Friday Night Bites in the ROC: Breakfast!

When I was a very, very young child my kindergarten teacher made a point of lecturing my class at least once a week about the benefits of eating a healthy, balanced, nutritious breakfast. She would, on occasion, bring in granola bars, juices of every kind, fresh fruit and the like to reinforce her belief that every day needs to start with a good meal or else, in her words, it's that much harder to have a "good day." I enjoyed this greatly as even in my younger and most formative years I had a voracious appetite for free food, but back then I tended to lean towards the more unhealthy selections like doughnuts, Lucky Charms, bacon, ham and bacon; which never made their way into the fray when my teacher brought us breakfast.

"Ma'am," I said, ever the polite young scamp - complete with bowl cut, overbite and blankey sneaked away in my Spider-Man backpack - "how come you never bring in doughnuts or bacon or anything like that?" Without hesitation she said, "Jimmy, just because it tastes good doesn't mean it's good for you," and went back to the business of poisoning my gullet with essential grains and fruits. Sure, I shoveled them into my mouth, chewed and swallowed, because, hey, food, but I didn't enjoy it.

From the time I was old enough to appreciate a good breakfast, my Mom and Dad would sate my hunger with assorted, wholly unhealthy foodstuffs like pancakes, waffles, bacon, ham and eggs and sausage; all made by hand before I stumbled out of bed towards the various, awe-inspiring smells emanating from our kitchen. I remember these mornings more fondly as time goes by and breakfast has become one of those things that my adult life seems to have no time for. Like most people I know Saturday and Sunday mornings are the only time of the week when life has slowed down enough to allow me the joy of a good, solid, incredibly bad for me but oh-my-god-so-good breakfast.

Luckily for me, the City of Rochester has a veritable glut of wonderful places that serve amazing breakfast to choose from on any given Saturday or Sunday morning (or whenever you're able to venture out into the harsh light of day after a night out on the town; most serve breakfast all day). This city loves it's breakfast and the quality and variety of restaurants to choose from shows it.

My girlfriend and I have, over the course of the past 18 months or so, been frequent visitors to the South Wedge Diner (880 S. Clinton Ave.), because we live in the South Wedge and it's within walking distance of our home; which is nice on those mornings when my head feels like it was split in two by Jack Daniels himself and I need the fresh air and moderate exercise to feel like a person again. It's a big, sprawling diner with ample booth seating and plenty of tables which means you're more than likely going to find a comfortable place to sit and nosh the second you walk in. The servers are pleasant and attentive and always ready with a fresh pot of coffee when your cup is just about empty (this, my reader, is a sure sign of a well run establishment in my opinion). They offer a wide variety of specialty omelets and Benedict style dishes that I've never seen anywhere else; which must be nice for people different than me who like to spice it up and order something they've never had before. I'm not like that at all. I walk in knowing I'm getting the delicious Eggs Benedict or the always sumptuous and filling Chocolate Chip Pancakes. Honestly, if you're living in the South Wedge neighborhood of Rochester and you have yet to dine at the South Wedge Diner, you're really missing out on a treat.

Whenever I feel like going "upscale" with my breakfasting I like to head to Charlie's Frog Pond (652 Park Ave.), and I'm really not positive why I think of it as upscale when the food is so affordable and the space so limited -it's often a tight squeeze when it's busy, but damn it's worth it-, but something about eating "on the Avenue" makes me feel like I could be wearing a top hat and monocle while I dig into my side of bacon. I have yet to get to my favorite breakfast spot in all of Rochester, New York, but Charlie's Frog Pond is definitely in the top tier and should be sought out and respected by my fellow citizens at one point or another, if only for the colorful and wholly unique atmosphere. Though, to be honest, the service could be slightly more attentive, but I don't hold that against them since it's always such a crowded house.

Jim's Restaurant (233 Winton Rd. North) is a staple for my friends and I whenever someone is home from out of town or just visiting, because it's where we always went in high school and college when the need for food outweighed the need for sleep. I cannot honestly say that I've ever had a bad meal there, but the dining experience has always left me scratching my head. The tables are sparse and close together and, often, depending on when you like to eat you'll be sharing with complete strangers and that has always, always rubbed me the wrong way. However, they make up for that in the service department as the waitstaff is super-attentive and conscientious even when there's barely enough space to breathe, let alone carry a tray full of piping hot Eggs Benedict or two pots of freshly brewed coffee. The politeness and attentiveness of the waitstaff, along with the quality of the food and the reasonable pricing makes Jim's Restaurant a wonderful option for diners in the area searching for a hearty and delicious breakfast.

Now, the heavy hitter, the champ, the one, the only... James Brown's Place (1356 Culver Rd.).

Here, ladies and gentlemen of the Rochester area is the best breakfast in the city and I'm willing to say that because it's never let me down and I absolutely love everything I've ever had there. It get's crowded, sure, and sometimes you've got to wait, but dag nabbit it's worth it! Unlike some diners in the area that make you feel like a sardine trapped in a can when it's busy, James Brown's Place doesn't. When you sit down, even if you're right next to another table, you're not in their lap and that's a great, great thing. The staff is fantastic and friendly and always, always ready with a fresh cup of coffee for you when yours is just about done, and the food is, well, out of this world. I don't make it to James Brown's Place as often as I would like, because I don't want to ruin the experience by becoming a regular (I have a tendency to get bored with places I visit too much), but whenever I do make my way over there it's such a brilliant treat that I can't really begin to explain how good it is except to tell you there is a little bit of drool on my keyboard right now.

The ingredients are fresh, and the bread is baked daily on the premises which is really, really rare for a diner in our area. I love that you can watch the cooks make your food while you're waiting at your booth sipping on coffee and having a nice (usually groggy) conversation with whomever you've decided to dine with that morning. It's breakfast done the way it should be done and for that I commend them. I've never been anything short of totally impressed when I've eaten there and I've never heard a bad word about it from anyone I know that's been there. (In this town, that's really saying something since we have a tendency to complain about, literally, everything) I cannot endorse this diner enough when it comes to breakfast food, because it really is far and away the best place for breakfast in all of Rochester (in my opinion at least, I know more than a few people who will take me to task for not putting Jim's Restaurant at the top of the list).

As always, eat well and often, my reader. You deserve it! See you around town.