cafe shane

I have banned Shanes.

The hostess refused to seat me because she was too busy chatting with her friends. The wait staff told her to seat me and she said there was no room and continued her conversation. There was a vacant seat next to where she was standing but that would have disturbed her conversation.

I make the trip to the Usuals on Vanderbilt. The best diner in Propect Heights. Don't bother with Shanes...

I don't want to bash the crap out of Shane, despite my sometimes negative experiences there. I like the owner, though I know some people have expressed different opinions about him. The big problem there is the layout and inefficient use of space. I don't know if the wall in the middle is load bearing. If it is, that explains why it exists. If it isn't, then it should be torn down immediately. The kitchen is also too small and it is hard for the two chefs and dishwasher to pump food out of there quickly. I hope it doesn't fail because I know Luther (the owner) has put everything into the place. Just needs some tweeking.

I've been to Cafe Shane a couple of times... and honestly had no problems... I mean it could have better seating... but its no worse than Islands... I do wish we had more outdoor restaurant seating around here...

I like the food better than Tom's. I tend to bring mine home, though, since the seating is such an issue.

The breakfast burrito rocks. I usually get it take-out and haven't noticed too much slowness. Also got delivery once or twice and that worked out too.

The food is so-so, the service is slow, but I dig the neighborhood vibe and always have pleasant conversation with the owner and waitstaff. Don't go if you're in a hurry.
Usually, I'm very picky about service and quality, but I really appreciate their effort to provide something that we seriously need (especially those of us that are east of Washington).

Here is my review of the Cafe Shane breakfast burrito from something else. Its a bit lengthy I suppose, but I figured maybe someone would be interested.

The search for the perfect breakfast burrito took me next to another neighborhood spot, Café Shane on the rapidly gentrifying Washington Ave. While this breakfast burrito was still far from perfection, it blew the tortilla off of the other neighborhood option at New Prospect. The neatly wrapped, uncut, very portable Shane burrito was filled with fluffy scrambled eggs, sausage, scallions and cheese. I should note that I ordered mine without the onions that normally accompany it.
As the search for the perfect breakfast burrito continues, each burrito gets me in better touch with what exactly I’m looking for. The neatness and portability of this breakfast burrito were big pluses. I liked being able to eat it with my hands and got the feeling that, if faced with the necessity, I could enjoy it on the subway or while walking through the nearby Botanical Gardens- what bliss!
Before some criticism, I should mention that I thoroughly enjoyed this burrito.
Alas, she was not perfect. Though the scallions gave the burrito a nice bit of flavor, it was almost certainly missing something- missing something Mexican. One doesn’t enter into the relationship with a breakfast burrito without the intention of getting some sort of kick. At Café Shane, however, there is nothing particularly Mexcellent about the burrito. While it is definitely delicious, I would even venture to say that this is no breakfast burrito, but merely a breakfast wrap. My agony was only heightened by the delicious and spicy hash browns that accompanied my burrito, as I was forced to wonder what could have been if those crispy, deep fried little nuggets of seasoning were included in the burrito, not just with the burrito. If only!
The Café Shane breakfast burrito gets a respectable score of 74. It was tasty, local, and portable, and I’m sure that, once this mad search is over and I can rest easy, I will revisit it. For now, however, the search continues…