Brockley Breakfast -- where locals go

Ah! Breakfast in Britain -- Another perfectly prepared portion of eggs and toast being enjoyed by Happy Husband. Today at Central Cafe, on Brockley Road in Southeast London (SE4).  We try the fried eggs instead of poached, though poached are available; set in round molds to create perfect circles, Eastern European style.  Runny as we like them.  And the piping hot tea is brought to the table -- feels like luxury. 

Delightful display of double-decker buses passing the front windows (routes 171 & 172 stop across the street).  Minimal personality, with gold framed standard restaurant-fare pictures hanging above bouquets of plastic flowers. But bright, light and warm on a cold morning in London.

So...condiments.  What do we find on our breakfast tables?  Here at Central Cafe we find the regulars of salt & pepper, sugar, vinegar and tomato sauce.  Then there's soy sauce.  Why the soy sauce?  They do serve lunches, but on what would one shake soy sauce?  And vinegar?  Where has that tradition come from...vinegar on chips (french fries)?  I love it, don't get me wrong, but were the fried sliced potatoes of old so bad that they needed a flavour to cut the fact that they were a big edgy?  Or one day did someone just discover it's a good combination of flavours?  And no, to folks from outside the UK, that is not catsup, nor is it ketchup.  Tomato sauce in Britain is an animal unto itself.  My brother-in-law, of recent British descent, insists that there is more than vinegar and sugar in it, even real tomatoes.  

Frequent flow of customers fill the 40-seat single store front.  Some choosing take away egg sandwiches. Noticeable cleanliness -- tables wiped clean as soon as they are emptied, ready for the next diner.  As you can see, plenty of newspapers to go around.

Standard illustrated menu, immovable furniture -- parties up to 4 only, I guess, or split in two. But fine for the two of us.  Radio on, a blend of talk and music, hip hop mostly, but pleasantly unobtrusive.  Could be louder, but thankfully not. 

Brockley Road, the "high street" of Brockley, is mostly cafes, restaurants, a laundromat and a couple small shops, and there's a Costcutters for bread and bananas, but not a tourist destination.  Though St Andrew's United Reformed Church, a five minute walk down the road, is a lovely old Presbyterian style church built in 1882, remodeled about 15 years ago creating a new bright cheerful interior. (SE4 2SA)

So, in general a good review for a typical greasy-spoon cafe breakfast.

See you next week!

http://www.yelp.co.uk/

Rochester - Legends Cafe

After a 45 minute drive southeast, through a cold grey Kent morning, we arrive at the Legends Cafe, one of our favourites, for an early morning brekky in Rochester.  At 7:00 am the cafe exudes warmth, the heat quickly fogging up our spectacles. 


Soon Happy Husband gleefully holds his cup of piping hot tea!  Yes, they happily provide a substantial pitcher of hot milk upon request.  

"Historic Rochester" brochures boldly proclaim "where legends were created," thus the cafe name.  Not sure Dickens or Wellington actually ate here, but Dickens surely walked the street!  And William the Conqueror probably passed nearby assessing the spot for the Rochester Castle, the keep of which holds the grand honour of being the tallest keep in England at 113 feet high. (Don't trust my history lessons to be exact; it's the two eggs on toast I'm after.  But I do love Rochester.)




So, going with the theme, Legends Cafe's decor focuses on Hollywood Legends.  We figure eight framed photos constitute a theme. 

Back to the eggs and toast...Happy Husband's smile attests that we're pleased with our meal.  The toast is thick and perfectly toasted.  They don't poach eggs, but the fried eggs run when pierced, just as they should.  The £2 price is a pleasant 50p less than most cafes we've found.  

The counter staff provides friendly and pleasant assistance.  We overhear a stead flow of women's chat covering topics from tropical fish to family stuff, but not so loud as to be bothersome. 

The real treat at this place is no noise!  No music.  No loud cappuccino machines. No TV.  Just a peaceful warm space in which to enjoy the newspapers provided and the Women's Weekly we brought along. Okay, we did hear a bit of noise...the air hand-dryer in the loo and the milk steamer she used for our hot milk. But that's it.  And the loos --- on site and very clean!

Overall, the cafe presents a clean and pleasant atmosphere, plenty of seats for all, and a menu board with lots of choices.  Enough working men chow down a hot meal or come in to grab takeaway to provide our desired connected-to-the-community feeling. 

There's free parking out back, but we like to park at the Castle Parking area, then walk around the Cathedral (built in 1060), ambling along a tree-lined pathway through a park, then up the street to Legends. 

We complete a circle back to the car, walking down the historic high street that always delights with its Dickens-links, tea shops, book stores, charity shops (op shops for those of you in Oz; thrift stores for the North Americans) and today -- a cat in the window above the butcher's!  Look closely and you'll spot the cat stretching it's full height up the left side of the window above Capon's Butcher shop.

So, there you have it...another tasty Thursday morning breakfast in Britain.  We'll be back to where legends are created! See you next week....

Breakfast in Dorchester - better late than never

Once again the day starts later when my son is around.  So our day in Dorchester includes tea and scones instead of eggs and toast.  (Actually my son had something else, but for the life of me I can't remember what, and cannot identify the item in the photo.  Feel free to help me out.)  Quaint old eating house along the high street met our needs nicely.  And provided a warm respite on a cold wet day.

The Old Tea House, at it's called, was frequented by Thomas Hardy, so we felt we were keeping good company.  Though I wonder if he ever had so much fun as we did.  The house was once the home of the Dorchester Abbott – built in 1635.  It's the slanted floors and crooked beams that make the tea taste so authentic.  The blue willowish cups and standard design tea pot help with the this-is-an-English-breakfast feel, as does the single rose in the vase.  We feasted in the company of locals, always a good sign.

44 High West St., Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1UT
tel 01305 263719  http://www.oldteahouse.net/

Carwash Diner near Battle, East Sussex

Yes, this place is for real!  An American Diner on the side of the country road somewhere between London to Battle (where William conquered in 1066) and open early. Just noticed in the photos that it has two names..."Car Park Diner" and "Car Wash Diner."  Well, there's both a car wash next door and a car park out front.  Check out those cracks!   Room enough for lots of cars -- no parking problem here.

Turns out we have travelled all the way to East Surrey, which explains why it is open -- our arrival time is just after 9:00 am.  So not an earlier option for you early birds.

Wondering what my musician son would think of all the electric guitars spattered with paint and now unplayable, but they make for some unusual décor   The big news on the notice board by the front door is the line up of bands coming to play live in the weeks ahead.  Ah, so that explains the extra-large carpark.

The floor...spotless! The place shines.  The morning sun's rays burst through the wall of windows.

That's a real jukebox at the end of the room.  Didn't check the play-list.  But having met the owner it's sure to be old school rock-n-roll.  But where is everyone?  Could be a sign.  Forgot to take a photo of the food -- probably not runny enough for me -- the eggs that is.  And do avoid the "fried bread."  A synonym might be "rock candy."  

We do enjoy our destination -- Battle High Street and Battle Abbey -- in the rain.  Great notions shops tucked away on a side street.

http://www.carwashdiner.co.uk/ 
Horseshoe Garage, London Road, Hurst Green, East Sussex TN19 7QY
tel 01580 860370

Chatham, Kent -- Piggy's Coffee House

The first photographed cafe (remember, it's pronounced "caff"), not so much for it's food, but for its theme. Piggy's is near the Medway River below/behind the High Street of Chatham (in Kent).  With a Porky-Pig-look-alike peeking out from behind the signs and plaster porker casts filling each alcove in the dining area, there is no confusion as to the cafe's namesake!  HH (Handsome Husband) had the inspiration to photo-document the event.  

Handsome Husband at Piggy's

 While the decor was delightful, the fact that we were the only people in a double-wide cafe was telling.  (Double-wide meaning that it fills two store fronts.)  We enjoy visiting Chatham High Street and the Historic Dockyards, but we have never returned to Piggy's Coffee House.

Not the only piggy decoration!

Hampstead Heath - Zamazingo Cafe -- at the end of Bus 24

Last Thursday...Zamazingo Cafe -- our first stop after our two bus rides from home to Hampstead Heath.  A New York Times article sent by my sister-in-law planted the seed-of-interest in Hampstead Heath. So off we went.  We often troll the internet asking something like "breakfast cafe in...(location)", but after identifying only posh tea rooms and places with names seemingly designed for tourists in Hampstead Heath, today we decide to just go for it.  I prefer the bus to being subterranean in the tube, so we enjoy our homeline in to the city, and then number 24 which ends its route right in front of....Zamazingo Cafe!  We literally walked off the bus into the warm welcoming cafe.  

Handsome Husband looking forward to his full English Breakfast

I considered putting a close-up of the food first, but I really do not like food photos.  Nothing worse than a billboard presenting a giant plate of someone's favourite food for our delightful viewing.  Yuck.  So here you have a very handsome husband behind the food -- much more pleasant to look at.  HH (short for handsome husband) doesn't usually get a full breakfast, but he was overcome by the sensuous smells and other happy customers in Zamazingo and decided to go wild.

Our friendly hostess, happy to be posted on our new blog.  (I wrote down her name and then lost the paper -- apologies)

So, what makes a cafe fit the bill, or at least fit our bill?  That's what we'll be exploring.  We have our favourites, of which I'll write in time -- when I get some photos.  They might well be considered "dives" in Chicago or "diners" in Pennsylvania.  Here they are just Caffs, and they open early, before the rest of the community even comes alive.

Friendly-feel interior

The sandwich board that goes outside of many cafes at 6:00 am or 6:30, very helpful to folks like us, new in the neighbourhood!  Easy to spot in an instant.

My perfect eggs -- runny poached on hot crisp toast

Zamazingo, Hampstead Heath -- at the end of Bus line 24.  Another perfect early breakfast with strong hot tea!

Looking for the perfect eggs and toast.

Looking for a tasty serving of eggs and toast? Or a bit more?  Hoping our trials can help avoid your errors!  My husband and I eat breakfast out each Thursday, our day off.  We live in London, so often we take a bus or train, or walk as Londoners do, to a Cafe (pronounced "caff").  Other weeks we drive south into Kent, usually leaving home between 5:00 and 6:00 am.  After doing this for 3 years, we decided we'd share our collected experiences, and keep you up to date with the new venues we visit each week.  Here goes...