I ordered two things at Art’s Cafe!

Art’s Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco. Granted, it’s open only 7 AM-3 PM, has limited seating, and has the tiniest bathroom I’ve ever seen. But the food is good, the strawberry lemonade is amazing, the atmosphere home-y, and the staff (husband-and-wife team) friendly and extremely efficient.

Don’t order two things, though.

We had a friend visit from out of town, took him to Art’s (he’s a big guy), and he ordered two entrées and the wife part of the h-and-w team questioned him, as she laughed, “Both? You want both?” When he confirmed that he did want both, she laughed again and shook her head as she walked away. Both he, my wife, and I were all baffled by this behavior. Don’t restaurants want their customers to order more? And is it really completely unheard of that a big guy might order two entrées?

I guess it’s part of the charm of Art’s, though. You are a customer, and they are a business, but it does feel a little like home, and the wife part of the h-and-w team sometimes acts as if she’s your mom.

Well, I had a moment of weakness this past weekend and ordered two things. I had a grilled cheese sandwich, which comes with fries, and (gasp!) I dared order a side of hash browns, too. Just as she did our friend, she questioned me as to whether or not I wanted both, and all I could say was, “I like potatoes….” I got the eye-roll, the laugh, and the head-shake. Nevertheless, and most importantly, I got both my French fries and my hash browns. Yummy.

7 comments

  1. What… ???

    Did they say why? Did you check to see if they spit in your food? They could be lazier workers, you know…

    Something tells me this is shady business ;)
    “You can have one or the other. Pick.” –Common cliche

  2. Hmm. Remember when you said that you were a vegetarian just because you’re a picky eater?

    I eat mostly meat, and it’s because I’m a picky eater (and it causes me less digestive problems). The problem with this is that people have unrealistic expectations for what the size of a portion of meat should look like. It seems to be quite the same with vegetarians and potatoes.

    I’ll definitely check it out when I visit SF later this year.

  3. I miss Arts. If anyone was wondering I’m the double order-er. I’d totally do it again. In my defense the food in Ohio sucks and so when I travel I feel obligated to eat. But it should be said that the double entree is not hard. And I’m really proud of A

  4. @mc
    Definitely check out Art’s when you’re in SF and let me know if you get the same reaction from that lady.

    @euge
    No defense needed. Come back here again and I’ll treat you to a double-entree!

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