An episode of "Seinfeld" forever gave 'yada yada yada' a whole new meaning.
The "Seinfeld" clan would have gotten a kick out of the South Boston bakery and café, Yada Yada, and the Albanian family that runs it in full throttle Mom and Pop mode. We couldn't help but wonder if the owners have caught drift of the alternate "Seinfeld" usage yet...
It's located amidst a venerable concrete jungle of office buildings (just behind the Children's Museum) with a very business-oriented patronage who tend to take their goods to go, an action reflected by the cafe's wasteful, but really quite hilarious, replacement of silverware with plastic utensils, even for those eating in.
While sitting at one of the eclectic tables alongside a window (with a great view of South Boston architecture), we had the chance to look over the breakfast menu. It all looked good, but we both agreed that it seemed to be pretty standard fair. A glance over at the open kitchen confirmed our suspicions: It seems like an amped-up version of any home kitchen. Still, what could be better than a well-cooked breakfast from a family kitchen?
One of the more unique items offered at breakfast is the 'serve yourself oatmeal.' On the counter next to the pastry display case, there was a steady supply of plain oatmeal. Housed in classic crock-pot style (white with pastel nursery-room style floral decorations), a small bowl is only $1.50, and $2 will get you a large. There's brown sugar, raisons and nuts, so season away to taste and enjoy.
This was one nice Albanian family. Mom, Dad and the two sons were all working behind the counter. Once things quieted down, though, the boys gave their parents a break and ran things on their own. These guys were so nice, in fact, that they came and took our order at the table, rather than having us come to the register to order like they usually would. We're thinking that they saw how long we spent looking at the menu and took pity on us.
From the variety of egg choices, we decided to split two: a sausage, egg and cheese on a plain bagel (possibly the definition of oldie-but-goodie) and a bacon, peppers and cheese omelet. This last one wasn't actually on the menu, but we asked, they made and everyone was happy. We were THIS CLOSE to getting a scone or breakfast muffin to split as well, but it's a good thing we held off, because our meals ended up being pretty big.
Let's talk American cheese. It's probably our fault for not having specified, but both our breakfasts came with orange, melted, American. Have you ever had this in your omelet? We really don't feel like it is food snobbery to have been surprised with the choice of cheese.
Don't get us wrong, the food was still good. It just would have been better with, say, provolone on the sandwich and, maybe, ANYTHING but American in our bacon and pepper omelet. On a positive note, the omelet came with a good side of toast and home fries.
Yada Yada also has a soft spot for the indecisive types as well, taking pity on us by offering a half-soup/half-sandwich special. Their soups change daily and their sandwiches range from the Chilean Chacarera (chicken, avocado, cheese, lettuce and tomato) to the Yada (fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato and lettuce).
Really though, it's a pretty endearing joint, and it would have taken a lot for us to hold petty things like cheese against its equally endearing owners.
Winston Berkman is a sophomore majoring in international relations; Charlotte Bourdillon is a sophomore who has not declared a major. They can be reached at Winston.Berkman@tufts.edu and Charlotte.Bourdillon@tufts.edu, respectively.
