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famous for the extensive menus featuring
a delicious variety of omelet and egg
breakfasts, and excellent pancake and
Belgian waffle entrees. Many of the
current offerings at Tina’s Place have
been on her menu since the early days
in El Sobrante, including a variety of
delectable sandwiches, salads, burgers,
and wraps. Within a couple of years
after Tina’s Place opened in Pinole, the
restaurant opened for dinner several days
a week, due to popular demand from
customers. The initial dinner menu was
somewhat limited and incorporated
some of the lunch selections; however,
over the years, the menu has expanded
to include more and different selections,
including a featured nightly special.
Whether dining at Tina’s for breakfast,
lunch, or dinner, generous portions and
beautiful presentation are the norm; and
in my personal experience, there has
never been a meal from Tina’s Place that
I haven’t enjoyed.
Breakfast at Tina’s is a real treat and
its popularity is evidenced by the fact
that wait times can be long, especially
on weekends. In spite of being fully
staffed and the availability of additional
seating that recently became available
at the adjacent “Tina’s Too” location,
customers may still experience a wait,
especially between the hours of 10 AM
to 1 PM on Saturdays and Sundays.
But the wait is well worth the time if
you want to experience a delightful
start to your day. In fact, Tina’s Place
was the 2017 Winner of the Bay Area
A-List for Best Breakfast—one of many
recognitions and accolades bestowed on
Tina’s Place over the years.
On our recent Sunday morning
visit to Tina’s Place, a hostess greeted
us upon entry and added our names to
the waitlist and informed us that our
wait time would be 5 to 15 minutes.
We were seated with menus within
10 minutes and our dining experience
began. The morning menu lists both
breakfast and lunch selections as well
as available non-alcoholic beverages. A
separate menu lists the available Eggs
Benedict selections, which are among
the most popular breakfast entrees
Delicious Belgian Waffle
offered at Tina’s Place. Tabletop menus
list alcoholic beverages available from
the bustling full-service bar located in
the dining room. Many customers were
partaking of the ever-popular breakfast
mimosas or Bloody Mary’s, while others
were enjoying the strong, rich coffee
for which Tina’s is also well-known.
The breakfast menu includes Egg
Breakfasts with your choice of meat; Egg
White Breakfasts; Country Breakfasts,
including Biscuits and Gravy; and Tina’s
Specialties, including Belgian Waffle,
French Toast, and Pancakes. Additional
selections include oatmeal, grits, a
breakfast wrap, fresh fruit, and homemade
bread pudding. There are seven
Eggs Benedict selections, each created
by and named after customers, the most
popular of which are the Eggs Joel (made
with Canadian Bacon & Avocado);
Eggs Andrew (made with Canadian
Bacon and Bacon); and the Eggs Valerie
(made with turkey, bacon, tomato and
avocado.) Specialty salmon or crab
benedicts are alternately available and
are very popular with the regulars. Chef
Tina personally makes the Hollandaise
sauces for the restaurant using the
traditional French method. In addition
to the traditional sauce, she also makes
jalapeno, chipotle, and Mediterranean
infused Hollandaise sauces.
Having eaten breakfast at Tina’s
Place numerous times over the years,
my usual go-to favorites are the omelets.
My favorites are the Italian omelet (made
with Italian sausage, mushrooms, black
olives, and green onions); or the Spanish
omelet (made with chicken, green
chilies, corn salsa, and cheese, topped
with guacamole and sour cream.) My
daughter loves the Blackbean omelet
(made with black bean salsa, green
onions, chicken, avocado, sour cream
and jack.) The omelets are consistently
large and fluffy, chock full of ingredients,
and quite delicious, and are served with
your choice of hash browns or home
fried potatoes and choice of buttered
toast. Fruit may be substituted for
potatoes for a $2.00 upcharge. In spite of
my fondness for the omelets, during this
visit, I decided to try one of the Eggs
Benedict selections, and ultimately chose
the Eggs Valerie. My guest ordered the
Two Egg Breakfast with ham, home
fried potatoes and sour dough toast. At
my suggestion, my guest and I opted
to share one of Tina’s famous Belgian
Breakfast & Lunch: Mon to Sun: 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM | Dinner: Wed to Sat: 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM