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LaNote ext.
La Note
2377 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley, CA
510.843.1535

- Restaurant Review by Chubby -

LaNote int w Rabbit  

What kind of insane moron doesn’t love a good breakfast place? Not me. La Note is just what breakfast lovers love: coffee, eggs, pancakes – mmmm!

Service: friendly but spotty (it wasn’t especially busy.)
Had to ask for a coffee refill long after my cup had run dry (I drinks a lot of coffee.)
had to remind Server about my request for Tabasco (I like my eggs caliente!)
The bill took a long time to arrive and process (hey, this bunny’s got things to do!)

Beverages:
Coffee – very good
Little pitchers of municipal water with lemon slices brought as they seat you at your table – I thought this was an especially nice touch.

Atmosphere:
The interior is light, charming and inviting, a little cramped but that somehow seems fitting.
 
  pancakes and pears  
  Lemon gingerbread pancakes with pears and blueberries ($6.50 for 2, $8.50 for 3)
These were my favorite, especially with a healthy does of syrup – like gingerbread meets pancake. The pears had that “out of the can” quality and the blubes seemed out of the freezer BUT that was okay. They serve this with a cute little bottle of syrup. The pancakes were delish – I would order this one again.
 
  Marquez & eggs  
  Two eggs, over easy with sourdough toast, home fries and marquez sausage ($8.95)
Eggs over easy: cooked perfectly.
Home fries: nicely browned after parboiling – but slightly oversalted and lacking in crispy bits. My friend Karen says that the whole point of cooking is to generate “crispy bits.”
Marquez sausage: yummy lamb sausage. Server didn’t know who they got it from. I suppose they got it from some lamb…
Sourdough toast: fine - nothing special.
 
  Scrambled eggs  
  Scrambled eggs with soft goat cheese and chives. Levain toast and roasted tomatoes with balsamic and herbs. ($8.95)
Scrambled eggs: good, they were cooked slightly too firm for my taste. The goat cheese was too mild. I like goat cheese with at least a little zing to it.
Roasted tomatoes: delish. Nicely tangy from balsamic and seasoned perfectly.
Levain toast with unsalted butter: I love toasted levain bread and you don’t find it in many restaurants as an option for toast. Mmmmm…I ate this spread with sweet butter and Costco raspberry jam (yes, they get it from Costco!) It was surprisingly good despite it’s humble origin.
 

Overall Rating:

Overall: delish casual breakfast – 2 1/2 carrots out of 4.

The folks at La Note do a fine job. It’s a casual Provencal meets Berkeley restaurant. Absolutely worth checking out if you are in the neighborhood.


"Okay"
La Note Bathroom Rating:
Unisex. Reasonably clean but I wouldn’t eat off the floor (not a daily practice of mine anyway.)
It’s an old building so they had to work with some existing limitations. Don’t like the blue watery liquid soap or double spigot sink (hot or cold but no middle ground.) The way the sink is constructed, it’s difficult to rinse your paws without coming into contact with the edge of the sink.


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