Mama’s Jennifer Sanchez Strome on what's worth the wait

Jennifer Sanchez Strome’s parents opened Mama’s on Washington Square over 50 years ago, and the restaurant legacy continues to cause a buzz about its ever present line around the block and its delicious breakfast staples. Jennifer grew up as an observer, recipient, and participant in the comfy, cozy and inclusive service that defines the celebrated breakfast spot and, along with her sister Elizabeth, seeks to bring the spirit and hospitality of their parents’ labor of love to new areas.

"Mama" Frances Sanchez in Sunset Magazine, 1980

Can I Speak to the Manager sat down with Jennifer to discuss the evolution of brunch, where to find the best biscuits in the South, and how she and Liz hope to spread their parents’ legacy of hospitality.

On what it’s like when your mama is Mama:

When we think about Mama’s, we realize that our parents devoted 40 years of their life to maintaining a truly unique dining experience, and by doing so, perhaps without realizing it, they had grabbed hold of the American dream. Our mother was of Polish descent and our father was born in Mexico, everyone thought our mother was Italian, but it wasn’t their heritage that influenced the founding of Mama’s specially crafted American breakfast menu.

Mama’s started as an ice cream and candy shop called Herbert’s Sherbert, it was very popular in North Beach. As kids we grew up in what felt like a mini-Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. One year, with the annual Italian Heritage Day parade coming up, my parents added a hamburger to the menu. That was so successful that they decided to start a restaurant. They took down the wall that separated Herbert’s Sherbert from our father’s insurance office and in 1964 Mama’s on Washington Square opened it doors for business.

Mama’s popularity grew very fast. I remember her telling me about a specific day when she’d been cooking omelettes for hours and looked over at the line outside, and then at our father taking orders at the cash register, and knew that their lives would never be the same. That was true enough for all our family. Once Mama’s got its first review in 1971 from Jack Shelton San Francisco’s food critic, chefs like James Beard and Julia Child became admirers along with filmmakers, artists, and many, many wonderful customers, some became our parents lifelong friends.

Our parents were great hosts - in turn, their brand of hospitality became a key component of Mama’s success; they never let their ambition get in the way of what they loved most; which was an unbeatable standard of food service and the joy of serving their customers. They also spent a lot of time with their staff; getting to know them and their families. That level of care flows over into the customer experience. Hospitality was not mandatory for them, it was in earnest, and particularly for our Mother, hospitality was love.

They always tried to maintain an intimacy and simplicity that is integral to the American comfort-food experience, that includes sitting close to customers around you. Our mother would strive to fill every seat and so if she saw an empty chair she’d introduce people, have them share a meal together.

Our mother was a larger than life character and a wonderful, funny person - everything flowed from her. She had 8 kids which meant there were always at least 10 of us around the dinner table, sometimes more if a friend or two squeezed in with us.

We had a wonderful, rich childhood in San Francisco in the 60’s and 70’s. From the time we were about 12 or 13, we made our mad money by helping out at Mama’s on weekends. We’d walk from the Marina where we lived, race down the crooked hill on Lombard Street to North Beach, then work at Mama’s doing whatever was needed, pouring coffee or bussing tables. High school kids got summer jobs at Mama’s, everyone was welcomed like family.

Frances & Michael Sanchez at Mama's Washington Square circa 1968

On what she waits in line for:

You have to appreciate customers that schedule in wait time for their restaurant experience. Mama’s was blessed with lines way before foodies and social media made waiting a popular thing. I admit I sometimes avoid lines by dining off hours but there are a few things I’ll wait for.

I’ve recently set up shop in Greenville, South Carolina; it’s a beautiful small city that’s growing very quickly and attracting chefs from all over. I happen to have a thing for biscuits, and biscuits are everywhere in the Carolinas, even at gas stations, but Biscuit Heads is the bomb, and has a line all the time. I’ll get up extra early for their big fluffy biscuits with poached eggs on the side.

In New York, I wait in line for Shake Shack. I leave thinking I’ll be the first person in line but it seems no matter what time, everyone else has the same idea. Also, I love Momofuku in the East Village on 1st Avenue, it takes real planning to get in line before the crowds take over.

In San Francisco, I will go out of my way for Chinese food, especially for handmade potstickers. I make a beeline to the original Yank Sing and I’ve waited on line there many times. I love dim sum dining, and no one does it better. I’ll also wait in line for La Taqueria in the Mission District. I always go for the classic tacos with ground beef or any kind of fish taco. Our father’s sister, Lupe, lived with us and helped to raise us. She had a tortilla press at home, and she and our aunt Lucy made homemade corn tortillas, chicken enchiladas, and over the Christmas holiday, fruit-filled tamales. Sorry, but you cannot beat that.

On her favorite sweet treat:

This is a hard question after growing up in an ice cream and candy shop. At home it was all about See's Candy - I love the big box of molasses chips and I can’t leave SFO Airport without a can of almond royal in my bag. Then there’s the old Italian bakeries we grew up with that I still haunt, like Stella Pastry and Victoria Pastry. At Victoria, the Princess cake is a testament to marzipan - and then there’s the cannoli, pure indulgence. I can’t compare the Sacripantina at Stella to anything else, its a multi-layered delicacy of zabaione and rum. Our Mom always served it right out of the refrigerator so that its snow-white vanilla cream was cool to the taste. I believe you can still get a raspberry ring in North Beach. We used to warm those up and bury them in butter.

On the evolution of brunch:

Our parents opened Mama's and served all day breakfast at a time when breakfast options were limited to coffee shops or diners. I’m a diner fanatic so that isn’t a criticism, just saying, brunch as we know it now, was once a special meal eaten at a nice hotel, perhaps over a holiday. The growth of breakfast in food service since Mama’s and certainly in the 21st Century has exploded. Now Taco Bell is serving a taco out of a broken egg and mainstream corporate chain restaurants like Cracker Barrel and Applebee's have revised their business model to include breakfast as an all-day meal. I think that’s great. People used to laugh at warmed-up pizza for breakfast, why not a high-protein omelette for dinner or brisket hash with an egg for lunch?

On where she goes for breakfast in San Francisco when she’s not visiting Mama’s:

Pascal Rigo’s La Boulangerie concept is a showcase of great baking skill in a warm, rustic environment. I like my first cup of coffee with two things: a croissant straight from the oven, and a visit with one close friend I always meet up with at La Boulangerie on Columbus or on Polk St.

I still try to find time for the 18 little Swedish pancakes at Sear's Fine Foods and hit the Taylor Street Coffee Shop where I can get an authentic two eggs and hash brown fix at the counter.

On what’s next:

Mama’s location in San Francisco is owned by our brother Mike and his wife Debra. He’s a dedicated baker with a great team, so they’ve done an amazing job. It’s certainly in the tradition of our parents but with an added personal touch. I’m working with my sister Liz on establishing Mama's outside of California having obtained the South & North East rights, and even a few trademarks for the more original, kitsch menu names. What’s evident to us is a shifting demographic in the US, especially in the Southeast. Young professionals, families, and retiring baby boomers are pulling up stakes for more affordable housing and economic growth. That’s code for business development, and with it comes a hot demand for food service to areas that are ready for a more diversified cuisine from outside their region.

Greenville #yeahTHATgreenville is a charming, historic Southern city where we have family and friends. We’ve been following its growth for years, and now I’m there, or here, I should say, in what’s called “the Upstate” and it’s very exciting to watch an American city spring to life with opportunity. Of course, along with growth comes a spike in service needs, which brings me to the discovery of a super-active community of nearly 200 farms working directly with chefs and retail grocers in the greater Greenville region. What’s so intriguing when thinking of menu development, is this carefully planned urban mash-up with it’s growing farm-to-table culture. I’ll be working on menu development this year from a commercial kitchen in The Village of West Greenville. We hope to offer takeout of a few of Mama’s brunch classics at the same time, and from May 1st - there’s access to local farmers at the annual Greenville Saturday Market downtown on Main Street. I’m looking forward to sourcing out the suppliers of pasture-fed livestock, and fresh regional fruits and vegetables in the area. I actually found a baker with sourdough starter, talk about a mirage in the desert! So we’re exploring Greenville very cautiously - there are intriguing developments like food hall concepts, new shopping centres in planning stages, plus plenty of good food. We certainly want to contribute to the food scene, not mimic it. What Mama’s does is pay homage to a legacy, but we also want to learn what more we can offer when working within another setting, that’s within another cultural cuisine, and still respect that existing cuisine.

On her new favorite Southern breakfast niche:

Every region has its own culinary economy, Greenville has a pretty wide range. We plan to work on price points that don’t leave anyone out; you should be able to come into Mama's with $10, so grab & go is on our mind, too, and perhaps a breakfast prix fixe. My husband and I are loving the heartland breakfast spots like Oj's Diner a cafeteria-style lineup of chafing dishes with fluffy scrambled eggs, grits, and crispy hash browns for $5-6, or Tommy's Country Ham House. For upscale Southern brunch (think Fried Green Tomato) there’s Soby's or Tupelo Honey, and newbies GB&D and The Anchorage are a class act. Honestly? with so many options it’s hard to capture it all.

On her Mama’s order:

When I go to Mama's, I want to eat things I wouldn't make at home and so I can’t resist the Monte Cristo or Swedish Cinnamon french toast. Then there’s the Apple Pan Dore, a favorite, it’s a dish my mother created - a french toast lightly sauteed in lemon and butter. I love that spike of lemon.

On that line:

Best advice is to be there before the door opens and be within the first 20-25 people in line. I’m sure our brother’s work hard with the team to turn the restaurant over at a reasonable pace. There are no special favors at this point - years ago we had a habit of calling ahead and entering through the back door, eyes averted - but it’s been a long time since we could get away with that anymore!