Whenever I feel like it’s time for something different, I drive four hundred miles north to Oakland, CA. I give all of my friends big hugs. I bask in the cool breeze of the East Bay. I take a walk through the Berkeley campus. I have a pint of Dragon’s Milk. I order a slice of Sky Pie. I fall asleep on a couch.

In the morning, I go to Jodie’s. I ask for Something Different.

The kitchen crew grills two English muffins in butter. They adorn these glistening, crisp-edged, nook and cranny laced wonders with grilled sliced tomato and shower them with a mix of country hash browns and hearty, chopped bacon. Two flash-poached eggs are laid atop this medley of fried delight, and the entire entree is blanketed in a peppery, tangy hollandaise crafted by Jodie’s daughter. Eggs Benedict flee the scene. America wins.

On my most recent pilgrimage to Jodie’s counter, there was a misunderstanding with my order. I lounged outside the kitchen for an hour to have my taste of Something Different. As yolk flooded the plate and citrus and butter seeped into the bacon fat grinding away between my molars, I realized that something different had become something missing. After a year of vigorous homecomings, I felt only the fatigue of a long trip for the sake of a simple pleasure.

Indeed, as summer in Diamond Bar inches closer to sunset, my homecomings to the East Bay will soon fade out as well. Something different is in short order, but a short order of Something Different won’t be enough.

Jodie’s
902 Masonic Ave
Albany, CA 94706
510.526.1109

Share this story. Stay hungry.

• 

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 10:34 pm and is filed under East Bay.