A Tale of Two Breakfasts

Traveling always gives me inspiration--new sights, new experiences, new flavors and tastes. It also reminds me of things I miss or don't get enough of living in Hawaii. Don't get me wrong, Honolulu has a lot to offer in so many areas, but it does lack in some things--particularly in the area of breakfasts. I think I mentioned the lack of great little neighborhood bakeries, really good bagels and also there are very few really great places to go eat a great breakfast. You know those exciting, bustling, restaurants with great energy and great menu options, where you want to hang out and people watch while enjoying some great food. Pastis, in the Meatpacking District in New York, is such a place. (If you are a Sex & the City fan, you may recognize Pastis from a couple of episodes in Season Six--Carrie eats there with The Russian and his friends and Samantha and Smith share the star table with Stanford and his boyfriend Marcus). It is open from morning until early the next morning, seven days a week and is hugely popular for brunch on the weekends--which is where we ended up.

The menu is large, but being that I don't eat a lot of big breakfasts of Eggs Benedict, I went right to the "Les Oeufs" (eggs) section and chose the Eggs Norwegian, the Poached Eggs w/ Smoked Salmon and Hollandaise. (Did I mention my love for all things salmon and lox?) The food was excellent, my eggs perfectly cooked. My only complaint would be that I would have liked a tad more Hollandaise sauce, but other than that it was yummy. Everyone else's food was good as well. One caveat--if it is Sunday morning and you have your heart set on a mimosa, made with fresh squeezed juice, make your reservation for after 12:00 noon. Apparently there is a law in New York that alcohol can't be served until noon on Sunday, (a fact we sadly found out that morning). Otherwise our experience and meal were great!Pastis

Little West 12th Street (corner of Ninth Avenue), New York, NY

212-929-4844

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On to breakfast #2... A week later, after returning home I thought back on my delicious Sunday morning at Pastis and wanted most of all, the smoked salmon on my eggs. Because I vowed to reclaim my (mostly) healthy eating habits, Eggs Benedict was out of the question but a little smoked salmon on pumpernickel (the ingredients just fell in my shopping cart on Saturday) could be arranged. I threw together a couple of slices of bread, a bit of whipped cream cheese, (according to Ellie Krieger on the Food Network whipped is better than reduced-fat cream cheese because it has the same number of calories but is easier to spread), some red onion, capers, cucumber slices and dill. Along with a glass of OJ and the New York Times it wasn't quite Pastis, but it hit the spot and was a good way to start a Sunday morning!And what do you do when it's warm on Sunday morning and you are tired of watching the birds in the yard and need a little nap in a cool place? It's simple...you head for the cool porcelain of the bathroom sink. (And then you glare at your human when she comes in and interrupts your sleep to take a picture!)