‘Breakfast’


Nothing Mexican about Cafe Salsa

October 18th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

I guess I'll have some meat pancakes.

Wandering the streets (err ummm street) of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, waiting for our hotel to let us check in, we made our way to a part of the island called Avarua.  Avarua is often referred to as “town” since it is the closest thing Rarotonga has to a town.  As in any town, we got hungry and walked into the first place that looked delicious, called Cafe Salsa.  Typically, a restaurant named as such would serve Mexican or some other Latin food, but this was not the case and the only thing remotely Mexican about the place was the name. Continue Reading»


Missing Meat at The Parlor

September 26th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

All looks well on the surface.

As a Michigan football fan, it is often difficult to pull myself out of bed and get to a bar for those awesome 9 am games (12 pm for those in Eastern Time).  Thus, if I am going to a bar and not watching the game in the comfort of my abode, food is key.  Now, I am a big fan of bar food, but it is the rare bar that has delicious breakfast.  This week, the bar of choice was The Parlor on Melrose and my number one hope was that Michigan would destroy San Diego State and my number two hope was for some delicious breakfast.  I can tell you now that I got at least one of those (spoiler alert:  Michigan was a victor). Continue Reading»


Going Meatless at BLD

July 25th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Where's the meat?

Ok, I have a confession to make.  Longtime readers know it already, but newcomers may be a little surprised.  That confession is that…well I don’t eat meat for every meal.  Yes, it’s true.  Sometimes, a breakfast of pancakes or a dinner of mac and cheese satiates my appetite just as much as a steak.  But most importantly, these meals are devoid of vegetables. After all, unvegan principles are more anti-veggie than pro-meat.  One such meatless meal occurred at BLD. Continue Reading»


Hashing it Out at Breakwater

July 11th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Mmm, chunky!

On our way out of an amazing Wisconsin weekend, we made a pit stop at Breakwater Restaurant in Superior.  It looked like a local version of Denny’s, which was just what we wanted on our way out of the Northwoods.  We were quickly seated and since everyone moves a little slow on the morning of July 4th, we weren’t waited on quite as fast as we had been seated.  But outside of the hustle bustle of LA, we were happy to not be rushed out of breakfast. Continue Reading»


Going Wild (With Rice) at Twin Gables

July 8th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

I like my rice how I like my women. Wild.

In the meaty heaven of Northern Wisconsin, even I was amazed to find the following on a menu:  “Light Portion 1/3 lb Hamburger Steak Dinner with grilled onions, mashed potatoes and gravy.”  And where did such a light meal find itself?  None other than Twin Gables in Brule, Wisconsin.  This light meal quickly explained why they wouldn’t serve an egg white omelet to my girlfriend while simultaneously letting me know that anything I ordered was going to be goddamn amazing. Continue Reading»


Getting Some Dim Sum at Star Ferry

November 16th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Do these look Chinese to you?

It seems like going to China without eating dim sum is on par with going to Italy and not eating pasta.  But in truth, dim sum is really a specialty of Hong Kong and Guangdong (formerly known as Canton).  Fortunately, in this day and age, you can find Cantonese restaurants all over China.  In Xi’an, we found a place called Star Ferry near the Bell Tower.  The interior of the restaurant was decorated like a boat, and I later found out that it was named for a ferry company operating in Hong Kong. Continue Reading»


Being Salty and Sweet at Uncle Bill’s

August 16th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Who would think?

For some breakfast in Manhattan Beach, I found myself at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House.  Just like all breakfast joints in LA, the place as a huge line on weekends, but luckily my step-dad went a little early to put the name in, so by the time I got there, there was only a few minutes left to wait.  We sat down at their outdoor area, which had a great view of the ocean.

The menu was huge, and to be truthful, I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted.  Then, buried in the Waffles section, I found what had to be mine; the cheddar cheese and bacon waffle.  I was filled with questions.  Would the bacon and cheese be cooked into it or just on top?  Could this be the new chicken and waffles?  Or could this simply be the next step towards certain death?  Either way, I was ready to find out. Continue Reading»


Going South at Zoe’s House of Pancakes

July 12th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The most descriptive meal ever.

For some brunch before my annual photo shoot with my grandparents, we headed to Zoe’s House of Pancakes in West Bloomfield, Michigan.  Zoe’s didn’t exist before I moved out west, so going here wasn’t exactly a trip down memory lane, but I was glad to see a new business doing pretty well.  Even on a Monday for brunch, they had a pretty good number of people, so I assumed they would have some pretty great food.  I took a look at the menu and found some of the most inspiring breakfast food I’ve seen in a long time, with everything hovering around the $5 price range.  They had tons of different pancake varieties, including one enticing option called the Fruit Explosion.  Despite pancakes being the namesake of the place, my eyes drifted to the waffles section. Continue Reading»


It’s Not Always Time for Bacon

July 6th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Where's all the bacon?

Every once in a blue moon, a restaurant comes along that you just can’t pass up.  Sometimes it’s Taco Bell, and sometimes it’s a place called Bacon in Scottsdale.  Although clearly capitalizing on the current bacon trend, the name sounded great to me when the girlfriend’s family suggested it.  Since it was Father’s Day, we expected a long line, so we called in advance and a table was ready for us by the time we got there. Continue Reading»


To the Salt Stick, With Love

July 1st, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

It may be phallic, but it's the best kind of phallic.

To many people, the bagel is the king of breakfast.  It’s like an evolution of toast, similar, yet greatly superior.  And the best of those who love the bagel bow down to the salt bagel, the king of all bagels.  It adds a perfect amount of flavor that goes great with cream cheese, especially strawberry cream cheese.  But why strawberry cream cheese?  Well, combining the sweet of the cream cheese with the salt of the bagel creates a perfect balance unparalleled by any other food in the world.  Ever.

But is the salt bagel perfect?  No, far from it.  While bagels are delicious, they have one major flaw.  That flaw is obvious to anyone who has ever attempted to shmear cream cheese across the surface of the bagel.  The hole.  This hole sucks up perfectly good cream cheese, rendering the bagel an imperfect medium for shmearing.  Enter the Salt Stick.  Continue Reading»


Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

The taste of skiing?

Colorado is definitely a beer state, and not just because Coors comes from the Rocky Mountain State.  No, it is also home to New Belgium (of Fat Tire fame) and seemingly countless other micro and craft breweries.  While in Breckenridge for a ski weekend, I decided I had to at least try one of these, and because it turned out to be the only one available at dinner, my choice happened to come from the creatively named Breckenridge Brewery.  The brewery, by the way, is actually no longer in Breckenridge, having expanded and moved to Denver in 1992.

Continue Reading»