The Most Important Meal
I think English muffins are the perfect quick breakfast food. It gives my carb-addicted appetite its much-needed fix, without the danger of overstuffing that a doughy bagel poses. (Plus, bagels here suck — but that’s another posting). But it wasn’t until I had a sweet, large, plump Portuguese muffin at the Fountain Restaurant at Four Seasons that I realized how many breakfasts I’ve wasted on Thomas’s.
It never even crossed my mind that there was something else out there. So, I went hunting for a better muffin, one that didn’t shrink when toasted, that was heartier, had more surface area and didn’t taste like cardboard. My search of Portuguese muffins failed, but I was pleasantly surprised by the house brands that Whole Foods and Wegmans are putting out (the regular and whole wheat). Both are larger, saltier, and nook-and-cranny-er — all the better to hold your topping of choice. (If you care: cream cheese and jelly for my husband, cinnamon, sugar and butter for our food editor, and straight-up whipped cream cheese for me.) Even if you are a dieting spray-butter-er, I promise you’ll never go back to Thomas’s again.
Image, wikimedia.org
I think English muffins are the perfect quick breakfast food. It gives my carb-addicted appetite its much-needed fix, without the danger of overstuffing that a doughy bagel poses. (Plus, bagels here suck — but that’s another posting). But it wasn’t until I had a sweet, large, plump Portuguese muffin at the Fountain Restaurant at Four Seasons that I realized how many breakfasts I’ve wasted on Thomas’s.
It never even crossed my mind that there was something else out there. So, I went hunting for a better muffin, one that didn’t shrink when toasted, that was heartier, had more surface area and didn’t taste like cardboard. My search of Portuguese muffins failed, but I was pleasantly surprised by the house brands that Whole Foods and Wegmans are putting out (the regular and whole wheat). Both are larger, saltier, and nook-and-cranny-er — all the better to hold your topping of choice. (If you care: cream cheese and jelly for my husband, cinnamon, sugar and butter for our food editor, and straight-up whipped cream cheese for me.) Even if you are a dieting spray-butter-er, I promise you’ll never go back to Thomas’s again.
Image, wikimedia.org
Sunday mornings in your house may not be as relaxing as kicking back in your favorite coffee shop, but this perfect-anytime cake from Mount Airy’s High Point Café is certain to slow things down a bit. The sweet taste, crumbly exterior and hearty texture will stand up to that strong cup of joe.
I thought it a wee bit odd when my friend said she was serving a tres leches cake at her 6-year-old daughter’s birthday — at her daughter’s request. But as the cake emerged from the back of the tiny quick-stop Panaderia La Espiga on 10th and Spring Garden, I knew why any kindergardener would adore it. It’s the sweet equivalent of an ‘80s wedding dress. White, puffy and tacky in the most wonderful ways.