THE BEST: New York breakfasts

[larrylee]

NYC is not really a breakfast kind of town.  Quite a few people work at large companies that have their own cafeterias, I do.  We have 10,000 staff in our NYC campus with a large and high end caferteria.

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That's a pretty narrow view of the world. I think a fairly standard New York breakfast for many people means running down to your local coffee and doughnut cart. If you're there often enough (which I'm not), the guy remembers your preferences and chats you up for the thirty seconds it takes to pull your order together.

Others might choose to go to their local kitchenette (like Sucelt down on 14th) for ranchos huevos or the like, or their corner bodega to get a breakfast sandwich-type thing to go.

Having said that, I suppose people don't get worked up about weekday breakfasts as much as, say, weekend brunch... but that's probably more because of today's modern societal pressures than a New York phenomenon.

[Todd36]

NYC is not really a breakfast kind of town.  Quite a few people work at large companies that have their own cafeterias, I do.  We have 10,000 staff in our NYC campus with a large and high end caferteria.

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That's a pretty narrow view of the world. I think a fairly standard New York breakfast for many people means running down to your local coffee and doughnut cart. If you're there often enough (which I'm not), the guy remembers your preferences and chats you up for the thirty seconds it takes to pull your order together.

Others might choose to go to their local kitchenette (like Sucelt down on 14th) for ranchos huevos or the like, or their corner bodega to get a breakfast sandwich-type thing to go.

Having said that, I suppose people don't get worked up about weekday breakfasts as much as, say, weekend brunch... but that's probably more because of today's modern societal pressures than a New York phenomenon.

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I can't think of another city I've been to that has the collection of carts and corner delis that really function as cheap restaurants as NY. I wasn't thinking of carts, but you're right, many people get their breakfast that way. Places such as Pax have I think taken the place of coffee shops----self-service seems to be the rule in NYC, I suspect that Pax or Cafe Europa (same ownership) and such places have lower costs than a coffee shop. The independent corner deli with no seating also seems to have done well. I live on the upper west side, and if you want a hot breakfast on a weekday, your choices are limited if you don't want self-service.

[larrylee]

I live on the upper west side, and if you want a hot breakfast on a weekday, your choices are limited if you don't want self-service.

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Having said all this, I'm not even much of a breakfast person, but I suspect you're right about limited sit-down hot breakfasts. Diners come to mind. Eh.

For some reason, I always consider sit down breakfasts to be a bigger waste of money than lunch or dinner. There's something in my mind that says "Eggs! You can make these at home!" Sure, I can make a sandwich, too, but I'm more willing to pay for a sandwich than eggs. The percentage mark-up on granola makes me think of saffron.

Speaking of which, time for my own breakfast. :-D