The most elegant Mother's Day Brunch in San Francisco will be found at the Garden Court of the Palace Hotel. Nobody in San Francisco tops what the Garden Court has to offer.
The Mother's Day Brunch Menu for Sunday, May 10, 2009:
~ Mimosas & Orange Juice ~
~ Breakfast Pastries ~
Mini Fruited and Grain Muffins, Chocolate and Traditional Croissants, Cinnamon Streusel
Cakes, Bagels, Breakfast Breads, Coffee Cakes,
Fruit and Cheese Danish
~ Breakfast Station ~
Scrambled Eggs, Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Chicken Apple Sausage,
Potatoes Lyonnaise, Canadian Bacon, Cheese Blintz,
French Toast with Warm Maple Syrup
Scrambled Eggs, Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Chicken Apple Sausage,
Potatoes Lyonnaise, Canadian Bacon, Cheese Blintz,
French Toast with Warm Maple Syrup
~ Eggs and Omelets ~
Eggs, Egg Beaters and Egg White Omelets
With an assortment of Condiments to include:
Cheddar and Swiss Cheeses, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers, Ham, Green Onions,
Shrimp, Smoked Salmon
Eggs, Egg Beaters and Egg White Omelets
With an assortment of Condiments to include:
Cheddar and Swiss Cheeses, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers, Ham, Green Onions,
Shrimp, Smoked Salmon
Traditional and Crab Eggs Benedict with Lemon Hollandaise
~ Crepes ~
Light, Golden Crepes with an assortment of:
Berry, Chocolate, Orange, Vanilla, Bean and Mango Sauces,
Shaved Dark, Milk and White Chocolate,
Diced Mango, Papaya and Pineapple,
Cherries, Fresh Berries, Whipped Cream
Light, Golden Crepes with an assortment of:
Berry, Chocolate, Orange, Vanilla, Bean and Mango Sauces,
Shaved Dark, Milk and White Chocolate,
Diced Mango, Papaya and Pineapple,
Cherries, Fresh Berries, Whipped Cream
Here's what makes the Garden Court so spectacular:
Picture this:
It is San Francisco in 1875. The Civil War had come to a bloody end twelve years before. The City in those days was centered around the docks along the Embarcadero (the shore in those days was back several blocks. The modern-day Embarcadero sits on land reclaimed from the bay) and grew outward from that point.
Much of the town was little more than a collection of ramshackle buildings. A good number of the saloons and warehouses along the shore of the bay were really old sailing ships that had been hauled up from the water and remodeled.
It was the Wild West. Towns were dusty and dirty. Paint was seldom used other than simple whitewash.
There were some exceptions, of course. Chinatown was nothing short of glorious. It was a wonderful place to be as far as family and nurturing and childhood are concerned, but it was also cramped and squalid and impoverished. The families in Chinatown didn't have much in the material sense, but they had a warmth of tradition and family that are still unequaled in most of today's San Francisco households. Chinatown was easily the prettiest place in the San Francisco of 1875. It was ablaze with red and gold. To outsiders it seemed that lion dances were weekly events and strings of firecrackers were forever being ignited. The scent of rich sandalwood incense perpetually drifted through the air. It still does.
The rest of San Francisco was pretty drab. Even the mansions on Rincon Hill (the elite address during the 1850's to 1870's, before Nob Hill came into fashion) were not as impressive as the Palace Hotel when it opened its doors in 1875.
It was such a stunning experience to walk into the Palace Hotel for the first time. One stepped out of a dusty John Wayne movie set into an absolutely spectacular European palace. It was grand and massive. Granite and polished marble, cut-glass chandeliers imported from Austria, deep burgundy red carpets, French furniture ... and on and on. It was opulent and magical. For many Californians it was the experience of a lifetime.
Guests arrived through the Garden Court entrance where carriages brought their passengers to the grand entrance through a U-shaped drive. The drive was known as the Garden Court. Once inside, admirers were awed by the hotel's four hydraulic elevators known as "rising rooms." Now guests could reach the hotel's top floors without effort. Each room was equipped with an electronic call button so that every guest's whim was met quickly and fulfilled completely.
Today the Garden Court is no longer the carriage entrance. The space is now enclosed in a magnificent stained-glass dome. It covers one of the world's most elegant restaurants - The Garden Court. With its incredible architecture and Austrian crystal chandeliers, The Garden Court became the site for some of the nation's most prestigious events.
Throughout its history, the Palace Hotel has witnessed the arrival of numerous prestigious guests. Presidents U. S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, and Rutherford B. Hayes stayed there, as did President Warren G. Harding, who died there. King David Kalakaua of Hawaii also died there. Business leaders John D. Rockefeller and J. P. Morgan were guests, as were renowned British playwright Oscar Wilde, actress Sarah Bernhardt (who arrived with her pet baby tiger), and opera legend Enrico Caruso.
In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson hosted two luncheons in support of the Versailles Treaty which ended World War I. In 1945, the official banquet honoring the opening session of the United Nations was held in The Garden Court.
If you are a San Franciscan and have not yet been to the Garden Court, then shame on you! If you do not live in San Francisco, then make your plans now to enjoy this magnificent restaurant on your very next visit to this beautiful City by the Bay.
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