When I first got to this corner breakfast haven on Washington Square, the couple in front of me took a look at the long line ahead, turned and said, “Is it worth the wait?” Now this was a moral dilemma. As much as I wanted to say, "No," and move up in the seemingly immovable line, I admitted it was, deciding it would be unethical to deprive anybody the wonders within just to save five minutes.
On the weekend, bring a paper, because you will wait...for the right to stand in another line. Once you're allowed through the front door, you're paraded past the sizzling grill and bustling prep counter, where you'll see bowls of the freshest Bay Area ingredients: phenomenal breads, garden fresh vegetables, shrimp, lump crab meat, and stacks of luscious coffee cakes. By the time you get to the register to place your order, a table should be ready.
Of course none of this talk of lines should faze a true Roadfooder. Especially considering this North Beach institution can cook no wrong.
Start out with a glass of fresh squeezed O.J. or a coffee drink to grease the gullet. Then on to the food, which gets to your table quick. This is hearty stuff, so expect to leave full. But oh so pleasantly. It's hard to say Mama's has a specialty, but the exotic french toasts could qualify. The orange-cranberry-walnut french toast topped with a mix of fresh berries was the topper, but banana-nut, chocolate cinnamon, Kugelpuph (with cinnamon swirled brioche) and apple pan dore (made from a baguette, piled with apples and butter-lemon sauce) are serious contenders. The thick but fluffy buttermilk pancakes are also world class. And don't miss the container of homemade red raspberry jam, terrific on anything.
Egg dishes are popular as well. There are several varieties of fluffy omelettes and a number of poached egg preparations, including crab benedict.
And there's no fall-off with the sides. Hash-browned redskin potato chunks are mixed with onions and grilled to perfection. For a meat, choose a big slab of lean char-grilled ham, succulent links of sausage, or thick bacon.
For dessert, grab one of the moist, unbelievably delicious coffee cakes from by the register. The edge would have to go to blueberry, seemingly half berries, topped with a thick crust of succulent crumbs. Chocolate, fudge, apple and the misnamed "plain" are similarly spectacular. Mama's is unbelievably good, one of the great pleasures in a great city.
