Tales of Yummy Breakfast, Ch. 1: Love at third sight.

I know you're dying to know.


Who IS this handsome-looking bagel anyway?

Or perhaps the more likely question is: What the hell is that thing?

Well, it's a bagel keychain. And his name is Benny. Or Lenny. Or I can't remember what I named him. I just call him "bagel keychain."

It's a member of Kid Robot's Yummy Breakfast blind-box collection. For those of you who've never bought a blind box, you are probably better off. It can become a dangerous addiction. Basically, it's like sticking a quarter into one of those little toy/junk dispensers at the grocery store and getting some random surprise toy/junk. Except instead of a quarter, it's a $5 bill. And instead of some surprise toy/junk, it's one of these:


AHH.

But there's no way to tell what you are buying -- all the boxes are labeled exactly the same. It's a gamble each time.

So, wait: I actually wanted to start a series of short stories of my Yummy Breakfast keychain encounters, as I've had quite a few.

I'm very fond of bagel keychain now, but we weren't always lovers. Nope. I was very disappointed to meet him, actually.

I wandered into the Go, Rilla! shop at City Place in Santa Ana on some random day at some random time, to make some random purchase. There were a bunch of Yummy Breakfast keychains that had been unwrapped and were on display, and I decided I just had to get one.

I hoped for a pizza, or a blueberry muffin, or a watermelon. Something colorful. I love color.

Alas, it was just a plain ol' bagel. No color! Just some black poppy seeds. Boo.

I thought about giving it away. I was ready to. But then I kept looking at it. And I noticed its wide eyes peering up at me, with a crooked little smile that said,


"Hey. You and me, we can be friends. Eh? Eh??"

Aww shucks, bagel keychain. How could I not love you?

* * *
Go, Rilla!
3013 N. Main St.
Santa Ana 92706
714.547.5451

Flappy Jack's.

I think I appreciate being often near Route 66 more now than as a kid, when all I was concerned about was how confusing it was that this street had multiple names (Route 66 v. Alosta v. Foothill Blvd., etc). But now, all I care about here are the great food finds.

A prime example, well-known and well loved: The Donut Man, with its killer strawberry-stuffed donuts. And really, there's nothing else to say about this place that hasn't been said already. If you haven't yet visited The Donut Man, just get down there, pronto.

Today I want to share my foodventure at another Route 66 establishment that has become really popular among locals: Flappy Jack's Pancake House Restaurant.

In contrast to The Donut Man, which has a natural, authentic Route 66 charm (whatever the hell that means), Flappy Jack's is one of those places that tries super hard to give off the look and feel that it's been around forever. Inside its walls are adorned with cliché Americana decor, but I remember driving by this building when it used to be a Carrows.

No matter. As long as they can back it up with good food, who the eff cares, right?

Yes, it's very easy to forgive and forget once the waitress plops down in front of you a plateful of pancakes each larger than your face. (Those with small, dainty faces: pretend just for a moment that your face is large and rotund, like mine.)


These banana-nut pancakes -- with bananas and pecans throughout and on top -- were warm, fluffy and inviting. As if I could just snuggle between them and sleep and/or eat contentedly.

This quickly got to be a very rich breakfast, so I countered with a side of savory sausage links. Maple syrup and sausage is always a beautiful thing. I would say the sausage became the guling to my pancake bed, but that would be taking this metaphor just a little too far.

My cousin got the stuffed French toast -- logs of bread filled with sweet vanilla cottage cheese, and served with strawberry compote.


The next time we visit I must remember to ask them how they construct such a fine bread log of cottage cheesy goodness.

My boyfriend went with the country fried steak smothered in gravy and served with "home-style potatoes" aka hashbrowns, and a small stack of (normal-sized) buttermilk pancakes.


This regularly comes with eggs instead of fruit, but he does not like/eat eggs.

A dish I'm tempted to try next: bacon pancakes. After all, everything is better with bacon, as they always say.

* * *
Flappy Jack's Pancake House Restaurant
640 W. Route 66
Glendora 91740
626.852.9444

Snack bonanza!

Lately, mostly due to lack of time to cook a full meal for myself on weekdays, I've been snacking myself into oblivion. Here are three recent favorites, to satisfy three separate cravings:

Pretzel Crisps (savory):


This buffalo wing-flavored snack might as well be laced with crack. I can't get enough of them. They're as addictive and light as potato chips, but are crunchier, taste way better and are better for you. Look how gloriously thin they are:


I bought the buffalo wing and garlic flavors at my local Sprouts, to justify my passing the sample tray about a dozen times to snatch up more and more of these. They really should not leave those things unattended.

Trader Joe's also has its own version -- and they're everything-flavored. Though, they carry them kind of sporadically, so don't get mad at me if you can't find them.

Isabella's Cookies (sweet):


These were a random impulse buy while waiting to purchase my lunch at Ivy's Cafe in Tustin (simple, healthy, yet somehow super delicious sandwiches/salads). I like these cookies because they (1) taste homemade (which they are) and (2) come in unusual flavors. The above is "The Paddy" -- mint chips and semisweet chocolate chips. And below:


"The Muffy" -- a tribute to a muffin top (undoubtedly adding to my "muffin top"), this cookie is studded with dried blueberries, white chocolate chips, and milk-chocolate covered blueberries. I've also tried "Chocolate Haze," which has whole hazelnuts and dark chocolate chunks. I'm still trying to find "The Shortcake," an homage to strawberry shortcake.

The Pure Bar (healthy):

Although it's not common, I'd imagine, I suppose it's possible to have a healthy craving. The Pure Bar is all-vegan raw food -- organic, nothing cooked, no preservatives, and all that jazz. Now, I am usually not into these super healthy meal-replacement bar dealios. In fact, I find many of them quite awful, especially when I have to think for longer than 15 seconds about how the vegan peanut butter and chocolate bar I'm chewing tastes even remotely like peanut butter and chocolate.

Maybe that's why The Pure Bar is not only tolerable, it's astonishingly delicious: It doesn't really try to emulate any flavor. It just is.

Example: The wild blueberry bar, my favorite, just tastes like dried blueberries, complemented with little bits of walnuts -- enough to satisfy, but rare enough to invoke a fond appreciation for each walnut encounter as I slowly make my way through. Same thing goes for the apple cinnamon.

While I tend to stay away from the ones promoting themselves as chocolate, the chocolate chip trail mix bars offer an interesting alternative: cacao nibs. It's not as indulgent as a good, rich bar of dark chocolate, but it's definitely still "the real thing," and a suitable substitute if you're trying to be healthy.

But like many good things, The Pure Bar does not come cheap, and so far I've only been able to find it at Whole Foods.

As my snack preferences change as often as my cravings do, only time will tell what my tastebuds have yet to discover in the tasty world of munchies!

"What is a morning glory muffin?"

Disappointingly, I didn't know the answer. But it does sound intriguing. In a healthy, fruity, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kind of way.

Morning glory muffins, from AllRecipes.com. I love this site.

I think it's a must-try for breakfast this weekend. Stay tuned...

My digital camera smells like everything.

I accidentally left a forgotten Bruegger's everything bagel in the same bag my digital camera was in over the weekend. And even though I threw away the bagel two days ago (so sad, I love everything bagels), my camera still reeks of delicious onion and garlic. It's so fragrant and savory-smelling now.

I want breakfast.