Wednesday, September 18th

Rise and Shine

Sometimes I think that the very best thing about college (well, about living on campus, anyway) was the fact that on Saturdays and Sundays the dining hall served breakfast until two o'clock. One could roll out of bed at 1:45 and be eating a plate piled high with scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, and any kind of toast you could imagine by 2:03.

It was divine.

There are so many different ways to eat breakfast, from Eggs Benedict to fresh fruit and yogurt, that it got me to wondering where in our local area the best breakfasts could be found. I mean, we're not all lucky enough to get it at home! Breakfast is a great meal to eat out on the weekend because you barely even have to wake up to do it. We've all had that kind of morning.

Therefore, I offer you the very first littleplate.com dining guide (of sorts). The restaurants listed below represent, to me, the best mid-Saturday-morning eating in or around Howard County.

Forest Diner, Route 40, Ellicott City. The teeny Forest Diner, which is actually two diners squooshed into one, has been serving breakfast in Ellicott City for approximately ever. This is not a fancy kind of place; it is a diner, through and through, and my favorite place to eat is at the counter. I wouldn't order anything too complicated here, but the eggs are always cooked just right and the waitresses are friendly. The fact that the coffee is very Maxwell House is balanced by the best scrapple in the county – crisp on the outside, hot and creamy within. Plus you cannot eat here without running into someone you know, even if you've lived here only five minutes. I dare you to try.

Eggspectation, Columbia. This joint has a ridiculous name, but then again, it's Canadian. If you think the name of the restaurant is stupid, wait till you try to order your food ("I'll have the Oy Vegg, please. Or should I have the Eggchilada?"). Nevertheless, this Quebecois import scores high in the area for a spiffy concept and really good coffee. They have pure maple syrup for your pancakes and a gigantic menu that includes everything from homemade granola to steak and eggs. Whatever you get, don't forget to order the delicious maple-cured thick bacon and the oniony hash browns.

Little Havana Restaurant, Baltimore. Technically this is a brunch, and it's only offered on Sunday, but what a brunch it is. For $11.95, each happy eater receives a Cuban-influenced brunch entree of his or her choice and an endless supply of good Bloody Marys, mimosas, and/or coffee. We knew we were in for it when, while waiting at the bar for a table, we asked for a Bloody Mary and got a pitcherful of vodka and spicy-hot tomato juice. The food is good, the people are pretty, and the view of the harbor is spectacular. The service is slow, but oddly we didn't care after the second pitcher was delivered. Drink up.

The Bagel Bin, Columbia. To me the only real Bagel Bin is in Wilde Lake, but that's probably because I used to go there after a long day of high school back when it was the Bagel Shoppe. Before I moved to Maryland in the ninth grade, I'd never had a bagel, and this is where I was converted. The ambience is completely no-frills. The coffee is terrible and served heated to about 800 degrees from a five-gallon vat. But the bagels are delicious and made fresh every morning, the lox spread is fabulous, and you haven't lived till you have had an Eggel (scrambled egg and cheese, with or without bacon or sausage, on a toasted bagel). Yum.

The Fifth District Firehouse Breakfast, Ten Oaks Ballroom, Clarksville. The last Sunday of every month during the school year, you can go to this big anonymous banquet space along with everyone else in Howard County and eat all of the eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrapple, toast, fruit salad, coffee and orange juice that you can stand for six dollars. SIX DOLLARS. I myself can easily put away half a pound of bacon at this thing. Yet somehow they continue to make enough money to throw this breakfast for the benefit of the Fifth District Volunteer Firemen nine months of the year. You simply can't get more down-home than this, unless you are at home. It is a hell of a bargain.

So that's my list. You want toast with that?

(Oh, and if you're stuck at home? I highly recommend the breakfast taco recipe posted to the right. Nothing like some spice to wake you up in the morning!)