Sunday, June 11, 2006

If Only Finding a Church Was this Easy

Very early Sunday morning, I set out to find a breakfast spot before starting my day. I found my experience very much like looking for the perfect church.

  • First of all, it has to be perfect. That is, it has to match the image that I have in my mind of what a 'perfect breakfast' will look and taste like.
  • It has to serve all the traditional breakfast stuff: eggs, potatoes, and chorizo.
  • It has to serve great coffee, ala Starbuck's.
  • The Waite staff has to be cool and attentive (after all, I need to be well taken care of).
  • Also, the venue has to be artistic, cool, open, non-traditional, and of course, right in the heart of the city.
  • If it were a unique, one of a kind place, that would be ideal, but I'll settle if I have to.
  • It has to have great music. New talent; funky; stuff I can enjoy while eating that gets me grooving just a little bit is perfect.
  • Being walking distance from home is a must!
  • Finally, it has to be hopping with a diverse crowd.

After an hour of walking around, past, in and out of, numerous places, I was getting so hungry my standards began to plummet downward. I even began to remember restaurants I had seen in other parts of town that served breakfast, and I was tempted to get on a bus and commute to find my perfect place. But, eating breakfast was much too important for me to give up so quickly. I had to press on.

  • Maybe I should go back to the great doughnut place right be my apartment. No. Too much sugar and not enough substance.
  • The dining room at the Ramada Inn would probably serve the eggs and bacon I was looking for, but the place is too old and unhip for me to really enjoy my breakfast.
  • Then there was the very nice hotel joint not far away, but it was a bit to up scale for me. I did not want to spend $20 for eggs and toast!
  • Then there were the 10 Starbuck's I passed by. (No joke, this is Seattle) Even though they now serve a pretty good breakfast sandwich, I couldn't bring myself to settling for something so familiar and so canned.
  • Not to mention the numerous storefront places that served other interesting food, but no breakfast.

I was now so hungry, I was really ready to settle for anything, when it happened. I came across a sports bar that was serving breakfast. I walked down into the huge space filled with TV lights and the sounds of the World Cup. It was comfortable and contemporary. The African American greeter (I mean host) was great, and made me feel at home.

I was drawn to the feel, to the sounds (very loud) and to the visuals. And the finals of the French Open were on (showing on 20 huge HDTV plasma screens) with the Mexico versus Iran game coming up next. What could be better?

I ate my breakfast. Nadal won, and Mexico was not losing. To top it off, after the offering (I mean, after paying my bill) they moved me into the cigar bar to watch the game on a couch in absolute comfort.

Too bad I'm only in Seattle for one weekend, because this would be a great regular breakfast place, especially during the World Cup!

If only finding a church home were this easy!