While in Oakland in May, we went to Rudy’s Can’t Fail Cafe just over the line in Emeryville, around the corner from the Pixar compound, and had a bit of brunch. It happened to be the day we were slated to eat an early dinner at Oliveto, so I wanted to eat less than I normally would in an establishment well known for high-quality hashbrowns and bacon. (The last time I was there, food poisoning or no food poisoning, I had waffles and fried chicken.)
So i ordered up the grits with cheese and sweet pepper hash/relish/whatever it was — whatever it was, it was sweet and tangy and spicy and utterly delicious with the clean white grits and melty cheese. It was the breakfast version of that cocktail favorite, pepper jelly & cream cheese on a cracker. If you can stand (or beat) the wait, Can’t Fail is a great place for a sunny brunch outdoors — i felt hopelessly Californian while I was there. And that’s a good thing.