Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts

Monday, February 20, 2012

Jimmy's Place!

Tucked away in the corner of the shopping plaza on North Road and just south of Austin Street in Burquitlam, a little diner jewel called Jimmy's Place serves up fresh meals with a price that will make you want to dis the McDonald's situated just a block away.

When you enter, you are immediately greeted at the door with a Korean smile. Yes, Korean-owned! As a Korean, I had to immediately bow in politeness. It's just reflex!

Jimmy's Special Burger

I assembled the burger together and took my first bite. The balance of all the flavors was perfect. But what was most evident was how juicy and flavorful the meat was. It was as if they took a wad of fresh ground beef, patted it flat on the spot and slapped it straight on the grill. It tasted as if it were as fresh as could get -- and it was absolutely delicious!

I took a bite of one of their fries and thought I had gone to french fry heaven. Light and crispy on the outside and the potato on the inside feels like it's melting in your mouth. It was the freshest and most delightful fry I had ever sunk my teeth into. No salt, so you can add as much as you please. For me, I always prefer none, so I was dancing for joy inside.

I knew I had to come back to try their famous breakfasts. As I left out the door with a friendly farewell from the staff, I noticed on the sandwich board outside that breakfast is served all day. Woohoo! My favorite meal for lunch.

Everything Omelet

A few days later, it was time to try the everything omelet. The large plate that they use came virtually covered with food. I could barely wait to dig in. I threw on some pepper, and then realized I had forgotten to snap the photograph!

At initial glace, the huge side of hash browns, covering half the plate and at least a full inch thick, drew my first bite. Just like the french fries I had before, this was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Oh my word! Jimmy's Place has figured out how to fast fry the perfect potato sides! Again no salt or spices. Just pure potato goodness. Yes, I'm in love.

I then helped myself to a bite of the omelet and found that the texture wasn't fluffy or rich like an omelet should be. Not your standard omelet that is flipped in half like a pocket and given a chance to rise to get that fluffy goodness.

In terms of the combination of ingredients they added to the eggs, it made me decide that having everything on your omelet is not necessarily the best. It's like my distaste for food buffets where you eat japanese, mexican and italian all in one meal. By themselves they may be great, but put together, it's a distasteful mess. Jimmy's everything omelet is not a disaster by any stretch of the imagination. But I wasn't as impressed as other reviewers. For me, the hash browns saved the dish.

I look forward to going back many, many times and getting to know the staff and owner there. It is a friendly little place to have that cheap date, read a nice book or get your blogging done.
For the full review, visit somionfood.blogspot.com.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Mom's Power Breakfast

My ultra-healthy Mom swears by this power breakfast with oatmeal as its foundation.



The trick is to have all the ingredients ready in bulk so you can just throw it together in the morning. The following is one serving.

FOUNDATION:
1/4 cup steel cut oats
1 cup water
pinch of raw sea salt (or regular salt ok too)

Bring to a boil. Then immediately lower heat to a slow simmer and set your timer to 20-25 minutes. You might want to just check the consistency the first time with what works with your stove.

When it's thoroughly cooked, it will initially look like there's still liquid on the top. Just stir it and it will look like typical oatmeal. It will continue to cook and thicken even after you remove it from the heat.

Put in a bowl and top it with the following:
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
2-3 table spoons of maple syrup
2/3 cup of frozen blueberries
1/2 cup skim milk
1 fistful of nuts. Mine has (all unsalted):

  • roasted pumpkin seeds
  • roasted almond slices
  • roasted cashews
  • dried figs
  • raw walnuts

I've modified mom's power oatmeal and used steel cut oats instead of rolled oats (she uses a combination of both), organic maple syrup instead of brown sugar, and added the dried figs for some extra fruit. Oh, and I cook it in an earthenware bowl straight on the stove. My new favorite thing.

I love to grocery shop in the bulk food section. I browse and look at what kind of nuts I want in my morning breakfast. I stay away from high calorie nuts like pistachios, but a very small amount once in a while doesn't hurt anyone, right? *giggle*

Did you try this recipe? Send me a photo of your version of this power breakfast with your modifications and I'll post the best ones here!