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'Joe's Special'

I ate this humble egg-spinach-ground beef scramble at a Greek diner in San Francisco a couple of times, but had no idea it was a thing in San Francisco restaurants of the past. It seems easy enough, and it would be simple to switch out frozen spinach for fresh.

Anyone else remember this, or make it at home?

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by Anonymousreply 36April 23, 2021 11:35 PM

OP, the "Joe's Special" originated, specifically, from the "Original Joe's" restaurant in the Tenderloin (SF). The place burned down at one point. My dad took us there when we were really young. It had booths, waiters in black jackets, etc. Really a special place. The food was good, too. I'm glad I got to experience that with my dad, RIP.

I remember eating a humongous hamburger steak, never tried the Joe's Special.

by Anonymousreply 1April 20, 2021 3:58 AM

Yeah, it seems everyone in SF cleans out their fridge, throws three eggs in it and calls it a scramble. One of the most odious queens on earth does this with his revolting husband...and they both have the most clogged, congested pores you’ve ever seen. They are DISGUSTING ...a real ugzo bumlard!

by Anonymousreply 2April 20, 2021 4:03 AM

That sounds disgusting. Why the hell would anyone want to just randomly put ground beef in things? That’s in the top five of white trash meats.

by Anonymousreply 3April 20, 2021 4:05 AM

Original Joe’s was pretty great r1, wasn’t it? The last time I was on the SF restaurant was in the 80s. The San Jose location used to serve it as well, but I’m not sure they still do since they are not affiliated anymore.

by Anonymousreply 4April 20, 2021 4:10 AM

The history of the dish is in the first paragraph at the link.

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by Anonymousreply 5April 20, 2021 4:11 AM

It sounds gross.

by Anonymousreply 6April 20, 2021 4:13 AM

California doesn't have the greatest of Greek restaurants. i miss NY for that. The Greek diners out there have the best food and i've never had anything quite like their food out here.

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by Anonymousreply 7April 20, 2021 4:29 AM

Well, it ain't no Hangtown Fry, gol-durn it!

by Anonymousreply 8April 20, 2021 4:34 AM

I though Original Joe's was more of an Italian place. IIRC, they had a nice cold antipasto platter (appetizer).

by Anonymousreply 9April 20, 2021 4:40 AM

I’m from Sj & have had Oj Special since like the 80s, with mushrooms & spinach. It’s really good & tastes even better when you reheat it in a skillet. The last time I went to OJ’s was for Xmas lunch with work friends about 7 or 8 yrs ago. It’s a nice place & the waiters (I’ve never seen a female) wear like tuxes & look like mafioso!

by Anonymousreply 10April 20, 2021 4:44 AM

[quote]California doesn't have the greatest of Greek restaurants. i miss NY for that. The Greek diners out there have the best food and i've never had anything quite like their food out here.

If there was an authentic East Coast-style Greek diner in my city, I'd be there at least once a week. Heavenly.

by Anonymousreply 11April 20, 2021 4:48 AM

I am several things:

1) Located in the Bay Area

2) Recovering from a tonsillectomy and nearly to the point where I can eat solid food

3) A fat whore who loves greasy food

How fortuitous it was, me finding this thread.

by Anonymousreply 12April 20, 2021 4:59 AM

i'm with you r11 and i'd likely be fatter than i am now. the closest thing i've had in CA is Daphne's (the chain) and that's fast food Greek. Also, we don't have them in my area. i'm sad at the lack of Mediterranean food in my area, it really sucks.

by Anonymousreply 13April 20, 2021 5:06 AM

That's a beautiful post r2 I larfed.

by Anonymousreply 14April 20, 2021 5:19 AM

OMG, I think I ate there! If it was open in November of 1982 and it's in North Beach, that was it. The reason my memory is so vivid is that I was working for a law firm and my dad was on a business trip from Seattle, where my family lived. I'd had no sleep the night before snorting moguls of cocaine and was an ambulatory corpse by the time we had dinner. I'm sorry I never went back. There was also a Mexican restaurant called Mazatlan that my boyfriend and I used to frequent. They changed ownership after 1982 and it was never the same. I'm sorry, my geographic memories of where things were is hazy due to the fact that I didn't have a car and was always driven somewhere or took MUNI or a taxi (or a trick drove me, let's get *that* out of the way!). Plus it was the Fall and always too dark to make out the street signs... I was 23 and had just begun to be able to hold a joint and talk and think (well, two out of three) at the same time.

by Anonymousreply 15April 20, 2021 5:59 AM

Long-time San Franciscan here. Original Joe's is still in business in their new location on Washington Square, and their hamburgers are still phenomenal. They're big and juicy, seasoned just right and served in a hollowed-out sourdough roll. There's also a branch in Daly City called Original Joe's of Westlake. I am not a big fan of Joe's Special, but it's cheap and filling comfort food, the kind of dish that might taste best as a late night nosh after a night of heavy partying or maybe for brunch.

by Anonymousreply 16April 20, 2021 6:07 AM

Sounds like a Greek play on Eggs Florentine.

by Anonymousreply 17April 20, 2021 6:11 AM

[quote] OMG, I think I ate there! If it was open in November of 1982 and it's in North Beach, that was it.

If it was in North Beach, I really don't think it was "Original Joe's." There were a couple or maybe even a few restaurants that had the word "Joe's" in it. It was confusing. If it was 1982, then I'm pretty sure "Original Joe's" would have been in the Tenderloin.

by Anonymousreply 18April 20, 2021 6:14 AM

Eggs ground beef and spinach? It’s the kind of one-dish meal I’d make. If joe hasn’t come up with it, I would have.

Serve with ketchup to go for the total trash thing like with authentic shepherds pie?

by Anonymousreply 19April 20, 2021 6:30 AM

R19 that's a drunk meal at 2am to make. but maybe that's the point. i like eggs, i like ground beef and i like spinach. unless you add something else to make it interesting...nope. however, if i was out on the town and we were drunk-hungery, we'd probably love this.

by Anonymousreply 20April 20, 2021 6:51 AM

*hungry

by Anonymousreply 21April 20, 2021 6:55 AM

Dump it in red harissa sauce and poach the eggs instead of scrambling them, and you've got shakshuka.

by Anonymousreply 22April 20, 2021 7:06 AM

A better use of spinach in an egg scramble is with mushrooms and Swiss cheese.

by Anonymousreply 23April 20, 2021 1:19 PM

Chef John over at FoodWishes did a video on this dish. I made it a few times and really enjoy it. Any leftovers, as if ....., make a great sandwich filling, hot or cold: kaiser roll, split, toasted and buttered. Pile on the leftovers, plenty of black pepper and some onion powder. Delish. A Virgin Mary is a great go-with.

by Anonymousreply 24April 20, 2021 1:32 PM

Is this the same joe who came up with the sloppy joe? Sounds like.

by Anonymousreply 25April 20, 2021 3:35 PM

OP here — I made it tonight. Basic comfort food but definitely from the era before regular use of seasonings and fresh herbs. I'd make it again with some Creole seasoning and maybe fresh flat-leaf parsley.

If you try it, be very careful not to let the ground chuck burn in the pan; you have to cook it till it's dry and then add the spinach, which takes a minute to release its water.

by Anonymousreply 26April 21, 2021 1:41 AM

I have never heard of this but, I would eat it. Not with bread though, I would want it on top of super cruncy hash browns

by Anonymousreply 27April 21, 2021 1:47 AM

How bou’ melt some mild cheese like mozzarella on it?

by Anonymousreply 28April 21, 2021 1:49 AM

R28 ❤️

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by Anonymousreply 29April 21, 2021 2:02 AM

I guess that recipe at OP sounds kind of bland. As I get older, I like spinach less than I used to. Yes, you can crank up the spices, maybe use crumbled sausage instead of hamburger. But then you'd have a different dish.

by Anonymousreply 30April 21, 2021 2:03 AM

R15, R18 is correct, Original Joe's was not in North Beach in 1982, it was still at 144 Taylor in the Tenderloin. Gee I loved that place. There were old school chefs cooking right behind the counter --- once as a young thing dining there one of the chefs began doing all sorts of tricks with a cloth napkin, just being silly, and ended his little show by folding the napkin origami-like into 2 points, he dipped each point in a little dish of ketchup and held it up and spread it out - voila, tits! Unforgettable. They had the best [chicken] liver & onions.

R15, you might be remembering the U.S. Restaurant on Columbus.

by Anonymousreply 31April 23, 2021 4:27 AM

well that didn't work. fanks anyway!

by Anonymousreply 32April 23, 2021 4:47 AM

whoops wrong thread.

stop while I'm ahead...

by Anonymousreply 33April 23, 2021 4:48 AM

The Mexican version: José's Special.

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by Anonymousreply 34April 23, 2021 6:46 PM

Still looks like diarrhea

by Anonymousreply 35April 23, 2021 10:08 PM

R22 try replacing ground beef with chorizo for better shakshuka. But keep the SF sourdough bread

by Anonymousreply 36April 23, 2021 11:35 PM
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