Breakfast . . . It's what's for dinner . . . (or any other time)

We all know breakfast is the best meal of the day, right? So what the heck has taken so long for the fast-food and casual fast-food industry to catch on?

McDonald’s is finally offering all-day breakfast, so you can grab your Egg McMuffin any time you want. Perfect. (If you like fast food anyway.)

I enjoy breakfast any time of the day or night . . . That was one of the great things about living in New Jersey, with its 8 million diners every mile. A diner has a 48-page menu, and 90 percent of the people there are ordering eggs . . . Eggs over easy. Scrambled. Omelets. All with home fries or hash browns and bacon or sausage, a pot of coffee and a large orange juice.

Steak and eggs with home fries and horseradish

When I first started working in lower Manhattan, a work buddy and I would meet at a “diner” just up from work for breakfast. (I put “diner” in quotes, since I usually think of diners as those stand-alone, chrome-wrapped buildings, not the short-order places tucked in amongst the high-rise office buildings.) Those short-order restaurant, though, have many of the same great offerings . . . hot food served fast (Ever listen to the orders going into the kitchen?) . . . a huge menu, and waitresses who call everyone “honey,” “baby,” “dear,” or “sweetie.” I love them . . . Some of my friends hate being called “honey.”

So long as my eggs are over easy, I’m pretty happy.

I used to order eggs over easy with home fries and either bacon or sausage with a large pineapple juice at that restaurant up from 26 Broadway. My buddy usually ordered an omelet with sausage and a large orange juice. He liked pancakes, too. And keep the coffee coming.

I’ve calmed down a bit, and usually enjoy oatmeal or just eggs now over easy, poached or scrambled and every n0w and then soft boiled). Maybe a yogurt. Moderation can be a difficult thing. I’ll admit to adding some onion- and pepper-heavy home fries every once in a while. Low-sodium V8 Juice has replaced orange juice and pineapple juice.

I love eggs.

Fried egg with capers,
roasted tomatoes and steelhead..

They seem to be a single guy’s staple. Probably because they’re cheap and easy, though cooking them right can be a challenge for some. It’s the omelet that can be tough . . . the right fillings, and just cooked, not dry and too browned. There’s a reason one of the tests for would-be chefs is making an omelet.

Brunch is a bit of a different matter, a bit dressier than breakfast, with, hopefully some champagne or a mimosa and spruced up egg dishes . . .

When I try something new for “before lunch” fare, it still usually involves eggs of one sort or another . . . maybe baked eggs with baked zucchini, or an egg on top of steelhead and roasted tomatoes, poached eggs with roasted asparagus or other more grown up additions.

Baked eggs with zucchini and marinara.

So it’s nice to see McDonald’s and the others catching up to what the rest of us have known for a very long time . . . that breakfast is the best meal, day or night.