Bill's Cafe

photo - Yelp, Danster L.

Bill's Cafe, Brunch, San Jose
April 24, 2016

P:
Chorizo Scramble - Chorizo, Avocado, Tomatoes and Onions topped with Cheddar Cheese.  Served with fresh salsa.
Sub buttermilk pancake for toast.

J:
Mexicano Omelette - Filled with Jalapeno Chilies, Avocado, Sour Cream, Jack Cheese, topped with fresh salsa.
Sub buttermilk pancake for toast.


Notes:
We found ourselves in San Jose on this bright and windy (late) morning for a little shopping and a bite to eat.  Bill's Cafe is a favorite of a close friend, so we figured that was a good enough reason to try it.

This is one of those places that I think would hold institution status if I knew anything at all about what's up with San Jose.  Why do I say that?  Well, the restaurant was packed, their parking lot full, and throngs of people were waiting outside for a table.  Across the street, at what seemed a perfectly fine place for brunch, if not a little fancier from what I could tell, sat a near empty restaurant.

Bill's Cafe is much like any classic diner: huge menu, quick food, bustling atmosphere.  And noisy.  OH, so noisy!  I had the pleasure of sitting next to the bus tub that day.  You know, that plastic bin where the plates and glasses are chucked after clearing a table (and before they make their way to the dish pit)?  Most often, this type of thing is cleverly stowed out of sight, but even then you can hear that unmistakable clash and clang emanating from its hiding place.  Not here.  This one was planted on the table top of the wait station right next to our table, and right next to my head.  Ear plugs would've been good.

Patrick seemed to be pretty pleased with his scramble, but most enamored with the uncommonly prepared hash browns.  They started with shredded potatoes, and appeared to have been cooked as a giant inch-thick slab, from which smaller sections were cut for plating.  "So what," you say?  Well, it's the interior that made these different.  The shredded potatoes must have first been cooked through by way of steaming or boiling, which resulted in an almost baked-potato-like fluffy interior with an evenly crisp, golden top and bottom crust.  These were quite good as far as hash browns go, and worth going back for.

I was equally hot for the hash browns, but much less so with my omelette.  The jalapenos were pickled, which I don't care for as much as fresh in this case, and it was not "filled with" avocado as I expected but instead topped with two slices (Patrick's scramble also suffered from the same affliction, but he didn't complain).  And aside from all of that, the eggs were terribly overcooked and dry.

The pancakes were a win, though - thick, fluffy, dark golden brown and not at all heavy.  The butter on the side was incredibly salty and whipped until light and airy, the sum of which equals perfect.  I couldn't eat a stack of these pancakes, but the one was just what I needed.


We're not in San Jose often, but if we were, and if our friend said "Hey, let's go to Bill's", we'd definitely go.  I'll just order something different, make sure to get the pancake, and try to avoid the bus tub.