Breakfast Prep

Tuesday morning, 5:38 AM, at Inspiration Cafe near Broadway and Wilson. The ever-reliable Maisie is already there, and Sandy too. Breakfast is the matter of hour, and Sandy and I are cooks this morning. Service starts at 7:00, and I'm hoping for a slow day because I need to be somewhere shortly after. I walk into the kitchen, plunk down my bag, and get to work.

The first step is to gather the equipment. Do this right away, because things move in a kitchen, and there's no bigger drag than not being able to find the right-sized ladle two minutes before service. Small steel bowls for omelette fillings, 4 sheet pans with 4 sheets of parchment, cutting boards, the big chef's knife with the extra wide blade (great for using as a spatula to pick stuff up after you cut it). Two heat resistant rubber spatulas, two peelers, and tongs (all of which are either too short or too long, but I make do). A colander and 2 large steel bowls, a pitcher for egg batter, a whisk, and a wooden spoon to stir the oatmeal.

Sandy has already turned on the ovens and is working on the potatoes. I set finger-sized bowls of salt and pepper on the warm rack over the stove so they'll be ready when we need them, alongside hotel pans for potatoes, bacon, and sausage, and the stack of ceramic bowls for grits that we warm up to serve grits. Divide the bacon between three sheet pans -- you can't fit it onto two without overlapping the slices, which causes them to stick together. I usually try to get the dry-cured bacon from Lincoln Market (4661 North Lincoln Avenue), but this week I settled for a supermarket brand, and the softer slices are harder to work with. Finally done and in the left-hand oven they go, followed by the sausage on a fourth pan. Put on water for grits.

5:51, Maisie, who runs things out on the floor, drops off a cup of coffee. She's a natural manager. I help Sandy finish the potatoes. We only have puny little russets this week, which means we have to peel twice as many to get enough. Cut them to medium dice, season with salt and pepper, and into the right-hand oven at 425°. Rotate the bacon pans in the other oven so they cook evenly (the pan on the bottom always gets the most heat).

Prepare omelet fillings. Sandy has already scavanged and found cheddar cheese, spinach, onions, and peeled tomatoes. Slice the onions thinly and set them in a hot skillet with oil, then lower the heat; I want just a hint of carmelization. Cook the spinach gently until it wilts, then squeeze out the excess water and pick out the stems (much easier to do after it has been wilted). Dice the tomatoes after squeezing out the water and seeds.

Pull the bacon and sausage from the oven one pan at a time as they finish, and transfer to the now warm hotel pans over the stove. Ditto for the pototoes, which usually finish last. In between, Sandy cracks eggs and I mix the grits in a round steel container called a bain (designed to hold foods hot in a steam bath) and set the bain in a pot of hot water on the back burner to keep warm. Maisie looks in and scribbles the daily menu on a slip of paper before transferring it to the whiteboard out on the cafe floor.

6:45, Sandy makes the pancake batter. People love her pancakes and I keep asking what the secret is, but she dodges my questions. I plug in the toaster, forage for bread, and open the sacks (no fumbling with wire twisties during service). Wipe down the counters, clear up the dirty dishes, and set out a stack of plates. Slice up the cantelope and watermelons that Sandy brought and we're ready to go.

Nothing fancy, just simple, honest food. But each week we try to do it a bit better than the last.

Menu

Eggs any style (within reason)
Omelets with choice of cheese, spinach, onions, and tomatoes
Bacon
Sausage patties
Pancakes
Oven-roasted potatoes
White and wheat toast
Grits
Fresh melon slices

Comments

[Keith Povall]

Sounds a whole lot more appetising than you will find in most UK based cafes. I know some people who had a small cafe and the tendency is to fry everything. Sausages deep fried to par cook them (YUK). Speed may be the essence, but I think UK standards compared to what I have experience in the US, are very poor.

ANyhow, book me on the forst flight over and I will come for brekky. All the best from England, a fellow foodie.

Keith

[jh]

In my last trip to London (in 2000) the local food scene had improved considerably from previous visits (many years earlier), but maybe breakfast isn't a strong point. Most days coffee is all I need, but every once in a while you gotta splurge.

[ellen healy]

Hi Piscky,

Really am liking your postings when I,m on the internet. Think it is way cool the way you get up and cook at the Inspiration Cafe, which sounds like a wonderful place. Maybe somehere in your text you could briefly mention that it is a place that serves the homeless or under priviledged because the only way that info comes accross is by hitting the link. Anyway I am very moved by what you do. Are the meals free? How many people do you serve?

Just curious,

Ellen