The Pearl Brewery’s Farmers Market has built quite a following on Saturday mornings. San Antonians from all over the city descend upon the complex to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables along with prime cuts of meat from local ranchers. But one thing that people seem to overlook is the breakfast that is being served at Il Sogno, the Italian Osteria by local chef Andrew Weissman. I learned about Il Sogno’s breakfast after interviewing Pat Condon for a Qué Pasa article on the blog, and finally got the chance to check it out myself (note: they are not open for breakfast on a Sunday).
I decided to eat breakfast out on the patio because it was not too hot this past Saturday morning. My server, Kelly, offered some water with fresh citrus; I got to chose from a patter of thinly sliced ruby red grapefruit, orange, lime and lemon (I went for the grapefruit). She also went through the list of coffees and I ordered the macchiato, which came out with this cool little tray of exotic sugar cubes and sugars. The macchiato looked amazing and had a small hazelnut macaroon on the saucer. Paying attention to the small details is what Il Sogno does best: different citrus options for your water, the little tray of sugars makes and bonus macaroon with the coffee makes you feel like you are special.
I want to talk a little about the the service that I received at Il Sogno. It had been a while, over two and a half years, since I last went there and was not impressed by the service (I did love the food) – I got the “punk kid” treatment where the waitstaff basically thought I wasn’t going to spend any money. At this visit, I had a completely different experience and the service was awesome. Kelly, my waitress, was very affable without being obtrusive and was very knowledgeable about the menu along with suggestions. She didn’t judge me by my appearance and made sure that everything was perfect. She did this in spite of the fact that I was dining alone and knowing that I was going to have a small ticket. From what I have heard from friends and bloggers alike, Kelly’s stellar service seems to be more typical of Il Sogno than what I had previously received. At any rate, she should be commended because she single handedly changed my perspective of service at the restaurant.
Even though I wanted to get the French Toast, I decided to go with Pat’s suggestion of the coddled eggs, which comes with bacon, potatoes and toast. The eggs are kind of like poached eggs; the eggs have the white cooked through, enveloping the yolk inside. When you cut through it, the yolk is still runny instead of solid. I liked the eggs this style because it’s how I like a fried egg: the white solid and the yolk runny. The tops of the eggs had some herbs that gave them a little extra flavor.
The potatoes were delicious and had a sweet taste to them, and the bacon was two big slabs (though I would have preferred the bacon to be a little more crispy, but that is just my preference). I liked the toast as well, I think the waitress said that they make the bread in house but I could be wrong, and the blueberry jam was particularly good.
Equally impressive as the quality of the breakfast was the price of the ticket – I got out for $13.50. If you think about it, this is roughly 20-50% higher than what a ticket would come to at Jim’s, and you get both top notch food and service. Il Sogno does breakfast right: the right flavors, right service and right price. The Saturday breakfast at Il Sogno lived up to all the hype and is one of the best breakfasts in town.
Address: 200 East Grayson Street #100, San Antonio, TX 78215
Facebook: Like Il Sogno
Twitter: Follow @IlSognoSA
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