breakfast
There are several reasons why I frequently just eat breakfast at home. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I like to sleep in so being somewhere by 11am is unlikely (unless it is work and this leaves not much time for breakfast) and yes – being somewhere by 2pm on a sunday morning is often out of the question. Secondly, I guess I have been unimpressed with the offerings around town. (Someone please import a greek diner from upstate NY to Bloomington, In! I would love that.)
There are several spots I frequent with the expectation that I will be disappointed and if I happen to really enjoy it, it becomes a pleasant surprise. What a terrible thing to say about a restaurant. . . “yeah, we can go there. I never like it and it will probably suck but I am willing to be surprised.” Seriously – I have three or four breakfast spots I say this about and I really wish they could manage to get the bacon right (I simply can’t enjoy my meal if it happens to include inferior bacon) and use decent bread for the toast, simple stuff.
I lack words to describe the disappointment that often comes of ordering eggs benedict in this town but I would love it if we could get more of these line cooks making a decent hollandaise (although I must admit to knowing several who do a lovely job with their sauces.) Truly it is beyond me to understand how they are allowed to mangle it as they do and that I am so discouraged by some of my experiences that I am simply afraid to order such a dish.
All this has been put aside however – I decided to try again at finding wonderful little breakfast spots.
I am most pleased with Michael’s Uptown Cafe – lots of choices for your eggs including ‘The Number One’ and ‘The Number Two,’ tasty bacon and some of my favorite pancakes. I like sitting in the bar and watching soccer with my meal. Currently, Michael’s has the distinction of serving up a lovely hollandaise and the smoked salmon bene makes for a lovely twist if you are so inclined. Lots of variety; granola, coffee cake, french toast, pancakes, eggs anyway you like them, biscuits and gravy, mimosa. . . . My two complaints – 1. always a wait to get in (a sure sign of popularity but an inconvenience to the me) 2. they seem to think that I should be out of bed and to the restaurant before 2pm on the weekend (when I have been out on the town until 3or4pm the night before, it is tough to do.) I like to languish in bed on Sunday.
If you read much of my blah blah then you know that I really adore FARMbloomington. Great people, great atmosphere, yummy food. Well imagine my surprise when I open up my newly arrived issue of bon appetitit (the ‘best of the year’ issue – January 09) to find them giving props to Chef Daniel Orr and his grandma’s biscuit recipe. There is also a mention of Rhodes Family Farms eggs! My favorite weekday am meal is the breakfast sandwich – the biscuits are amazing. If you happen to make it in for a late Sunday brunch (the kitchen closes at 3pm,) the french toast is decadent, the omelettes big and satisfying and the bacon – goes without saying that the bacon is amazing. They have a well stocked bar with skilled bar tenders so be sure to toss in a Bloody Mary for a super-happy start to your day.
