Standard Fare

I’ve been going to this place for almost 10 years, and I have very mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I truly appreciate their commitment to farm-to-table dining and their effort to support sustainable agriculture. That mission is important, and I respect any restaurant trying to build a food culture rooted in responsible sourcing. Unfortunately, when it comes to whether that mission consistently translates into delicious food, the results are often hit or miss. Many of the stew-based dishes are genuinely fantastic—hearty, well-balanced, and flavorful. But outside of those, much of the menu tends to fall short. A lot of the dishes are either overly oily or noticeably under-seasoned. The breakfast frittata, for example, is regularly charred to the point of tasting like charcoal, and the weekend waffle is consistently limp and underwhelming. Another major concern is the issue of value. I understand that sourcing high-quality, local ingredients is costly, but the pricing and portion sizes often feel disconnected from reality. On one visit, I ordered a sandwich that was the same price as always, only to discover that the portion had been cut in half—without any notice or explanation. It was a real shock and left a bad taste in my mouth, no pun intended. Lastly, the atmosphere and customer service leave much to be desired. There’s a pervasive sense of snarkiness from both staff and ownership that can come off as unwelcoming, even condescending. It’s got a bit of that “Karen-Berkeley” energy that makes it hard to feel like a valued guest. Overall, I keep hoping this place will live up to its potential—because I know it can—but after nearly a decade, the inconsistency in food quality, pricing, and hospitality continues to be a disappointment.

Standard fare is one of my favorite local breakfast spots. The buttermilk biscuit sandwich is available any day it's open, but the fruit-topped oatmeal exclusive to their Saturday brunch makes that morning the best to dine-in there. The store does have indoor seating, but the covered street side patio has more spots for small groups to sit at, though it's often not heated, so bring extra jackets. I recommend taking some of their extra sweets or pastries to go (today we picked up the apple spice cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting), though the best item to get in my opinion is their chai concentrate, which is really flavorful.

This ingredient-focused eatery has been going strong since 2014. I was surprised by how busy they were for lunch on a Wednesday. That's always a good sign in these "post"-pandemic days. On this day, the sandwich was long-cooked Becker Lane pork, pickled daikon, chile crisp aioli, and a cabbage and radish slaw on Acme pizza bianca bread. It offered a great mix of bitter, sweet, salty, and crunchy from all the ingredients. Half a sandwich is filling and a good deal. The carrot soup came with a dollop of ginger-kashmiri crème fraiche. Robust carrot flavor, and the dollop of ginger gave it just enough punch to keep it exciting. I'd have liked more acid, but I did find it seasoned well and nicely balanced as is. The TCHO rye brownie was a nice change from the extraordinarily rich, batter-like brownies with thick chocolate chunks that have been the mainstay in recent years. I'd say the brownie was a similar richness, but this one had more of a cake-like density. I couldn't taste rye, per se, but I appreciated the lighter texture.