A Butler's Manor, Southampton

Greenwich, CT, may be the hedge fund capital of the world. But a short ferry-ride, and a quick spin in the Ferrari, and you're in the hedge capital of the world, otherwise known as Southampton. Great, long, neatly trimmed hedges, as far as the eye can see. Like a big green blanket, keeping your 11 room beach shack protected from prying eyes. But what about the rest us? Whither the Jitney class? Those forced to scrape out an existence on the wrong side of the hedge. Is a Hamptons holiday out of reach? Is there a life for us South of Route 27? Well yes, as it turns out. A very pleasant life at A Butler's Manor, 244 North Main Street, Southampton, NY, Tel +1 (631) 283-8550. And a very good breakfast, too.



It's a B+B, of course, so if you want the breakfast you need to buy a bed. But you won't be disappointed. Over three mornings, my favorite was an egg strata, which is an egg pie concoction, blending cubes of sourdough, chunks of ham, cheese, eggs, some veggies and a crusty cornflake topping. Baked to perfection by Kim and served with the touch of a seasoned butler by Chris. Very civilized.

This was the first time I'd had egg strata, and it was a welcome discovery. Who knew you could successfully combine eggs and cornflakes in one dish? And just when I thought I'd heard it all, another breakfast discovery lands in my lap. That same day, while chit-chatting over post-wedding drinks and nibbles (including mini-croque monsieurs, to my great delight), I'm asked if I've ever had scrapple. Scrapple? Never heard of it. Until now. But I'm already planning a trip to Pennsylvania to rectify this oversight. How can I resist the lure of a fried slice of pork mush topped with a couple of eggs? Let no part of the pig go to waste.

The only twist with breakfast at Butler's is that everyone dines together and everyone eats the dish du jour. This can be a good thing, since it eliminates the stress of choosing, and you can meet and talk to strangers whether they like it or not. But don't worry. Those with special food or social needs can always request special treatment. The hosts are very accomodating.

Clio, Boston

I was half expecting hollandaise foam when I sat down for breakfast at Clio, 370 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, Tel +1 (617) 536-7200. A quick flick through the Clio photo gallery reveals that Ken Oringer is quite the foam fan-boy. A trick he picked up from the godfather of foam, Ferran Adria, no doubt. But my farm eggs were foam-free, and smothered instead with a generous amount of Piment d’Espelette hollandaise. Spicy.



As innovations go, it worked quite well. A little touch of the Basque Country and a little extra kick. All perched on a bed of ham and sweet potato hash. Very nice. And at $17, so it should be.

More frugal options include old fashioned Irish oatmeal with "red & gold" raisins and brown sugar (a mere $8), or French toast with berry compote ($11). They also serve waffles, a couple of omelettes, and fancy-sounding crispy galettes of organic grains and banana with French salted butter and Vermont maple syrup. French salted butter? I thought the French preferred their butter sans salt?

For a power-breakfast venue, service was a little slow and clueless. But at least they won't be in your face while you discuss the finer points of the deal.

Brookline Lunch, Cambridge

It wasn't in Brookline and it wasn't lunch, but I still managed to enjoy myself at Brookline Lunch, 9 Brookline St, Cambridge, MA, Tel +1 (617) 354-2983. Because they serve a very respectable breakfast, and it's cheap. Sorry... not cheap... inexpensive... affordable. Cheap sounds so... cheap.



I had an omelette with fat chunks of ham, sliced mushroom, cheese and a tasty side of home fries with a bit of veg mixed in. The trouble and strife had the eggs benny and was full of praise. And Mr Smith had an excellent egg and bacon muffin with cheese and crispy bacon. Happy campers all round.

Hotel Montanus, Brugge

Never has a hotel name had more potential for potty-mouth schoolboy jokes than the Hotel Montanus, Nieuwe Gentweg 78, Brugge, Belgium, Tel +32 50 33 11 76. But I am going to resist the temptation. Instead, I will talk only of the sweet buns, delicious chocolate spread, and other delights from the brunch buffet.



It was a bit of a lucky dip, the brunch buffet. The smiling yellow tub of Kwatta, for example, was a mystery to me until I peeled back the lid to discover gooey chocky spread inside. Little did I know that Kwatta apparently pioneered chocolate bars and spreads almost 100 years ago.

So, dip and spread some chocolate on your bun. Scoff it down. Switch to ham, eggs and cheese. Scoff it down. Back to Kwatta. Scoff. A bit more meat, cheese and bun. Scoff. Coffee. Slurp. More cheese and bun. You'll never get bored at the Belgian brunch buffet.

Mike's City Diner, Boston

I really wanted to pay tribute to the Celtics victory with a nice plate of green eggs and ham. But I had to settle for plain old eggs and ham. They don't do green eggs at Mike's City Diner, 1714 Washington Street, Boston, Tel +1 (617) 267-9393. Which would make the eggs at Mike's about the only thing in Boston that hadn't turned green in the aftermath of the Celtics destruction of the Lakers in game 6 of the NBA finals.



Mike's is also one of the lucky venues not to have been destoyed by rioting Celtics fans in the aftermath of game 6. But I digress...

Back to Mike's Special of ham and eggs. The ham was extremely good (thick, meaty and tasty). The fried eggs were average. The home fries were extremely bad. And my side of french toast was a bit dry and crusty.

A better choice might have been the Emergency Room, with two eggs, three sausages, grits, toast and a couple of blueberry pancakes (a bargain at $8.50). Or the Intensive Care, with 3 eggs and a 10oz steak. Or maybe, if you want something green on your plate, an East Springfield omelette, with spinach, broccoli, tomato, mushrooms, onion and cheese.

Hotel Le Clos d'Amboise, Amboise

French breakfasts are typically carbs (bread, croissants, etc) and confiture (jam), with coffee or hot chocolate, of course. But sometimes you get lucky, and boiled eggs make an appearance. So we were very impressed with the breakfast spread at Hotel "Le Clos d'Amboise", 27 Rue Rabelais, Amboise, Tel +33 2 47 30 10 20. All the usual french stuff... plus ham and eggs. Very stylish little breakfast room, too.

Novotel Century, Hong Kong

No, I didn't choke on a kipper. I have been travelling. For a month. With no time for blogging, but plenty of time for eating. Including about a week's worth of hotel omelettes at the Novotel Century in Wan Chai, where the omelette man custom-builds your omelette right there in front of you. A much better option than the scrambled eggs that have been stewing under the salamander for however long. Not perfect omelettes... slightly overcooked and a bit too oiled-up, but quite acceptable. I had mine with ham, cheese and onion.