FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Got a Perfect Breakfast Spot? Let the rest of us know

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Frank Gonzales, who coordinates the noncredit culinary classes at Kapi'olani Community College, e-mailed to say he was out to breakfast with a group of foodie friends recently and got to talking about where to find a great breakfast in Honolulu. They concluded that, once you get beyond the hotels, "it's a pretty short list." And I agree.

Seattle, where I used to live, was particularly rich in good breakfast places, and my girlfriends and I used to meet often on a Saturday morning, a la the girls in "Sex in the City," to discuss the men in our lives, shopping, home decor, the men in our lives, books, children, the men in our lives ...

A leisurely breakfast on a weekend — especially one I don't have to cook — is among my favorite things. There are very few traditional Western breakfast foods I don't like — Portuguese sausage, eggs and rice here; a French-style repast of well-made fresh bread or sweet rolls with coffee or chocolate; grits and gravy in the South; bangers and grilled tomatoes in England. I've eaten and enjoyed them all. I'm also fond of Japanese-style breakfasts of soup, rice and grilled fish.

So Frank's plea to come up with some recommendations hit home with me.

Ever since I came home to Hawai'i, I've been searching O'ahu for the perfect breakfast spot. And I mean Perfect. Capital P. Ask any of my friends, who have heard me rant on this topic.

A Perfect Breakfast Spot not only serves good food, but good coffee — preferably espresso or French press, but well-made brewed coffee will do.

At a Perfect Breakfast Spot, waiters take your order and bring your food on real plates with real cutlery — no take-out windows, queueing to order, styrofoam or plastic.

A Perfect Breakfast Spot has parking and sufficient tables so that you don't have to wait too long in line, if at all.

A Perfect Breakfast Spot serves breakfast whenever you want it — no mid-morning cutoff as if to punish you for sleeping in too late.

A Perfect Breakfast Spot doesn't mind if you linger over the paper or ask for more coffee.

And a Perfect Breakfast Spot often, but not always, has something special about it — a signature menu item (like Koa Cafe's orange pancake sauce) or a charming (or funky) location.

You'll suggest Eggs n' Things and I'll say I love it — except for the parking and waiting in line part.

You'll suggest Kaka'ako Kitchen and I'll say it's a favorite — except for the styrofoam take-out plates.

You'll suggest Alan Wong's Pineapple Room and I'll say you've got a good point — but the menu is a bit out there, and pricy.

Koa Cafe, Columbia Inn, Original Pancake House, Boots & Kimo's, Anna Miller's ... all have been tried and — however much I enjoyed particular aspects of the experience — found to fall short of the big P.

So I'm asking: What's your nominee for a Perfect Breakfast Spot on O'ahu or, what the heck, on the Neighbor Islands, for that matter? Suggest a place and why you think it's Perfect (or nearly). Remember: We're talking breakfast here, not brunch, not buffet but breakfast. And no hotels — all the fine hotels do Perfect Breakfasts, so let's just take that as read. I'll share your ideas with readers.

Write me at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com or Taste, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.