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Breakfast on the Other Side of the Bay By Zahra Kassamali My mama never cooked breakfast like Mama’s Royal Café. And that’s probably a good thing, because if she did I might have had a premature heart attack at 8 years old. But for a weekend brunch that will fill you up all day, Mama’s Royal Café is your place. My friend Ariana suggested Mama’s since we decided to eat brunch over in the East Bay. The restaurant is located on Broadway at 40th Street in Oakland. There’s usually lots of metered parking around, but the meter maids are well aware of Mama’s popularity and come out in full force to ticket you while you’re enjoying your pancakes. So make sure to feed the meter before you feed yourself. At about noon on Saturday, we had a 20-minute wait. Inside, the café has put as many tables as it can possibly fit so that walking between them is almost impossible. There’s lots of chatter and it can get pretty loud, so this isn’t the place for an intimate date. After my former description, you may wonder why anyone goes through the hassle of potential parking tickets and trying not to trip over chairs just for some breakfast. But the food is definitely worth it. Ariana ordered the Vegi Jo breakfast special that included eggs scrambled with vegetarian sausage, spinach, mushrooms and cheese. I opted to make my own omelet with green chile, avocado and cheese. Both of our dishes were served with toast and the best homefried potatoes I’ve ever had. The potatoes were spiced just right with garlic and some chile. Ariana’s Vegi Jo was also incredibly flavorful and the vegetarian sausage had all the flavor of sausage without so much grease. My omelet was delightfully fluffy and huge. I wonder if there were a dozen eggs in it. Nevertheless, I couldn’t finish it, especially because I’d opted for some heavy ingredients (avocado and cheese). I definitely finished my potatoes though. Mama’s specializes in breakfast foods and serves from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on the weekends. There are tons of options; one section of the menu is entitled “Hollandaise”, and includes a series of dishes topped with hollandaise sauce. As for the more health conscious, there are some lighter options. You can order an egg white omelet and Mama’s also offers fresh fruit, granola, and oatmeal or 8-grain hot cereal. Additionally, if you don’t want all of the sides offered with your main dish, you can pick one and they’ll even charge you a little bit less. Speaking of money, the prices at Mama’s are reasonable. Most egg dishes cost $8 to $12 and pancakes, French toast and waffles range from $5 to $8. Overall, I’d highly recommend Mama’s as a place to check out if you find yourself across the bay. http://www.mamasroyalcafeoakland.com/ 5 out of 5 stars Zahra Kassamali is a second-year pharmacy student. | |||
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