Eat At Chloe's

Where did the 'Eat at Joe's' meme come from?  Was there ever an actual incident in which a biplane buzzed a beach with that message?  Where exactly was this original Joe's restaurant?  Why did it capture our cultural imagination such that it was repeated in so many media?

Chloe's definitely exists.  It's a spot in Noe Valley where many people can frequently be seen milling around the outside waiting to get in.  They should be, too, because the food is uniformly good.  Either breakfast or lunch are successful in this tiny homestyle environment where you will rub elbows, not entirely voluntarily, with your fellow diners.  My blueberry pancakes were hearty but still light enough to leave me room for ample test portions of my parents' choices: simple, classic egg salad with lots of dill, and the standout, an amazing trout sandwich with horseradish. 

On the same trip, we also visited another popular brunch hangout, this time on a weekday so it was mercifully free of lines.  Since it was St. Francis Fountain, it would have been lines of hipsters rather than the combination of families with babies and young friends that one sees at Chloe's.  This is a good violence preventative, since my reaction to large groups of hipsters is the urge to slap everyone in sight. It causes major trouble in Delores Park.  On this Tuesday morning we walked right in, however, and the only hipsters were the staff.  My fluffy (and for once too huge) breakfast burrito provided an overdose of protein with its bean salad and salsa side, so I took some carb respite with my mother's orange zest-pecan waffle and I recommend you order toast or biscuits if you travel without a parent with a much smaller appetite than you.  The waffle was surprisingly tasty, just the right thickness.  Sadly all this brunching didn't leave me room for one of the Fountain's signature milkshakes.  Fortunately although my parents were only visiting, I live here....