Spencer K.
Yelp
Getting to the heart of it -- nice outdoor atmosphere, tasty dishes, good and friendly service. Customers also seemed nice. "It's a go!" as they say at Mission Control (at least they do in the movies.
Getting to the spleen of it:
A lazy Saturday. It was going on day two of a serious disagreement with my girlfriend, and the fact that we live 3,000 miles apart wasn't helping. Maybe you've been there, maybe you haven't but when i woke up the day had me wondering if my next JetBlue flight to NY was just to have me pack up the clothes and toiletries I keep at her place (which allows me to go to NY only having to pack is my computer and my dog). [To be clear, my computer goes in a backpack, my dog goes in an FAA approved carrier under the seat in front of me.]
So, it was one of those days.
Now, before I tell you how good the breakfast burrito is, and it is very good -- but the standout is the pico de gallo on the side -- I need to explain how I arrived here, because the Cloverfield was not on the agenda.
So, if you remember, I'm kind of in a blue mood and one thing that cheers me up is watching all 9.8 pounds of Edward von Chocula living it up at the dog park.
But, my dog, Eddie, hates the car.
I'm not sure why, but he's hated the car since he was 6 months old when I got him from the rescue (Life Animal Rescue in Agoura Hills). As soon as he gets in he drools and shakes. Thing is, I really wanted to take him to the Santa Monica Airport Dog Park (and yes, I have a permit), but living 3 miles away means getting in the car. So it's kind of a "catch-22" so to speak. But, dammit, I wanted Eddie to run around and have a good time even if it killed him and I loaded him in the car.
[Note: There's probably a Kristi Noam joke somewhere in there, but I detest her too much to even try.]
Funny enough Eddie actually did OK in the car. Sure, a little nervous, but no drool, no serious shaking... he was actually doing ok. And once we arrived at the park he was in heaven.
And after about an hour Eddie was done. And I was getting hungry. We took a circuitous route back to the car, which is how we ended up in front of The Cloverfield.
The Cloverfield has a very dog friendly well shaded outdoor eating area... two of them, actually. Now, Eddie is a skittish dog, and the few times I've tried to have him sit with me at a restaurant have not gone well. He shakes and just wants to go home, I get frustrated and then he and I don't talk for days. [That was a joke. My dog does not actually talk... at least not to me.] But there was something in the air this morning. I looked at Eddie, he looked at me and we both decided it was time to give it a try.
I was greeted by a friendly host and was seated on the front patio. The server brought over a bottle of water, as well as a glass for me and (without me asking) a bowl for Eddie. And after a minute or two of restlessness, Eddie went under the table and just hung out.
The menu has a really nice selection of breakfast and lunch items. As I revealed above, I had the breakfast burrito. Now, to be honest, I would probably give the burrito on its own just 3 out of 5 stars, but the pico de gallo elevated the gastronomic experience by at least three-quarters to one star.
The coffee was solid. Not great, but certainly hit the spot.
The service manager checked in on me to see if I needed anything else, but all was good.
And then it was time to go. I had only eaten 1/2 of the burrito and decided to take the other half home.
And this was the only weird thing. I asked the server for a sheet of aluminum foil to wrap the burrito and she told me, "I can bring you a box." Not liking the waste of having a box when I didn't need it, I said,"that's ok, some foil would be fine," but she said (with just the slightest hint of attitude) "I can bring you a box."
It was just a bit off. Maybe she gets to keep any unused foil and uses it for science experiments or to color her friends' hair. Maybe the restaurant has a no foil policy. Maybe she was secretly jealous because Edward von Chocula is such a cool dog and she knew if she asked if she could take him home I would have said, in a slightly snarky tone, "I can bring you a box." (It sounded funnier in my head.)
Otherwise, a really nice day.
I'm going back to the dog park tomorrow, so maybe another meal is in the cards. And maybe I can get to the bottom of what I call "Foil-gate."
And maybe this time I'll say "yes," when they ask if I want more pico de gallo.
Oh, and the girlfriend? We'll figure it out, long distance being a drag and all. But I am confident if you see me and Eddie enjoying a meal at The Cloverfield and you ask, "How goes it with Whitney?" I'll smile and say, "Smooth sailing."