Another good start to the day!

A few weeks ago, the lad and I enjoyed a first class cooked breakfast, at the Little Brown Jug at Chiddingstone Causeway. The food was so good that I took to my keyboard and started bashing out a piece about our experience. I hadn’t written much before deciding to check out what I’d written before about going out for breakfast, and I looked for guidance at a piece I had written 10 months ago. That post resulted from a good experience we had at the Chaser Inn at Shipbourne, the latter settlement being an attractive and well-spaced-out village to the north of Tonbridge, at the base of the Greensand Ridge.

The Chaser is owned by the same small pub-group (Whiting & Hammond), that owns the Little Brown Jug, and it wasn’t long before I realised that what I was writing about the Jug, was a virtual repeat of last May’s post about the Chaser. So, rather than going over old ground, again, I started asking questions, regarding /the popularity, or otherwise of eating out for breakfast, especially when it involves a visit to the pub. 

Before going any further, with the honourable exception of Wetherspoon’s, not many pubs open for breakfast, particularly during the week. To do so, would mean either employing additional staff, or splitting shifts in order to open early. In addition, you’re never quite sure what the demand is going to be. Fortunately, most of the ingredients that go into a Full English– eggs, bacon, sausages etc. can be stored in the fridge and then cooked to order, but regardless of this, pubs serving breakfast are few and far between. Finally, pubs are far more likely to offer breakfast at weekends, than during the week.

Breakfasting out, especially at weekends, seems more of an American tradition than a British one, and on my first trip across the Atlantic, I went out for breakfast on several occasions, with my brother-in-law. Somewhat unusually for an American, Ernie doesn’t drink coffee, and doesn't eat eggs either - both of course being an essential make-up of a North American breakfast. We still managed to visit a few places though where there was food and drink (I’m talking about tea here), to satisfy both of us. Certainly, on my first visit to the US I breakfasted with my brother-in-law, and my sister joined us a couple of times as well. Whatever the origin of this custom it's good to drive off and grab something satisfying and filling, on a day when there’s no work to be done, and no need to hurry.

On my very first morning in the US, I was left to my own devices, as Ernie had to call in at the office for a couple of hours, and my sister, who worked as a teaching assistant (Uncle Sam didn’t recognise her UK teaching certificate), was also absent. Having slept well, despite a transatlantic flight, and a domestic one as well, I slipped out of bed, took a quick shower, and after dressing took a wander down into the quaint little, old-town section of Amherst – that’s Amherst Ohio as, like with Springfield, there are several other towns of the same name in the USA.

I don’t remember much about that compact little diner, let alone the items I chose for my breakfast, but I did feel more than a little self-conscious – an Englishman abroad, if you like. A few days later, Ernie drove the pair of us out to a much larger establishment, on the edge of town – a place that he said was worth visiting for the entertainment value, as much as the food. It was a help yourself breakfast buffet, where customers could eat as much as they liked. With hindsight, it reminds me very much of the breakfast buffets Eileen and I have experienced on cruise ships, so I expect the latter were very much modeled on the same principle as this type of American diner.

We grabbed what we wanted and sat down to enjoy our morning meal. With a subtle grin on his face, my brother-in-law said, “Watch out, the professionals will be in soon!” I wondered what he meant, until a several of the fattest and heaviest people (both sexes), waddled in, and began piling up their plates with bacon, sausages, hash browns, toast and all sorts of varieties of cooked eggs. They then slid their was y over to a convenient table and began devouring the mountain of food in front of them. Incredibly, many of them went back for a second helping. These gargantuan individuals were the professionals that Ernie was referring to, and as we watched with a mixture of fascination and disgust, he told me how ashamed he was of these fellow countrymen of his, and the way they were stuffing their faces.

This particular American diner probably wasn’t alone with its “all you can eat” menu, but there are places like this in the UK as well. Matthew has a friend who is a fan of these “greasy spoon” cafés, and unfortunately his liking for large platefuls of greasy, fried food is only too evident, by the size of him. As an occasional treat though, these establishments are fine, and I have written before about the two American-themed roadside restaurants called the OK Diner, with one at the side of each carriageway, on the busy A1 trunk road.

Both are just to the north of the attractive Lincolnshire town of Stamford. We have stopped at both establishments on trips to Yorkshire and back, but these appropriately named “pit stops” have been brunch destinations, rather than breakfast ones. With both establishments offering all-day breakfasts though, they help brighten up what can be otherwise, a long and boring journey.

Finally, no article about pubs serving breakfast would be complete without mentioning the famous “Spoons” offering. At Wetherspoons you know exactly what will be served up on those famous willow-pattern plates, and generally it is filling, tasty and good value for money. Over the years, Matthew and I have breakfasted in all three of our local JDW outlets (Sevenoaks, Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells), and by and large both the food and the service have been pretty good.

There are rumours that some of the breakfast ingredients are either pre-cooked or part cooked, which might explain why your meal arrives so quickly on you table, but when served at less than half the price of what we’ve paid at the Bruning & Price outlets, Spoons breakfasts are ideal for those on a budget, as well as in a hurry.

I shall leave it there, even though there’s plenty more I could write about the first meal of the day. We also haven't answered the question of why so few pubs have a breakfast offering. Matthew makes fun of me, when I tell him that breakfast is a good start to the day, but when on holiday a substantial meal, first thing in the morning, is usually enough to see me through to the evening.