Memories of Boondock's,Sundeckers and Greenthumbs

[momo'tc]

Does anyone remember this restaurant from the mid '70's? I am trying to remember the name of a dish that Chef Rusty Traylor had on the menu for lunch......it was a mix of ground beef, spinach (he was a big fan of spinach) eggs and parmesan cheese....and it had an unusual name. I've been trying to remember the name of that recipe for weeks now!....so help would be appreciated.

Edited March 26, 2004 by momo'tc (log)

[FWED]

From the ingredients it sounds like Joe's Special. It was very big in the 70's especially for brunch or breakfast.

[laurel]

If you're looking for a place to order it, I've seen Joe's Special at 13 coins. The menu there probably hsan't changed since the mid 70's.

[tsquare]

Portage Bay Cafe also has Joe's special on the weekend.

[MGLloyd]

I can say with pleasure that I did eat at Boondock's, etc. during that time period, and ate that actual item. It was indeed a fairly classic Joe's Special, it also had onions in it as I recall, but I am not sure if they called it a Joe's Special. I want to say that it had some funky name, but eating it proved it was a Joe's Special. I like to throw some Worchestershire sauce into mine as I brown the ground beef and sweat the onions.

[momo'tc]

THANK YOU all for your responses! Joe's Special now sounds familiar....it is not a menu item I have seen here in Canada (I lived in Seattle only briefly in the 70's.....still have many fond memories of great times and great restaurant experiences.).....I don't think I've seen it anywhere other than Seattle. Does anyone have a recipe....are there other ingredients I've forgotten?

[heyjude]

It is generally accepted that this is a San Francisco dish, but many restaurant's claim they originated it, especially if they have Joe's in their name. It seems to go back as far as the 1850's, but has been served all over the Bay Area for both brunch and dinner for most of the last century. It appears with many variations in a lot of cookbooks. Most add mushrooms and Italian sausage is often subbed for the ground beef. I had it that way in 1962 in Oakland where it was called Ravazza's Special for the eponymous restaurant. I made it from memory the first time I ever cooked for a boyfriend. A Real American Breakfast by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison has it on page 9 and it appears in San Francisco a la Carte by the Junior League of San Francisco(1979). I'm sure Sunset Magazine has published what they call the original and variations over the years. The worst I've seen had one egg and a can of spinach for 1 pound of ground beef. I made a batch for dinner last week and reheated the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. And I still order it in restaurants.

[SeaGal]

Yes, their was sort of a chain or loose affiliation of restaurants in the Bay Area that used the "Joe's" moniker. We used to go to "Original Joe's" in San Jose and they had the "Joe's Special" on the menu, just as you all have described it. I never ordered it though, because I always went for one of the chicken or veal sautes or the grilled lamb chops. Yum--I kind of miss that place.

Jan

[wesza]

Yes, their was sort of a chain or loose affiliation of restaurants in the Bay Area that used the "Joe's" moniker. We used to go to "Original Joe's" in San Jose and they had the "Joe's Special" on the menu, just as you all have described it. I never ordered it though, because I always went for one of the chicken or veal sautes or the grilled lamb chops. Yum--I kind of miss that place.

Jan

SeaGal [JAN]:

You correct it was served at the "Original Joe's" and all the other Restaurant's loosely affiliated in the San Francisco area. That and the "Sweetbreads" were served pretty much the same way at every location,

The only time I tried it in Seattle was at the SeaTac location of the "13 Coins" and it was inedible, not even vaguely similar to the one served in San Francisco. The only dish that I've been served at the "13 Coins" that I was dissatisfied with after eating there many times.

I still enjoy it at home and when I visit the Bay area, never tried it at Boondock's.

Irwin

[mark918]

If I remember correctly, I think Family Pancake House (a chain with various locations around Western Washington) has Joe's Special on their breakfast menu as well.

[momo'tc]

Well I finally gathered up ingredients and made Joe's Special last night........it was OK but somehow felt it could have been better. My son(teencook19 on egullet) and I both felt it was rather dry and a bit bland....think we need to experiement a bit with seasonings. I did find some recipes for Joe's Special on the web that called for mushrooms and I think that might be a good addition, I used frozen Spinach as several recipes suggested but think I'd prefer fresh, so will try that next time. I used four eggs to my pound and1/4 ground beef but chould have used 5 or 6....just not eggy enough.

Any other thoughts on improvements????