My Breakfast at the BC Cafe
by Joe Lyons
Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day? Not at my place. At best I scratch some butter-type spread over burnt toast and pour hot water on top of brown coffee-type crystals.
But the recent rush of Sunday brunches seems to have made big breakfasts quite fashionable. Truth to tell, the really BIG breakfasts have always been around, just not as visible, and usually at rough-hewn old- style locations.
Now there is a TV commercial that says breakfast is back. At BC Cafe, it truly is.
We started with a short stack of pancakes ($4.09). Of course, a short stack may not be tall but it is certainly wide. Then came the remarkable stuffed French toast with Philadelphia cream cheese and boysenberry sauce ($5.89).
This may not be good for me, but I really don’t care.
The BC Cafe has more than 20 omelets on the menu, including a Louisiana hot link ($7.69). Instead, I tried the Louisiana hot links farm breakfast ($7.39). It includes home fries, peppers, cheese, mushrooms and a wonderful cornbread. The links are just hot enough without being too much for the start of the day.
One item that is listed as an omelet, but doesn’t look like one, is the frittata ($8.79). Actually, it comes in three styles, but any one of them is a lot by itself.
Next, I had the full smoked ham steak with potatoes and eggs ($8.39). If you’re not up to it, the ham breakfast comes in a half-steak size ($6.69).
I also enjoyed the corned beef hash that came with hash browns and fried eggs ($6.29).
The menu also lists a number of classic breakfasts, country breakfasts and basic breakfasts. There are also Kick Back Jack flapjacks, French toast, and waffles.
At our host’s recommendation, I tried the Belgian waffle with whipped cream, smothered in strawberries and peaches ($5.29).
Since this is breakfast, you need to know that the coffee is top-of- the-line and the orange juice is freshly squeezed. In fact everything, including the beans and rice, the grits and the flour tortillas, are all made fresh each day. This is much better than in my kitchen, where the eggs and bread are probably as old as my avocado green refrigerator that they sit in.
BC Cafe is open until 3 p.m. each day, seven days a week, so there is a full lunch menu as well—but I left, full—before I got to it.
You will too.
BC Cafe has two locations: 701 South Indian Hill Blvd. in Claremont, (909) 482-1414 and 10123 Foothill Blvd. in Rancho Cucamonga, (909) 989-1440. |
