Alana's Cafe - Breakfast/Brunch, Burlingame

1408 Burlingame Ave, Burlingame CA 94010
(650) 348-0417
Parking: street parking
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am - 3pm, Sat 8am-3pm, Sun 8am-2pm; Dinner Tues-Fri 5pm start
http://www.alanascafe.com/

Last Visited: July 28, 2013

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

During a walk through downtown Burlingame just after a Sunday lunch, I noticed a long line spilling out of a place with lots of energy - that was the first time I came across Alana's Cafe.  So when a buddy said she wanted brunch, this seemed like a great spot to check out.

Alana's serves breakfast and lunch all day.  Choices include Swedish pancakes, french toast, scrambles, quiche, and more.  You'll also see a lingonberries on the menu (I thought that was only available at Ikea...). Enter the place and you'll see counter seating and tables with lots of hustle and bustle by the folks working in the open kitchen area behind the counter.

- Company's Coming - Sauteed homefries, tomatoes, scallions, mushroom, Italian sausage, cheddar, provolone cheese, and two poached eggs served with fruit and choice of scone, coffee cake, or toast.  Today's scone choice was kiwi or hibiscus and the fruit was a slice of watermelon and slice of pineapple.  The mix of flavors from the sweetness of the tomatoes and the spiciness of the sausage really add to the crisp homefries.  I loved how the poached eggs were placed on top of the potatoes so that you could break them and let the yolks ooze over the mix of veggies and sausage.  The fruit was fresh and while the hibiscus scone was hard, it had good flavor.  I took most of the scone home since I was pretty stuffed and toasting it made the texture so much softer - I preferred it more when warmed.  Portions in general are hearty.  $11.75

The service was friendly.  Note that you won't be able to be seated until your entire party is present, and if you're looking for a bargain, you can check in on yelp for 10% off .  I did notice that the folks at the counter next to us put in their order at the same time, but didn't get food until much later - when it arrived, it didn't look like anything that wasn't already being made, so it seems that the kitchen's timing with orders could be improved slightly.  Overall, it's a solid brunch place with a lot of charm.