Full English Breakfast

[Mortblanc]

I was watching some you-tube clips ad they ran one with people from various parts of the world tasting and commenting on the full English breakfast.

Most thought it was anything from disgusting to barbaric, made faces and pushed the plat away without even trying all the offerings.

I am from the American south where we like our breakfasts heavy, varied, and fried, Croissants are scarce and vegans can be legally shot on sight if spotted before 11am.

A typical breakfast for us is:

eggs (fried/scrambled mostly), none of this poached and one egg a week nonsense

bacon or sausage (much like your blood pudding) or both,

hominy grits (or occasionally hash brown potatoes fried with onions and cheese),

biscuits (which you would call scones) covered with white gravy made from the bacon or sausage grease,

a slice of fresh tomato

and coffee strong enough to float a nail.

I look at the full English as something I would tackle about any morning of the week and even as a snack on the way home from "wherever" at 3 am on Sunday.

The only thing I have any difficulty connecting with is the baked beans and I can give you that one due to us southerners consuming grits, which most of the world can not comprehend.

Anyway, you guys eat up and enjoy every bit of it, and don't let the French and Germans get you down!

Us southerners are rooting for you even though heart disease is the #1 killer of us all.

What, you want to live forever?

[LAC]

Yep full English all the way, that's why we win wars.
Also if you want to beef it up a bit you can add chips (fries to you) and/or bubble and squeek (which is mash potatoe and sprouts mashed together and fried), and a few slices of toast, and usually a mug of tea rather than coffee, but some prefer coffee.

[CharlesHarris]

(2 April 2018, 22:58)LAC Wrote: Yep full English all the way, that's why we win wars.
Also if you want to beef it up a bit you can add chips (fries to you) and/or bubble and squeek (which is mash potatoe and sprouts mashed together and fried), and a few slices of toast, and usually a mug of tea rather than coffee, but some prefer coffee.

A variation on the theme is leftover red beans & rice with a scrambled egg on top with andouille sausage, corn bread and Tobasco, which my Louisiana buddy serves, or my aunt in Arizona would substitute refried beans for the red beans and rice, and chorizo for the andouille, and serve with a salsa of dices fresh tomatoes, a jalapeno or serano pepper and monterrey jack cheese with tortillas.

[LAC]

(3 April 2018, 00:10)CharlesHarris Wrote:

(2 April 2018, 22:58)LAC Wrote: Yep full English all the way, that's why we win wars.
Also if you want to beef it up a bit you can add chips (fries to you) and/or bubble and squeek (which is mash potatoe and sprouts mashed together and fried), and a few slices of toast, and usually a mug of tea rather than coffee, but some prefer coffee.

A variation on the theme is leftover red beans & rice with a scrambled egg on top with andouille sausage, corn bread and Tobasco, which my Louisiana buddy serves, or my aunt in Arizona would substitute refried beans for the red beans and rice, and chorizo for the andouille, and serve with a salsa of dices fresh tomatoes, a jalapeno or serano pepper and monterrey jack cheese with tortillas.

Splendid, kind of sounds like The Full Mexican.

[Straight Shooter]

1998 a team of two Johnny and yours truly ....the Conservatory made in my factory had arrived and been delivered to the address where we had come to erect and install ..12ft x 12ft x 10ft to the apex .....we had come with full intent to take over America ...yep this carpenter and ex coal miner needed major sustenance before we got stuck in ........Shoneys (not sure of that spelling) but in we go $2.98 all you could eat ...till 11 am .....coffee sir....yes please and tea for my dog ...dog ? yep johnny .......she laughs....then she explains the crack ! ....johnny go's first ....his plate is well stacked out ...like an avalanche waiting to break free.....john....you can go back and forth any many times as you like....ugh....you can refill your plate like that as many times as you like till 11 oc ....noooo yeah f..k yeah ....welcome to America John ! up i go and come back with a normal plate full .....then i go in again this was 9 am pancakes and the fruit bar come next and all the while (more coffee sir ) the ambulance was called in about 10.58 am.....we were both removed from the premises on a gurney and treated for extreme food intake.....i heard the male nurse call it in on his radio "repeat we have two ...repeat two 120 s on route ...over ..i ask what is a 120 ? by all accounts normal Americans only reach a 60 ....1 hour stint of over indulgence ....one thing sticks in my memory of this first time at Shoneys ....this guy ...truck driver....black stetson hat with silver studs all around the band , black shirt with pockets, black leather string tie with a silver tie pin skull , black thick leather belt with a silver buckle opal in shape , which held up black Levi's and to finish off black cowboy boots tipped off with silver, he was built like a gypsies dog ...trim with every potion just right to perfect.....btw all he had was pancakes and coffee ...a 6" stack with maple syrup , of all the most interesting people i have meet this guy (from Kentucky) comes first for ultra cool dudes and a great enjoyable conversation was had....i have always wondered what his name was.....never thought to ask .

[Straight Shooter]

Sorry folks that should be 1988/9.....senior moment.

[CharlesHarris]

In much of rural America there is a chain called Waffle House, which is often the only restaurant open during a hurricane or blizzard, because such places being mostly in rural areas each has a backup generator to power the walk-in cooler, and they cook with gas, so they continue operating when the AC mains are down. In fact one of the factors we looked at on our official check list in determining whether or not to make a local disaster declaration, was to determine if the local Waffle House was open and serving and to count how many over-the-road tractor trailers, police cars and fire trucks were there.

The Waffle House in town here keeps a scanner on speaker 24/7 and is open 24/7. They also operate a mobile canteen with coffee, doughnuts, sandwiches and hot soup which can take off to the scene of a multi-car accident or house fire within minutes so that the volunteer fire, sheriff's auxiliary and ambulance crews can eat without leaving the scene. The fare is absolutely not 5-Star Michelin, but beats a construction site or Red Cross "roach coach." The local restaurant here has a jar where you can donate to support the mobile canteen so that the cops, EMS and firefighters eat free and don't have to pay, like they do if they eat at the Red Cross truck.... Don't get me started. MB I am sure can authenticate.

[Mortblanc]

My greatest single gripe over my present living location is that the nearest Waffle house is 5 miles away!

In my previous location I simply used the Waffle house that was between home and work as my mailing address. I knew every staff member by first name and when I pulled in the parking lot the girls would clear my regular seat and have a cup of coffee waiting when walked in. When they discovered I was moving from the area they gave me a coffee mug to remember them by. I still use it.

One nice thing about the WH is that the food is consistent, tasting the same across the nation. Best coffee on the highway system.

The one near me does not have a mobile unit. Probably is not needed due to lack of emergencies. The only time our rescue squad is called out is if some dementia patent escapes the old folks home.

Shoney's changes names across our country. Where I am now It Is called Frishes' and the food is not of the same quality as the Shoney's back home in Tennessee where the chain is based.

There was a time when the only place In town I would eat was Shoney's. It seemed that every other restaurant or fast food dump in town hired their staff directly from the prison parole roster and I had most of their staff in my college extension classes at one time or another, had read their histories and knew what diseases they had.

My all time favorite breakfast visit has always been the Cracker Barrel chain. They tend to be crowded most of the time just because they have a respectable atmosphere and excellent food. I know many people that are very picky where they eat and all of them will visit Cracker Barrel.

That used to be a favorite trip for the late wife and myself. We had done most of our courting with meet-ups at Cracker Barrel stores along the interstate highways system. We lived 5 hours apart and would drive to the half way point or somewhere near that.

They do a very good version of the "full southern breakfast" which does not require a second visit to the "bar". Their top of the menu choice requires that one have an entire table surface available for the presentation.

Cracker Barrel also locates in remote areas and they normally install a full water treatment and sewer treatment facility on location due to the volume of use and impact on the environment. I am not sure if they have a generator on site. It would make sense for them to do so with the half million dollar food investment in their coolers.

[CharlesHarris]

MB, we have Cracker Barrel up I81 at the next exit from here. They do have a backup generator and while they don't operate a public safety mobile canteen, they do participate in the Meals On Wheels program and are big corporate contributors to the Mountaineer Food Bank.

https://www.mountaineerfoodbank.org/mobile-pantry - Mountaineer Food Bank was created in 1981 and placed in Gassaway, WV in Braxton County due to its central location. Over the years, it has become the largest emergency food provider in West Virginia distributing over 13.7 million pounds annually of food and other household items to over 440 feeding programs in 48 counties in West Virginia. These programs include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior programs and Backpack programs. Mobile Pantries provide food to "food deserts" where food accessibilty is limited and/or scarce. Fresh, healthy food tends to have a short shelf life. To make sure food gets to our clients as quickly and fresh as possible, they are transported to selected locations and distributed by Mountaineer Food Bank. Mobile Pantries can provide a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and baked goods to people in need. Hosted by churches, schools, and community centers, a Mobile Pantry can feed between 100 and 1,000 households.

[Pete Grey]

The mountaineerfoodbank sounds great, we’ve nothing like it here mores the pity.

In the UK we don’t have the culture of “the Diner”, it’s a shame, our towns are to big for a small local place where we can socialise, we have McDonalds, Burger King and KFC but they have no soul.