I like my eggs poached, thank you very much...

Yes, I am a superficial douche.

And I like poached eggs and rye toast.

New York City in Food

Wednesday into Thursday, I went into New York, and spent time with Lux. When Lux and I get together, there is always great food and wonderful places.

Here they are without commentary.

Lunch

Slow-Cooked Lamb Sandwich on a rosemary bun with farinella
At Locanda Verde(Foursquare Venue)
This check-in earned me this wonderful Foursquare badge:

(Go ahead...you can laugh, you know you want to.)
Coffee:
A triple shot Americano at Cafe Grumpy (Foursquare Venue)
Which earned me this Foursquare badge:

Beer:

Stone Ruination IPA at The Pony Bar (Foursquare Venue) (Yes, FAU that is Instagram. Mock away.)

Dinner:

Deviled Duck Eggs


Homemade New York Style Pretzels and Seared Shrimp


Quail Egg Toast


Weisswurst and Lagunitas IPA
At Ardesia (Foursquare Venue)

Breakfast:

Poached Eggs, Homefries and Rye Toast at The Olympic Flame Diner. (Foursquare Venue)

A note of thanks to Lux and Katrina for their hospitality and their friendship.

Poaching Fail or Finding Breakfast

When I wrote about how wonderful the poached eggs were at the Pearl Street Diner, I mentioned on how poached eggs should be served. On the toast, right?

So, yesterday when I went in search of breakfast, I figured that Spill'n the Beans which had quickly become on of my favorite coffee shops would do my eggs correctly.

As you can see, I was wrong. Very very wrong.

Then this morning, I had my usual at Capital City Diner (formerly Metro 20).

The eggs belong on the toast, or maybe...just maybe...on the home fries. They do not belong in a little bowl on the plate.

I want to start a movement to prevent this travesty from continuing. Now, some of you are saying that not everyone likes there eggs on their toast, and I am trying to explain to you that those people are douchebags. They are wrong and they should ask for something special (like a bowl) and I should have my meal properly made.

Who is with me?

Diner Food

All Over Albany had a great post up earlier in the week about diner food in the Albany area. (The included the Halfmoon Diner and as you know, I had quite possibly the worst dining experience of my life there which was part of a spectacularly crappy day.)

Miss Albany topped this list (oh, and if you noticed, MAD made the TU today) and of course they did. They are always good and very often excellent. They are what diners should be.

That being said, I want to make another plea for the Pearl Street Diner(Facebook Page).

I rarely change my breakfast menu. Coffee, rye toast, home fries and two or three poached eggs. It is an "easy meal" as in it sounds simple, but is can be screwed up spectacularly. (The eggs go on the toast, not in a bowl on the side, and I am talking to you, Johnny B's Diner.) Poaching anything well is difficult and poaching it badly is surprisingly simple.

While the Pearl Street Diner has been good the six or so times I have been there, this morning the eggs were poached to perfection. As Anthony Bourdain said on Top Chef All-Stars during the Restaurant Wars episode if you put a runny egg on anything, you have made it delicious. Today, the perfectly poached egg on the well buttered rye toast was as close to Heaven as I am ever going to get.

So, when you are in Downtown Albany next, and the Miss Albany Diner is packed, or you are just looking for something new to try, I plead with you to try the Pearl Street Diner, and have the poached eggs. I cannot promise that they are going to be a sublimely good as they were this morning, but I can promise that they will be tasty.

(Off topic for a minute: How do you like your eggs? This post (and Runaway Bride, and yes, I have seen the film, and yes, it made enough of an impression on my that I think about it) talked about cereal as the litmus test for compatibility but I don't like cereal. I really don't like it. I am a hot breakfast person, and I love eggs, toast, and coffee. I swear that someone I dated only put up with me because I was strict about making a hot breakfast even when she had to leave the house by 6:30 to get to work. It was my only decent behavior, but I never asked her how she liked her eggs. So, are eggs a better test? You can't get Kix at your local diner (or I pray that you can't) so...maybe eggs?)

(Off topic for another minute: And for the foodies out there, and the Top Chef fans too, here is a great post from people who were at the Restaurant Wars in person and recounted their experience.)

And where will I get breakfast now?

As is well documented, I like diner food. Sometimes it is great (like the Pearl Street Diner) and sometimes it is awful (the contribution of the Halfmoon Diner [thanks, Teacher Dave] to my birthday fail) but it is often interesting.

JMFJT and I went to breakfast this morning at the Western Diner.

When we were sat, JMFJT picked up a table tent and then exclaimed "Oh God!" right as the server approached our table.

Not because of the server...not because of the food...

The Western Diner is closing on November 4th.

Now where am I going to get a plate like this in Guilderland?!?