Breakfast in Costa Rica

Or How I Learned to Love Gallo Pinto.

Costa Ricans eat the same meal three times a day, so despite the fact that I forgot to take pictures at breakfast, these pictures from lunch are quite representative. Gallo pinto is beans (usually kidney or another red bean) and rice. The rice is cooked with onions, peppers and other aromatics and served next to savory beans. If you are really hungry, you can order casados. Casados means married in Spanish and I heard the term translated (in relation to food) as "homemade" or "like a married man would eat."



This is Casados con Pollo Super Deluxe. Under the freshly made tortillas is a fried egg on top of a slab of cheese. Under the egg and cheese is a grilled plantain and the gallo pinto. Also on the plate are a cold sweet potato hash, random no flavor mayonnaise pasta salad, tomato wedges, and very savory chicken. I couldn't eat half of the casados because we had also ordered maduros con queso; caramelized, ripe plantains (sweeter than the ones with the casados) covered in queso fresco. Now, I know you are thinking, "caramelized bananas, yes." "Caramelized bananas with cheese, hell no." But how wrong you are. Think Bananas Foster only with slightly more savory ice cream (ok, that doesn't sound much better, maybe you have to trust me on this one).



As hard as this is to admit, the best coffee we had in Costa Rica was at the gringo owned bed and breakfast we stayed at. I can only pray that the coffee they kept stored in the Starbucks jar on the counter was a local variety. On the days when we had breakfast at the B & B we were served a North American style breakfast of eggs, french toast, pancakes or waffles, bacon, and decidedly tropical fruit.

Breakfast in St. Maarten, DWI

To begin with, the fact that the Dutch West Indies gets abbreviated "D.W.I." makes me laugh, especially since one of the selling points that was made for purchasing a timeshare in St. Maarten was that we would never be hassled by police for drinking and driving. For those of you who know us, you can understand why we did not jump at the chance to purchase the time share (although we did eat the mediocre free breakfast--Jay had "Island Pancakes" which the waiter promised would have a special island surprise in them, but it was a trick as they were just plain old pancakes).

We did eat some wonderful breakfasts, made all the more impressive by the views. One morning we ate at a French patisserie called La Sucererie that had a view of the lagoon. Jay had a goat cheese quiche and a napoleon with his latte. I had the continental breakfast; an almond croissant, bread and marmalade, and orange juice. The pastries were divine, the coffee passable, the orange juice sour in that way that only vaguely Euro orange juices can be, but the view was spectacular. Unfortunately, this was the morning that I succumbed to the evil cold/flu/knock out bug that Jay had been harboring so it was the last time I was upright for a good 24 hours.



Jay's Breakfast

The other lovely breakfast that we had was on our last morning in St. Maarten at the Holland House Beach Hotel in Phillipsburg. Jay had the smoked salmon eggs benedict (eggs benny being one of his all time favorite breakfast options) and I had the full American breakfast (fruit salad, 2 eggs, croissant, toast and coffee). Again, the lattes were only mediocre but the pastries were great and the view couldn't be beat. We had walked past the beach hotel the night before when the stairs were all lit up and were sad that we hadn't found it until our last night on the island (and after dinner at that). I was thrilled to find the restaurant open for breakfast the next morning. We were able to watch the cruise ships (and the boat people) come and go from the ocean front dining room while sitting on lovely white couches with brightly colored throw pillows. The hotel had a very hip, clean aesthetic that was lacking from our own teal and wicker residence and the ambiance made me feel much cooler than the previous meals I had eaten to the accompaniment of the ubiquitous reggae Christmas hits.


Breakfast with a View

You know where else in Champaign is really good for brunch?

Suzanne and Jay's house. YUM. What a PMPH-appropriate way to usher in the new year. Thanks hosts with the mosts!

Decor: 10/10 mod yet realistically livable
Atmosphere: 10/10
Food: 10/10 great variety
Coffee: 11/10 (free; can get own refills when needed so never that jittery where-is-my-coffee wait)

Let the Breakfasting Begin

The idea for this blog originated with my friends in Grand Rapids, Brad and Thad. They were keeping a bar book in which they recorded a proscribed list of observations about every bar they went to (price of a pitcher, ambiance, cleanliness of the bathroom, as well as general observations). Beth and I are not people who spend much time in bars, but we do spend a lot of time eating breakfast. Since Beth moved to town for graduate school in 2000, we have met at the Original Pancake House for Saturday morning breakfast. Many fine librarians (and others) have joined us over the years for pancakes and coffee (below we have Jay, Dana, Beth, Melina, and Suzanne celebrating Beth's birthday in 2004).



Our intention on this blog is to keep track of our breakfast experiences both at our regular pancake location as well as our breakfasts abroad. When reporting on breakfast we will always include:

• the price of a cup of coffee
• our assessment of the coffee
• what was eaten and by whom
• general ambiance
• quality of service
• any general observations

This morning, Beth and I breakfasted at the Original Pancake House where Beth ate cherry crepes (inspired by Rick Steve's travel show on French food), I had a half order of sourdough french toast with strawberry syrup (a past favorite that I had briefly forgotten about) and we shared patty sausage. Our server was new to the pancake house and quite attentive. As soon as our coffee was empty, she was there to refill and even replenished our cream without our asking. A cup of coffee at OPH has recently gone up to $2, but it is worth every penny as they are the only place in town that serves their coffee with heavy whipping cream, rather than half and half (a decadent move that the OPH in Madison does not replicate, but more on the differences between OPHs in a later post).

The decor at OPH in Champaign consists of a heady combination of exposed brick, horizontal wood paneling, decorative collectible plates, a giant stained glass apple window ornament, fish tanks, and a working fireplace. During this, the holiday season, there are poinsettias on display as well as several dozen mini stockings hung on the mantel of the fire place (I secretly hope there is one for each pancake house employee and that when they have their work holiday party they find a cash bonus and a mini candy cane folded inside). While every element of the decor is confusingly unrelated to every other element, it is familiar and soothing and much more interesting than the dull mauve and turquoise early nineties decor of the OPH in Madison. Food is also delivered on china, rather than plastic, which makes for much more enjoyable dining. OPH is always crowded and there is often a wait for the tables, made much more bearable by the selection of trashy magazines and real estate books in the waiting room. Today we were seated before we could finish reading US magazine and ate our breakfast amongst young couples, a group of fake baked ex-cheerleaders (or so we imagined), and several cute babies. All in all a fine foray which we followed up by a trip to Deals where we found Gummy Breakfast Foods, which seemed only fitting on this inaugural day of Pancakes Make People Happy!