As my Wife and I often do on a Sunday, we decided to make a trip to some place new and exciting for Brunch. Also as we usually do, we sat around and debated the topic for almost 20 minutes before deciding that we were going to try Claire’s at the Museum. I had heard many good things about Claire’s and with the beautiful California summer abound, there was no better way to take it in besides patio dining. We hopped in the car, found a great parking spot and cruised on in.
The large group of people standing outside immediately told me that it was going to be a while until I was going to eat. If I decide to make a trip back I will make a reservation as I was kindly instructed to by the hostess as she told me that it was going to be a 40 minute wait.
In the mean time, Dianne and I wandered around the Museum grounds, taking in the view and watching the sail boats race across the bay as if it were the America’s Cup. We were pleasantly suprised when, about 30 minutes into the wait-time, the hostess came and found us and took us to our table. Unfortunately, this is where things started to go downhill. We were sat at a small two-top in the far South corner of the patio. What was a nice breeze on the rest of the patio was a wind tunnel in our corner and I was sitting right in the middle of it, but at least we were sitting, and I was ready for a cup of coffee and something to eat. By the time the server came back with a mimosa for Dianne and my cup of Joe we knew what we wanted. He took the order and then disappeared.
25 minutes has now gone by and I have an empty coffee cup, an empty water glass and no one has stopped by to check on us. At about 30 minutes an expo showed up with our food and it looked great! He set everything down and I asked him to please get me another cup of coffee and some water, he nodded his head and was off. So back to the food, Dianne’s breakfast burrito was stuffed full of eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, and lots and lots of cheese. She took the first bite and there was no question that she was pleased. I felt very similarly about my omelet. I ordered the cleverly named Eggstravaganza omelet, as it was full of all kinds of goodies. Three eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, spinach, onion, and bell peppers then topped with delicious feta and avocado. I wasted no time digging in, but as I was half way done I was still waiting for that cup of coffee and glass of water. I looked around and observed all the tables around us getting refills, but our server was nowhere to be found. Finally he showed up and before he could ask if everything was ok, I was pointing at my coffee cup. He disappeared and came back with a server of barley warm coffee and I was over it. We got the check, put the card in and waited another 15 minutes. Finally we had signed and were leaving the wind tunnel behind.
I must say that I really enjoyed the food. It was fresh and very tasty. The omelet was perfectly fluffy and not overly greasy despite the toppings that were inside. My sourdough toast was good for the most part but cold by the time it got to me. I expect the service to be much better for a $35 breakfast, and hope the next time someone talks me into going there it has much improved.
Until Next Time, Keep Eating Long Beach,
Cliv