"The food in the United States and the United Kingdom is not very good." This is a common perception among people who often go abroad. "But only breakfast is delicious for some reason." It's strange, but it's also true.

One example is Sarabeth, the Queen of Breakfast in NY. The breakfast menu here was a taste that would satisfy even the most discerning Japanese.

However, "Sarabeth" is not the only delicious breakfast restaurant. There are still delicious breakfast restaurants in the United States. One of them is "STACKS" in San Francisco.


"Stax" is a local citizen who has won "Best Breakfast" and "Best Brunch" in San Francisco's local newspapers such as "San Francisco Chronicle" and "San Jose Mercury News". It is a famous restaurant that everyone knows.

So what kind of restaurant is "Stax" and what kind of breakfast can you eat there? I visited the Burlingame store of "Stax" and checked it. It's a chain store where you can enjoy pancakes, waffles, and French toast, but it has the atmosphere of a small local restaurant.

■ "Stax" is a restaurant where you can eat breakfast until 2:30 pm

"Stax" is open from 7:00 am to 2:30 pm. Even if you visit around 2 o'clock, you can have breakfast.




■ You will be overwhelmed by the large number of menus!

The staff handed me the menu and turned the page and noticed the large number of items. Just by counting, there are more than 60 types of breakfast menus and more than 40 types of lunch menus. For example, there were 6 types of scrambled eggs alone.

When I asked the staff how many items there were in total, the answer was, "No one knows that." Taking the scrambled eggs as an example, you can increase or decrease the number of eggs and change the toppings according to the customer's request, so if you include such things, the number of menus is infinite.

From the endless menu, I chose "Savory Carnitas Pancake", which is a pancake topped with "carnitas" seasoned with pork in barbecue sauce. I wanted to try something that I couldn't eat in Japan. Well, is this choice good or bad?


I'm afraid, so I ordered the general "Breakfast Basics" as insurance if my body didn't accept the "Carnita Spancake".


■ What is the taste of "Carnita Spancake"?

"Carnita spancake" is 3 sweet pancakes, sweet and spicy pork, and even this! A menu consisting of a large amount of butter and a small bottle of maple syrup. The closest thing you can eat in Japan is McGriddles from McDonald's. Yes, that is the menu.


Butter and maple syrup are essential to eating this dish. Carnitas is delicious and pancakes are excellent, but Ikansen has only these two flavors. If you don't add butter or maple to change the taste, it will be too monotonous and you will get tired of eating it. Yes, the choice of "Carnita Spancake" was a failure.


On the other hand, "Breakfast Basics" was delicious to let go. A really "Basic" breakfast with sausages, scrambled eggs, hash browns and bagels on the plate. But each level is high. Especially bagels. The texture is quick and light, more like toasted bread than bagels. But the taste is bagels. If this is the case, you may be able to eat as many as you like.


■ Where are the good points of Stax?

This time, I chose a challenging menu and missed it, but all the regular menus of "Stax" are delicious. Pancakes, waffles and French toast are all wonderful. It's a popular restaurant, so it's natural that it tastes good. But that's not the only reason why Stax is so popular.

On holiday mornings, there are always long lines in front of the Stax store. Also, due to its high popularity, a breakfast restaurant, which apparently imitated Stax, opened in the suburbs. Why do people in the San Francisco / Bay Area have breakfast at Stax every week? I asked the customer.

Female customer A : "It's fun to chat with my neighbors. And when I'm lined up here, I sometimes meet nostalgic people. I moved to another city and I can't meet anymore. People live in different cities, but sometimes they come by car just to eat breakfast here. I'm looking forward to seeing them. "

Male customer B : "I'm reading the newspaper. For more than 10 years, I've decided to read the thick Sunday newspaper at this seat in this store."

Male customer C : "I'm going for a walk with my dog. At the table outside the store, I can have my dog with me."


Apparently, "Stax" is a breakfast restaurant that meets the local needs of these locals. And if these are the secrets of Stax's success, it's hard to say whether it will land in Japan and succeed. Japan has its own requirements, which are quite different from those of the San Francisco people. Unlike "Sarabeth", "Stax" may not land in Japan.

But there is no doubt that it is a delicious breakfast restaurant. If you have a chance to go to San Francisco, be sure to visit "Stax". At that time, it is recommended to choose a simple menu without much challenge.