Fine Dining - Another Broken Egg Cafe: King of Brunch

Episode Date: October 21, 2026

🍳🥂 Another Broken Egg Cafe: Boozy Brunch, Private Equity, and the Egg Price Police 🥂🍳 This week, Juliet Kaufman (@jewlkoff) joins me to crack open (like an egg, get it??) the history of Another Broken Egg Cafe, a brunch chain that started in a turn-of-the-century summer home and grew national. We explore how a little restaurant called Broken Egg Cafe became ANOTHER Broken Egg Cafe, how you can run a restaurant without chefs, and why brunch might just be the perfect business model. Plus, Yelp teaches us that the price of eggs is apparently a matter for law enforcement. 🥚 Why Broken Egg Cafe Became ANOTHER Broken Egg Cafe 👨‍🍳 No Chefs Required! The Restaurant's Unusual Kitchen Model 🥂 Yes, There's Booze! 💰 Selling Its Soul to Private Equity 🍄 The Heat Lamp: Juliet Is SICK of Mushrooms Being a Default Vegetarian Entrée 🚔 Yelp from Strangers: "Todd Fakeberg" Allegedly Calls the Cops Over an Argument About Egg Prices 🍳 How a Little Breakfast Spot Became a Major Brunch Destination 💬 COMMENT BELOW: What's the most disappointing vegetarian option you've ever seen on a restaurant menu? 📢 SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY:🎉 Patreon (Bonus episodes, extended Yelp segments & more): patreon.com/finediningpodcast 💬 Discord (Food talk, memes, cursed Yelp): discord.gg/6a2YqrtWV4 🎥 Watch full episodes: youtube.com/channel/UCLbraNhL6KhDPkdSWt2yiuw 🔗 All links: linktree.com/finediningpodcast 🎤 Guest: Juliet Kaufman | IG: @jewlkoff Patreon Producers:Sue Ornelas, Joyce Van, & Robert McLaughlin Patreon Subscribers:David Ornelas, Kellie Baldwin, Jeremy Horwitz, Herbert Amaya, Simone Davalos, Scott Bennett, Amy Reinhart, Josef Castaneda-Liles, & Michelle Elmer Free Patreon Followers:Joe Warszalek, Lauren Cummings, Grace Krainak, Keri Estes, Robert Duran, Patrick Elliott, Dave Plummer, Nicholas Volney, Michael Gerard, Tracy Molino, Phuong Duong, Tyler Robinson, Brandon Gully, Mason Cruz, Michael Milito, Mez, Aaron Hubbard, Steff, Renae Michael, Crystal C., NiZ, Science Broe, Jahid Ahmed, Jewell Hermann, Macky Markar, Morawski4, Kellie Bowes, Debra Ramsey, Jorge Gabriel Méndez Arrambide, James BacKHouse, Kimberly Burk, & Travis Langley 👉 NEXT WEEK: Juliet and I head to Another Broken Egg Cafe to try the brunch menu, review the restaurant experience, and put it to the Chili's Test! 🍳🌶️

If your default vision of a breakfast restaurant is a flashy American diner, another broken egg cafe is looking to challenge that. Focusing on a much more southern forward identity, another broken egg cafe is borderline Creole in its approach to breakfast, and it's exactly this distinction that allows it to coexist in an area of the United States otherwise dominated by Waffle House. It also seems too tranquil to fight your waiter, but where there's a will, there's a way,

so throw that chair if you're feeling particularly, particularly inspired. And unlike Waffle House, you can get drunk at another broken egg cafe. Bloody Mary's, mimosa's, and the like, prove that another broken egg trusts its customers not to get too rowdy. It's hard to fight when you've eaten even just a bite of bananas foster French toast. Trust me, I've lived full separate lives inside of food comas, and the indulgent fare at another broken egg is my portal back to visiting young Cleverton, my fictional pre-dialized. diabetic dream son. This week on the show, I'll flip my omelette of knowledge onto your skillet of curiosity so that you two may know everything I've learned about another broken egg cafe.

Then we'll direct our attention to the people of Yelp to see what they're saying about the very another broken egg cafe we feasted upon. This is the fine dining podcast. Your table is ready. Take your seat. The flavor of the day is mediocreous to try. place we've been compared to the perfect

I can't imagine throwing a chair around a waiter. I think you can. I know. To disturb the waiter and bring that much chaos. I know.

I actually saw you shaking with anxiety. The bottle is almost empty. Could you please bring another one? Mm-hmm. Yeah. It was hard. It's very hard for me to ask

for a waiter to do their job. Let alone cause them pain. Let alone cause them pain and trauma in one. But I mean, I know Waffle houses are a thing and that's part of the fun. They're rowdy. But by the way, no. That's my understanding from television.

It's a reputation they have as like a place where you go and fights might break out. It is not part of the branding. It's not restaurant policy. Like, hey, come here if you think you can take Jack, the guy over on Waffle Iron 4. That's more like Dick's. resort, right? Or like, yeah, one of those. Which again, also not encouraging hand-to-hand combat. No, but kind of inviting it. Fair. Kind of inviting it. Hello, and welcome to the fine dining podcast, the quest to compare all restaurants to chilies.

I am your host, Michael Ornellis, and this is the podcast where we dive deep into the history of your favorite restaurants and then thoroughly review them one week later by comparing them to chilies. This week, we're covering a chain that I did. know was a chain in a good way, another broken egg cafe. And joining me as a friend, improviser, teammate on my musical improv group unsupervised, and she's written multiple episodes of The Simpsons. It's Juliet Kaufman. Hi. Hello. How's it going? It's going well. Oh, yeah. Yeah. How are you doing? I'm good. I'm excited to be chatting. Yeah. Chattin about some eggs. Yeah, let's talk about that. You don't have any history with this chain or you have been once. You know what? I just put it together. It wasn't another broken egg. I think it was

broken yolk. That's a different. Is that a broken? That's a different thing. There you go. So no, I don't have any history. So you're a first timer here. This is fully new for me. I have been here because I used to live not too far away from the location we went to in Burbank. And it was- Great location. Yeah. And it was just like a go-to, like, oh, I'm feeling, I'm up early enough. And I'm willing to deal with a bit of a weight. sure. Let's go out and get breakfast at another broken egg cafe. And that's why I haven't been there because I'm never up early enough or wanting to wait in the line. Yeah.

And I know this is a place where like when my mom would come to town, I'd be like, hey, mom, I have a breakfast place that I think might be your exact speed. And it was. Eggs, exact. And she likes this place a lot. She has bought their mugs before and taken them home.

I did note of the mugs. They've got a whole thing behind the host stand. of all the mugs that they sell. Right. So yeah, this is a place that I've liked, but it took doing this podcast for me to learn that it was in fact a chain. Because to me, it kind of felt like a local business, I guess. Mm-hmm.

I see it. Yeah. I do. We'll talk a little bit later about losing the veneer of it being a mom and pop. Yeah. The chainification of it in my brain that like Kaiser Soze moment. Yeah. Yeah, it was a chain all the time. It was all along.

Yeah. Yeah. Another broken eggs founder walks with a limp and then turns a corner and starts walking straight. And he's fine. He's been fine all along. Like you when you're when you park. Okay. Do you want to hear the history of this change? You know it. We're going to jump into this week's eat deets. Eatery details.

Ron Green opened the original Broken Egg Cafe. in 1996 inside a turn-of-the-century summer home in Old Mandeville, Louisiana. When it proved popular enough for a second restaurant in Destin, Florida in 1998, that one became another broken egg cafe and supplied the eventual chain name. I don't know about this another broken egg cafe. Right. Another, it tells me, it's so throwaway. It's like when you put board into a screenplay, if you write the word board,

and then the person reading the script sees this character's bored. So am I. So am I. Yeah. Exactly. So I'm a little wary. And then it had me thinking this is very just throat way, like you said. Yeah.

It feels like you're driving and counting. Yeah. Like, oh, there's a broken egg cafe. Right. You're on a road trip. There's another one. There's another one. You're playing road bingo.

But some people also might view this as, is it DJ Khalid? That has another one. Another one. Wow. Very hip for you. Yeah. I'm not even sure I got it correct. I think you did.

I've been told by Gen Ziers that you have Riz. I've got Riz. The Gen Z people do understand being better than others. Yeah. Yeah. I've truly been crowned one of the Gen Z. Gen Z queen. A Gen Z queen, an honorary member.

You're Z maxing. I'm Z maxing. And the fact I even know with that. What maxing is tells you I'm Gen Z. And the fact that the other day when I asked you, how do I sound more Gen Z? Your advice was add maxing to things. Just add maxing. It's either maxing or it's giving.

Yeah. It's giving maxing. And then you're like, that's it. Yeah. You're set. And nope. Huh. I didn't.

I was trying to formulate a joke in my brain. And I didn't come. It didn't come. Wow. Weird for you. Oh. Is there not supposed to be a dynamic? Canonically, you and court are my bullies.

We're the bullies. We take up the bully. And Alex tries, but mostly she just went after my hair when I had long hair. Wow. And then she'd be like, but you know I'm only doing it because your hair's so great. And I'm just like, I cut it off because of you. You do have a thick head of hair, as they say. Yeah, I've got a decent head of hair.

Yeah. At our age, not bad. At our advanced age. At our advanced. I'm hair maxing. You're hair maxing for real. Another broken egg cafe's identity is less of a diner breakfast than it is a Louisiana, low country-inspired indulgence. Shrimp and grits, Benedicts, jumbalaya, gumbo, chicken and waffles, bignets, oversized French toast, and increasingly elaborate seasonal dishes. 2026 brought a champagne butter lobster omelet and fried green tomato shrimp Benedict.

A full cocktail bar, mimosas and Bloody Marys, also separate it from more breakfast-first rivals, such as First Watch. Looking back, I wish I'd tried the shrimp Benedict. I wish that I did kind of go a little more hard on the theme of this restaurant and commit a little bit more. To the southern. Yeah, the southern side of things. Yeah. Because I went Huevos Rancheros, which is south. Way further south.

Way further south. We're talking about a different side. South. Different country. But I mean, I also got the Southwest Scramble. So, you know. You and I both kind of. I was going much more New Mexico than Louisiana.

Louisiana, which are very far from each other. But both of our partners who came. Yes. Both got variations on biscuits and gravy. Yes, they did. So they pulled their weight. They were a little bit more on theme, so to speak. I think also part of it is I've had some of those before.

And it's just. I know. Wasn't what I was in the mood for today. Same. Yeah. Yeah. I don't really branch out very much with the breakfast situation. Oh, okay.

I'm a lot more like my ideal is. Cinnamon toast crunch. No, the combo. This is me saying my ideal, not your ideal. I was just hoping we had the same one. No. I thought we were playing mind meld. There's no mind meld.

Three, two, one. Cinnamon toast crunch. No. Sampler platter. No, great, best word in improv. No, but. Yeah. As long as you have a butt, I think, no, I, you know, I'm trying to be a better improviser all the time. Yeah. But yeah, a sample, like a all American breakfast. Sure. Yeah. Love. Eggs. toast. toast. Potatoes. And then for me, if there's a veggie situation, like a veggie patty. Yeah. Oh, beautiful. Give me one pancake on the side. Oh, even better. Yeah. Share it with the part. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Whenever I go do a

a diner. That is my order. Mm-hmm. Same. For sure. When a place is like this and it's like, hey, we thought of this crazy thing. Yeah. Do you want to eat birthday confetti cake Belgian waffle? I go, no, but I'm curious. So I guess I'll have an order of it. Uh-huh. You want to try it. I want to try it. I like to try it. They should put one bite. Of those things. Can I change?

That's my hot page. They should do a flight. Wow. They should do a bite flight. I would sign up for the bite flight 10 times out of 10. Yeah. I love, that's my ideal situation. Give me all your crazy things.

Yeah. One bite of each. One bite each. Yeah. We have a restaurant idea with that, I think. It's just a bite. It's like tapas, but bite flight. Yeah, yeah.

And it's just, you get those little like snack packs and every little square has a different little fight in it. Yeah. And it's got Hello Kitty characters on the cover of it. Yay. That's my pillcase. Yeah. Chef inspired, no chef required is the scaling business model. I found no evidence of some notorious quality downgrade as another Broken Egg Cafe franchised, but its own pitch makes the compromise pretty plain. Recipes are designed to be uncomplicated and turnkey, so no professional chef is required. In other words, the Southern Thurton's flourishes survived, but they've been systematized for repeatability, training, and franchise kitchens rather than depending on an individual chef at every store.

I mean, I know that's the way that these things have to go if you want to franchise. It's annoying. It's annoying. Because it removes an element of pride. Yeah. And I think all food should be served by someone who's like happy to give it to you because they made it as opposed to, well, we put this in a microwave or we put this on a stove for, you know, I don't, I don't want someone reading a chart while they're making my food. Right. It's not a frappuccino that you're building.

Yeah. I want someone to be like, oh, what if? And they, and then they throw in like a sprinkle of salt in a way that it like creates like a pink smoke cloud like a Disney movie. Like that's what you don't get to see the cloud. I don't care. You don't, you just want to know the cloud existed. Yeah. It's kind of like watching like a science lab in, in a cartoon. Yeah. Yeah. That's how I, that's the magic I want to be happening in these kitchens.

Sure. I don't want just someone to be like, oh, turn the eggs. Right. Oh, got the timer. Yeah. The timer is, is the real chef. If you're not cooking with spirit and instinct. Yeah.

Well, at that point, too, I'm like. I'll go to my usual quick places and eat at home. Yeah. You know? Or like make something at home for myself. Otherwise. Do you ever experiment like crazy stuff that you make at home? How often do you make a new thing you've never made before at home?

So rare. Yeah. So rare. So rare. So rare. They find like the six or seven things. Six or seven. Six seven.

I have to do as a Gen Z person. It's like part of us. Eight nine. Eight, nine is the next level. Yeah. But yeah, no. Mine is less than six or seven. I can't do six or seven.

I think there's probably like three to four that I will hit up. I'll make pasta. Yeah. I'll make like a good old PBJ. Oh, that counts. See. Breakfast cereal. Spreadables.

That counts. That counts. Then I've got six to seven. Yeah. I was like, quit encroaching on my numbers. I've definitely got six, seven. You know, we have a grill, so hot dogs and steaks. Okay.

Okay. That's a little higher rent. Yeah. That's a little more. I've been trying to get better at making burgers, but like they've, they never turn out the way I want them. And you can just go buy one so easily. Burgers are so accessible. They're very accessible.

That's a classic. That's, yeah. That's another thing is like if I can actually make it at home. Yeah. Or versus if it's easy. And then Joyce does like a variety of like, she'll fry. some rice or like make like yeah like a stir fry or something like that so between the two of us yeah we've got like a dozen but most of them are her now do you eat together like do you eat the same food

yeah yeah i mean she'll be like i'm i am making this do you want some and then i'll be like oh yeah yeah because mike and i will we'll order food together but we'll kind of make food separately yeah because we eat such different things yeah yeah yeah so sometimes it'll come from the same place. A lot of the time, it'll be a different source. And it's okay, you know, but sometimes... We make it work. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes you want to share. Yeah. Oh, let's not get into that. It's not get into that. That's already been a hot topic. Yeah. Another broken egg went from 65 stores in 2017 to 80 in 2022 and celebrated its 100th in 24. Today, the company says 100 plus cafes in 17 states. The system is franchise heavy and specifically

says it is dominated by multi-unit operators, though another broken egg also owns restaurants itself corporately. Northern Colorado got a five-unit deal and a San Antonio restaurant is now in the works as the brand keeps filling geographic gaps. As of 2017, the company is also now owned by private equity as New York's Beekman Group bought a majority stake. I know you love private equity. I'm so happy Beekman got in there because that's going to be huge. Beekman working their magic. Beekman just doing their thing once again.

Everything they touch turns to gold. Turns to gold in crypto and stocks. And equity is, I'm tired. And it's private. It's so private. When is public equity going to buy Olive Garden? Is that like what could public equity even be? this point. That's straight up communism. Yeah, right? We all own. We all own, yeah. I would love to own a

steak in chilies. Yeah. That sounds great. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah. I can tell. Today, I think was the day where I was like, oh, yeah, this does taste like stuff has been cheapened a little bit. This tastes like they were like, what's the cheapest and most repeatable version of this dish? Yeah. What can we do? This, I think I've, been to broken egg in Burbank before 2017. So I've had the... Oh. So you had like the original model. And I think that's part of why my opinion of it is so high.

Yeah. Because it's like it set a good first impression. And then, you know, if a decline is gradual, but you had a good first impression, yeah. It's so hard to notice that decline. Yes and no. I just thought in my head, do you know, wake and late? I've heard of it.

I haven't had it. So Wake and Late is an L.A. breakfast burrito that was on tons of lists, highly regarded. Like what kind of list? Like it had to go door to door and tell its neighbors it lived in the neighborhood? Oh. No. No. No.

But. But here's where the good list. You know, the lists of hot lists. L.A. L.A.S. Eater L.A. Infatuation. Yeah.

Everyone's. yammering about this burrito. And they were right. It was so good. It's small, but it has tater tots in it. And the tater tots being crunchy were the key. That was what made this special. Yeah. Recently, I had it and soft tots. Not it. Soft tots. And you're paying $18 for one of these small burritos. You want your tots to crunch. Wake and lame. Wake and lame. Yeah. Wake and lame in a big And there's always a tell. There's always a turning point where you're like, oh, now I see the declining quality. I'm just saying that for me, broken eggs was gradual enough. And part of that is because I never had a go-to dish. Right. That's going to be. So I'm not tasting the same thing every time. So I can blame like, oh, that time wasn't as good as last time. I probably just ordered the wrong thing. The wrong thing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. I can never say because I never went to it before. The fall.

You can't say, so don't. Yeah. I will anyway. All right. Hi. All right. Marketing for another broken egg leans hard into Feel Like You're on Vacation, Southern Hospitality, Photogenic Seasonal Specials, and Cocktails,

rather than Celebrity Spokespeople or Goofy National Stunts. Most recently, the chain has been stretching beyond the weekend brunch occasion with lunch, delivery, and catering, an important reality check after a bullish, 2021 goal of 300 units open or in development by 2023 proved far more ambitious than the actual pace. I did not feel like I was on vacation. Let me be clear. I was having a great time. I enjoyed the company.

Yeah. But no. I will say I could see an argument for this feeling like I was on vacation in that there's always one major service hiccup when you're on vacation. I don't know if I've ever gone on a trip where I didn't have at least one meal where I was like, it was kind of like this is going to be the story I tell everyone when I get home. Right. Right. Yeah. Like this is the this is the kernel from my trip. I'm taking home. Because when you go on vacation, it's all eating out. Yes, which is why I love vacation. It's so good. It's the best. You have no excuse. But that, but that hit weight. You have nothing but excuse. Yeah. Something's going to fall short. Yeah. For sure.

Just statistically. So you, that's how you got the vacation vibe. Because it fell short. Because it fell short. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I probably should have had a drink.

Maybe I should have had a mimosa. Yeah. Should have coulda. Oh, you would have lightened up. I would have lightened the hell up. I was a real crotch. I was a crotch as hell. Is this a Gen Z thing?

I just coined it. Being a crotch. A crotch. I mean, we all know what it means. Yeah. I don't have to just describe. which is like why we use maxing on everything, why we, me and my z-ers. Yeah.

Zoomers, as we call ourselves. Okay. And that'll do it. For this week's eat deep maxing. Juliet, we both know you're only here because you're polarizing. Just last week, you told me 14 reasons you think X is better than Twitter. Well, let's hear what you have to say about restaurants and food in this next segment, the heat lamp. Juliette.

Give you my hottest steak. Hot steaks. I do so much but never freak. So hot right now. Juliet, dish. What is your food hot take? Mushrooms are not a substantial plant-based option for vegetarians. There's no protein, first of all.

Is that true? I mean, it's very little. It's a vegetable. You're not like, you're certainly not picking up tons of protein from that. Veal. They're vegetables. They just lay there. Oh, vegetables.

Oh, that's a status. My brain immediately went to Stephen Hawking, and then I was like, no, too much. Shots fire. Let's make it more palatable. Veal. They just lay there. Baby animals. Wow.

Wow. Now I'm more vegetarian somehow. We did it. We really, we worked. We worked and we succeeded. This is the goal today. Yeah. Yeah.

Let's get a burger. Fuck it. Wait, or am I? So you don't like mushrooms generally or you don't like them when they are in place of like a portobello burger? There we go. I think mushrooms are good. I'm not here to come for mushrooms if they're on their island on their own. Beautiful.

They absorb sauce as well, which I know why. Yeah. Why they like to go for that. Yeah. But I find it to be like. like I said, very low protein, not very filling. And when it's on a list compared to a delicious burger or, you know, chicken tinga or different things that are so much more substantial. And then they just say, here's some mushrooms that we threw on it.

I mean, I've gotten ones that aren't even cooked fully mushroom situations. I've just been burned a lot by like, oh, we've got a veggie option. And it's bad. What was funny is when you said chicken tinga, I fixated for probably the next 35 seconds thinking that you pronounced tenders weird. Wow. But I was like. And you're the diverse one on and supervised. I know chicken tinga is a thing.

Yeah. So it wasn't even that I didn't know what you said. It was, I didn't know. I believed you knew what you said. Honestly, that's just you knowing me better. It's very possible that I just say something. Oh, no. That didn't make sense. So impossible meat is something where you do like.

So it's not like meat substitutes are the problem. It's mushrooms and like black beans. Yes, thank you. You don't want. Yeah, exactly. It's like I understand that especially when I start to come for like the black bean patties with quinoa and they're really well thought out, you know, really cultivated and artisan. So much thought. And I'm like, I'm sorry.

That's just not for me. Yeah. Like my, it's, I should be praising of such innovation. Oh, you put these things together and made a patty. That's incredible. but the impossible burger. It's just such a step up. It's such a step up.

It's like, yeah, it's like we're, it's like we were in the cave and now of a sudden there's these high-rise condominiums and I can move into a high-rise condominium. And then someone's following you like as you're on your way to your new high-rise. And they're like, excuse me, are you in the market for a cave? A cave? No. I'm not at all. I've moved beyond it.

Look at the horizon. We've got these lifeless. con. Now I'm starting to get confusing with this metaphor. No, I want you to dig harder on this metaphor. The elevator is so fast. What is symbolically the elevator? The elevator in this case is like the meat cooks so quickly. Okay.

And it's crunchy. The elevator is like the fake blood. Yes, thank you. Yeah, the fake blood. The plant blood. The plant bud. But it's just an incredible thing that the Impossible Burger has plant blood.

To make you feel primal. Yeah. And yet you're not hurting a single thing. And that's why I don't like it. I know. You like hurt-based. I like suffer. Suffering food.

Yeah. Suffer food. No, I'm not one of those. I'm not one of those. Do your thing. I live with a meat eater. I live with two meat eaters. A man and a dog.

Because you feed her chicken. Yeah. She gets the highest quality chicken. Yeah. We get lunch at work. I'll order her a chicken breast from the commissary with some rice. It's like really high quality. Take it home.

And then Mike will be like, I think I'd like to get in on that dog food. And you're like, I'm sorry, do you work for the Simpsons? Literally, she works there. My dog works there. Have you ever taken her in? Oh, yeah. I take her in a lot. Do you have a dog-friendly office?

I do. I love the idea of that. Yeah. And it wasn't always. I think I'm a huge part of why. Trailblazer. I just started taking her in. I didn't ask anybody.

Oh. And now we have a puppy that's there every day. Can you insert photos? Yeah. I'll send you a photo of this dog because he is... What's his name? Grizzie. Grizzie.

Grizzy. He's unbelievable. He's like beautiful, perfect dog. An angel. Perfect personality. It was so kind to my senior dog. Like, patient, wanted to play but held back. Oh.

It was really sweet. A dog that knows restraint is something I've never been around. You've got some fun dogs. I have some dogs that they want what they want and they go for it always. That's very dog. My dog is not very dog. Yeah. My dog, Georgette, who now will insert a photo here of Georgette.

She's unreal as well, but she is very set in her ways and not, she's nothing like Kona. Yeah. You know, she wouldn't run right up to you and be like, hi. She would be like, why do you, what do you want? Kona is hit or miss depending on the person. Oh. You had a vibe. Wow.

She dug it. She seemed so sweet. Yeah. For, yeah. I can't imagine her. Anyways, all this conversation about sweet dogs. I love sweet dogs. Is why you're going to get canceled, I guess.

I forgot that was the conceit of this segment. All right. Thank you, Juliet. If your boss calls and asks if you said anything cancelable here, I'll lie and say no. Although you did admit to just being like, I don't care about the rules. I just show up with a dog. I just show up on my dog and let her eat the fancy food. Yeah.

You know, forgiveness, not permission. Yeah. For sure. Oh, that's very much the world I live in. Yeah. It's time to turn our attention to other people and hear what they thought about another broken Ed Cafe in this week's Yelp from Strangers. We need a little yelp, a little yelp from strangers.

A one star, two star, three star, four or five. So get a little yelp, a little yelp, a little yelp from strangers. A little yelp, a little yelp. Give us those complaints while you literally white. This is Yelp from Strangers, our segment where we turn to Yelp and read out our favorite. One, two, three, four, and five star Yelp reviews of the very broken egg, of the very another broken egg cafe. You can't even remember it. It's stupid.

It's a tough name. That we went to. Do you mind if I start with the first one? Please. One star review. This is a one star review from Charbeam from San Francisco, California, written April 14th, 20203. Okay. Never have I had such an example.

experience as the one I had at this location of ABE. The menu is poorly written by an owner who has a non-working understanding of English. Todd Fakeberg publishes a menu without pricing for eggs, egg whites, or whole eggs. His philosophy is that he sells eggs based on market price, spelled MKT. P-R-I-C-E. Oh, I'm familiar. All caps. Uh-huh.

Is he serious? Yes. There was no punctuation. Just, is he serious? Yes. The problem is that regardless of the price, he cannot add or subtract. He charged 837 for three egg whites. When I questioned his tactics and poorly written menu, he called the police on me.

What? For charging $8.30. for three eggs? Excuse me. Why are these eggs this price? 9-1-1. Validate the pricing. That's insane because that's actually a very reasonable price. Am I wrong? Three eggs? Am I wrong? At a diner, though? You're at a restaurant. 837 for three eggs. Because if you ask for a side of eggs of two eggs from any restaurant, you're looking at $5 at least. I guess. Yes, so $750 would be what I'm... Yeah.

Yeah. All right. Does she want some back on the yokes? Maybe. Is she hoping to get some money back? But it is also just the whites. No, I know. That's what I'm saying.

If a whole egg is a certain amount, I would expect whites to be less. And I know that's not the world we live in. That's not the world we live in. Because to be healthier, you have to pay more. Exactly. And that's crazy. You want less? Pay more.

That's a whole other podcast, my king. Yeah. As I tried to discuss the issue, he talked to over me, yelling. and responded so rudely, I didn't believe he was really the owner. He behaved like a short order cook from Mel's diner. That feels specific. It does feel specific. Like they know someone at Mel's.

There is an undercurrent of racism in this review as well. The first check charged 568 for two egg whites, $1.69. Wait, what was it a $1.69? I don't know. I don't know. And $4.98 for one egg. 169. What?

I don't trust this woman. He then changed the check when I questioned the charges to 568 for two egg whites and 259 for one egg white. None of the prices is on the menu, nor does the pricing of 259 for one egg white add up to 568 for two egg whites. Todd tried to tell me he was giving me a discount at 169 upcharge because normally the upcharge for Eggwites is $199. Okay, let's end this farce. The police looked at the menu and my original and revised receipts and made old Todd give me the correct price. Flight attendants, when you're overnighting in Burbank at the Burbank Hotel, please save your the headache and skip Todd

Fakeberg and his truly broken egg. Who sells eggs at market price? What? I love that review. That's a really great review. There's no way Todd Fakeberg is a person's name.

That cannot be. He must have been like, my name's Todd Fakeberg. It's like, think of a fake name. Yeah, literally. Don't say fake. Don't say fake. I'm Todd Fake. Berg. At least he got Berg in there.

Yeah. calling the police on someone for questioning the prices is not the full story. So wait, Todd called the police? That's what the same. Okay, she said Todd called the police. When I questioned the prices, he called the police on me. That can't be the story here. Then the police came and sided with Charba.

There can't be. This can't be the whole story. Charbe is giving us such a one-sided. No one who's ever had the police called on them at a restaurant tells you exactly why. Because I'm sure it was a refusal to pay. Also, can we discuss, like, I got into a car accident in December and I, it was contentious. So I did end up having to call the police, which I did not, I was not obsessed with having to do that. Yeah.

But I did it. They didn't show up. They don't come. Well, why are they showing up? They're too busy settling any disputes. That is crazy. Yeah. Don't you think you get to a point when you're writing a review, though?

like and you're like, God, there's too many numbers in here. Yeah. And it's like, she number washed it. Do you think that I'm double checking? Right. I'm not. I'm never. And by the way, that's so many Yelp reviews where it's like, this item was this much.

This item was this much. Here's a picture of my receipt. In general. In general. Wow. But here also a lot. Yeah. And it's just like, I'm not here for math-based reviews.

I'm not either. One of the things I never review in my podcast is value, like prices. because it's so subjective what a person is willing to pay. Yeah, yeah. And I'm also not reviewing the items. There's an intangible to the experience. Yeah. So it's like $1.69 for an egg white or upcharge or whatever might feel like a lot.

But if it's delivered to me by someone who's like, I love an any waiter. I love being waited on. And that's why you're so nervous to talk to them. I'm like, I'm very grateful for this experience. Yeah. But I'm also like the whole concern. the whole idea of a restaurant is the idea of upcharging. If we're going and expecting this egg, the grocery prices, and they're making the food for you, what are we paying for? And people don't think of the totality when they look at a price. No. They don't look at, I'm getting that dish. I'm getting that dish cooked for me and brought to me. Someone's going to do the dishes after. Someone's going to do the dishes after. And this restaurant is giving a thing. theme or a vibe or something.

I'm on vacation. Yeah. I am viking. Mamosas incarnate, you know? And so no one thinks about that when they look at a price on a menu. So I don't factor it in. I'm just like, here's the experience you'll get. You go look at the price and you tell me if you're willing to pay it.

Also, we live in Los Angeles and I'm like very unfazed by so many. I'll pay 30 bucks for a biscuit. I really well. And it's so weird. Because I remember when that was so much money to me. It still is. It still is. But you hold your nose.

But I'm like, what am I supposed to do? Not participate in society? Right. Of course I'm going to. Four star review. This is from Carla W. In Bakersfield, California, September 2017. Ooh.

So right before the big expansion. Oh, yeah. Right? Right when private equity swoops in. Private equity. So she knows. Carla's there. Carla's right there ready.

Actually, it was like when you're waiting for a midnight showing at a movie, she was like, oh, I can't wait till private equity another broken night cafe drops. I'm there day one. She's there day one. She's camped out right off front. She loves Beekman Group. It doesn't, honestly. Such a Beakman girlie. So this is a four-star review.

Yeah. Awesome service. Strong, flavorful coffee. The city grits are delicious. The gravy is not impressive. seems watered down and lacks flavor. The Supreme Omelet was packed full of goodness. The biscuit was flaky and baked to perfection.

Adam was our server and he did a fantastic job. I was relieved it wasn't a female server. I was relieved it wasn't a female server who had a hairstyle with two Princess Leibuns with long, uncomely, uncomely? Uncomely? Like I know what? becoming is, but Jesus, uncumly.

I think she means unbecoming. Unbecoming, I think is what she's going for, but it's not. Uncumly, I mean, long bangs hanging down her face. So the phrasing of this is so funny to me because she is talking about a specific server that was there. But I love, Adam was our server. He did a great job. I was relieved it wasn't a female server with this kind of hair. Like it doesn't, the way it's grammatically phrased doesn't sound like it's referencing a specific person.

No. Even though it's so specific it has to be. But it's just like, oh, that'd be like, oh, I love that our server was this guy and not like a dog on its hind legs. Like it just sounds like a conjured idea in her mind. Right. Exactly. She had a whole fantasy of how this was going to go. Yeah.

And it was all with Princess Leia as the server. And what she got was better. And what she got was so much better. She was stressful to her. The sliding doors of what it could have been. Yeah. That's so freaking funny. Additionally, it was slow enough for a few servers and hosts.

And a dude in chef pants to hang and chat at the host stand. It was really gross to see Princess Leia server, scratch at her nose, rub her eyes, and repeatedly touch her face. And she serves food? Ew. Other than that, clean, open atmosphere with good food. She wasn't even your server. She wasn't even her server. How does she dominate your Yelp review?

Dominate. I think that's the only reason that Carla W. wrote this review. It was. There's nothing else she's bringing to the tape. The Supreme Omelette was packed full of goodness. Biscuit was flaky and baked to perfection. I could have had AI right that about, you know, and I don't, I wouldn't.

But if I did, that's what it would sound like. there's no reason for this. The point of this review is to bring this woman down. I don't think we should blindly support other women. Like, there are bad women out there. I'm fully aware of them. I don't think this is good. I don't think that we should open this as a possibility for our society.

Let's not write a review of a human. That wasn't even part of your experience. You just noticed them. Right. You profiled this person from afar. Yeah. You didn't like that she was hanging out with her friends. And I like her hair.

I probably would have. I need to see it for myself. Maybe her bangs were a little too long. She could be right about that. Yeah. But I mean, come on. But probably not. This really, this really muddles her argument.

And muddy's her water. Yeah. Hey there. It's me, Michael. And now that we're in season four, I'm adding more content to my Patreon. Not only can you hear the extended Yelp from Stranger segment with three more reviews, and not only can you get an exclusive full episode covering an extra chain restaurant on the last day of each month, but I've added an extra chat with my guests where we discussed their go-to fast food and chain restaurants

and talk about why they love them so much. I hope you'll come check it out, and you can get your first week completely free of charge. That's patreon.com slash fine dining podcast. I appreciate and love you all. Back to the episode. And that's part one. Yay. Tune in next week as we tell you how we liked another broken egg cafe.

Juliet, thanks so much for being here. Yeah. Tell people where they can follow you on socials. Oh, I'm not heavy onto the socials, but you can find me on Instagram at J-E-W-L-K-O-F, like phonetic spelling of the beginning of my first and last names, which I made in 20, 20, 20. 2010, perhaps? I really wanted you to say 20, 26. I finally got on the gram. Like, he's using it in a way to be like, oh, I made it a long time ago, but so forgive me. Right. But it was actually earlier this year. Yeah. No, it's, yeah, it's an old one. But unsupervised, come see our shows. They're really fun. And I make fun of Michael a lot.

My bully. One of my bullies. One of the main bullies. And you can follow this show on Instagram and TikTok at Fine Dining Podcast. You can join my Discord if you want to chat with me, or you can go on Patreon if you want to support the show and hear the full extended Yelp from Stranger segments, exclusive episodes that drop on the last day of every month. But thanks so much for watching. I will see you next week. We're just going to be sitting here for a week waiting on our table. Have a fine day. That is done and we had some fun. Now we're waiting on table.

Wait next time we're stuck in line. Waiting on. Waiting on a table, waiting and continue, I search from mediocrity.