Massawa (breakfast)

(415)621-4129
1538 Haight St.
(bet. Ashbury & Clayton)
San Francisco, CA
(Upper Haight district)

Price: $
Rating: 3 (Rating & price key)
Last visit: 10/08/06

Our local Eritrean joint recently started serving breakfast, and we noted with some enthusiasm that along with typical American dishes, they have a section for "East African Breakfasts." I'm always on the lookout for interesting breakfasts, especially if they're different from the typical American fare (which I also love). We've had dinner here many times, and although it's not wonderful, it has always been tasty enough, plus they're nearby and almost never have a wait.

Sunday morning found us at the nearly empty place (not a great sign since every other breakfast place in the upper Haight had long lines).

My gf Sarah ordered fried eggs with hash browns, toast, sausage and bacon and I had the Fretata, described as eggs with peppers, from the East African section.

Sarah's dish was probably the least attractive fried egg I have ever seen. Any other kitchen would have quietly slipped it into the compost bin, but for some reason the cook at Massawa saw fit to put this greasy broken overcooked disaster on a plate. Her hash browns didn't fare much better - they had little cohesion and were extremely dry, almost as if shoestring potatos had been tossed into a pan with some oil. Her toast, if it was actually toasted, was not warm and came with no butter.

The fretate was better, but not good. Although on the East African menu, I was surprised, and not in a good way, to find a slightly burned egg scramble with loads of bell peppers and serranos. I had ordered it "hot" and it was indeed pretty spicy, but as far as I could tell, only the peppers contributed any flavor to this dish. The side of toasted crusty white bread was the highlight of my dish, and had the eggs not been so rubberized, it would have made a good delivery vehicle for them.

Service was casual and very friendly, as it has always been. Unfortunately, I cannot conceive what circumstances would induce me to return here for breakfast and Sarah flat-out said that if I want to try any of the other African breakfast dishes, I am on my own. Their lunches and dinners, however, are fine.