Albany's Finest Brunch - From A Log Cabin Since 1930

From the street, Sam's is a funky little redwood log cabin that looks a bit out of place on San Pablo Avenue. Walk through to the back and you'll find a lush garden patio that feels more like the mountains than the city, and food made with exceptionally high-quality ingredients.

It starts with the ingredients. We bake our scones, biscuits and cornbread in house, brine our own corned beef, and make our own ranch, mayo and salad dressings. For our toast and sandwich breads, we use Acme Organic, and our produce comes from purveyors who focus on local California growers. The specials change every day with whatever is best in season.

It's said that we eat with our eyes first. We strive to make food that tastes even more beautiful than it looks.

Two Northeast-style cornmeal pancakes with real Vermont maple syrup. They're a little denser than a pancake, with a rich corn flavor, and they're the dish the San Francisco Chronicle picked as one of the six best pancakes in the Bay Area.

“The corn cakes were like clouds of cornbread.”

Baked fresh every morning from a treasured family recipe. Our lemon blueberry scone uses Meyer lemons from the tree in our garden, and a second scone changes every day.

“The scones are unlike any I've tried before. They are light and fluffy.”

Tasty pig slowly cooked in a broth with pickled cayenne, poached eggs and collard greens, served with freshly baked house-made cornbread. Break the eggs into the broth and dig in.

“I usually only eat one dish, the pork braised collard greens with poached egg and cornbread. It's the perfect breakfast for me.”

Our corned beef is brined for almost a week, then roasted and chopped with sautéed onions, red bell peppers, garlic and potatoes. Served with two organic eggs any style and toast.

“Sam's gave me one of the best CBH's I've had in a long time!”

Buttermilk fried chicken with a crunchy, flaky breading, house-made ranch, organic lettuce and purple onions on a rustic Acme roll.

“the fried chicken sandwich is also really good, crispy and not dry”

Pan-fried lake trout with our orange flannel hash of golden beets, potatoes, peppers and onions, eggs any style and Acme toast.

“The trout was mild and firm, I enjoyed the sweet and savory balance of the hash, and the eggs were well-cooked.”