Before you get all bent out of shape about dropping $24 on a plate of steak and eggs at the Pearl's newish Full Goods Diner — which I admittedly did at first — let's take a deep breath.
And then let's take a quick look at what's happened to restaurant prices, post-pandemic. They've gone up everywhere. At Patty's Taco House on South Hackberry, for example, a similar-sounding plate with strip steak, two eggs, beans, potatoes and two tortillas will set one back $18.29 — and in a setting that makes no pretense of being Pearl-polished.
So, factoring in Full Goods Diner's low-key but pleasant environment and warm, attentive service — not to mention the vastly more upscale setting of Pearl — it's not such a bad deal.
The steak, looking and acting like flank, came cooked to medium rare as requested, had a respectable chew and was well-served by its peanut salsa macha — the sauce trailed a rusty oil slick as it typically does. Some might have rejected the scrambled eggs, complaining that they verged on dry. But they stood up gamely to the steak and sauce.
The plate's two stars were separated by a huevos divorciados-like barricade of semi-caramelized onion and chiles that, despite their billing on the menu, were almost the star of the show. The tortillas, both corn and flour, are likely better at your favorite breakfast taco hangout, but aren't really needed anyway.
That plate is the most expensive item on Full Goods Diner's all-day breakfast, brunch and lunch menu, which bottoms out at $8 for cinnamon toast with whipped mascarpone. It's a menu that one could exhaust fairly quickly with just a few visits. Apart from the bacon expected a breakfast spot, chicken and pork shoulder are the only other meaty proteins.
The pork finds its best expression in a carnitas torta served in a toasted bolillo with zingy roasted garlic mayo, avocado and pickled onion. Less successful is the more-lubricated version billed as Texas hash and served with a few shards of kale, cubed sweet potato and a bedding of pecan mole that added little to the equation. Feel free to call this hearty. Heavy is more my take.
Chicken, fried and crackling, appeared atop the Hill Country salad. Full disclosure: I took this one home as takeout, so the fact that the craggy breast retained its defiant crunch is testimony to a job well done. Another disclosure: I'm not a fan of strawberries in salads, usually finding them inappropriately sweet or out-of-season bland. The berries here didn't detract as much here as usual, but they also didn't add as much as the measured sweetness and textural snap of the candied pecans, the mellowness of the sliced white cheddar and the roasted tomatoes. And we won't even get into the punch of the poblano-inflected ranch dressing.
The crispy chicken and poblano ranch make another appearance in torta guise, along with pepper Jack spread — but no strawberries. No reason that shouldn't also be good as well.
Full Goods' covered patio is a perfect early-in-the-day hangout this time of year. Patrons have also figured out that it is supremely dog-friendly, so take that into account one way or another.
If thinking brunch — or have no self-imposed restrictions on what time serious drinking can start — know that the restaurant has a full bar, making it possible to pair, for example, a frozen paloma with a contrastingly virtuous granola bowl.
Throwing virtue to the wind, I can testify to the hedonistic pleasures of the pastry list's chocolate hazelnut "cruffin." It's basically puff pastry spread with a Nutella-like mixture augmented with chopped hazelnuts and rolled into a muffin cup — a kind of constrained croissant.
The cruffin could have used less surface-applied sugar without sacrificing indulgence points, but it went well with a simple drip coffee — which staff will keep refilling. Maybe, in tit-for-tat response, keep ordering pastries such as the mango chili lime pop tart or the strawberry rhubarb hand pie.
No quarrel with the strawberries in this context.
Full Goods Diner
200 E. Grayson St. | fullgoodsdiner.com | (210) 819-4226 | Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday-Sunday 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Price range: $8-$24
Best bets: Carnitas torta, Hill Country salad, steak and eggs, chocolate hazelnut cruffin
The skinny: Full Goods is currently open only for breakfast, brunch and lunch, with occasional evening events to tantalize an all-day structure. The "American" menu is accordingly short, but standouts include a carnitas torta, a loaded Hill Country salad and an indulgent steak and eggs plate, all available until closing. The covered patio is especially pleasant on temperate days. Service appears to be both efficient and pleasant at all times.
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