Frankie & Lola's Front Street Café
Welcome to our first column. We hope that, by visiting and reviewing local restaurants, we can give you recommendations about where and what to eat here on the Central Coast.
Fausto and I dine together, swapping tastes, talk, and notes, and then I, Julia, write the review. We try to visit an establishment twice to get a good sample of the menu, personnel, and action at different times of the day and week.
We happen to agree on our assessment of this month's relatively new café, Frankie & Lola's Front Street Café, at 1154 Front Street in Morro Bay. The view of Morro Rock and the bay, coupled with friendly staff and comfort food, makes this a perfect place to stop if you're on dawn patrol, doing a bayside hike, or even as the destination.
Breakfast was our first meal, and I went for the "Easy," which was two eggs and toast. Yes, boring, but a standard by which I measure breakfasts across the continent. Then I added the pancake, which sounded too good to be true since it was "made from scratch." They definitely put the "cake" back in pancake! It was lofty and with that rich crust on both top and bottom that you would expect. So, the perfect pancake it almost was. Real butter, yes, but was that real syrup? By contrast to my breakfast order, corned beef hash is not something Fausto regularly eats. The "house cured" hash was fresh and tasty and he felt no need to go for the hot sauce. "Why change the taste?" He ate my toast, and would suggest that it accompany the order.
We sat outside for lunch a few days later, and with a full, hot mug of delicious coffee to warm us, we didn't concern ourselves with the fog. Fausto started with clam chowder, which had all the right ingredients and was light and not too creamy, as is our preference. I ordered the tri tip chili, and with my first taste I knew I should have gone for a big bowl. The fries with his fish sandwich special were to die from—I mean die for—with skins and seasoning just right. Next time I'll try the Caesar salad instead of the grilled pear.
The food is fresh, then menu varied and tempting, and our compliments go to the staff, who are genuine and responsive. The space is small and noisy-busy. Our server said the racket was coming from the mixer, but the huge refrigerator is definitely humming in the small, attractive café. We could also overhear one of the owners giving a report to staff in the kitchen on the food/wine pairing event from the previous night. It sounded like it was a success, and that they want to try beer pairings in the future.
We strongly recommend that you check out Frankie & Lola's menu and special events at Frankie & Lolas.com. Maybe we will see you there, because we are definitely going back.
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