Where to find an amazing British breakfast...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, you always hear people joke about how terrible British food is, so I was extremely surprised to find a place that is now my favorite bakery in Baltimore.

https://www.corner-pantry.com/

Live near there and go in regularly. It's more Australian than British in vibe and style, which isn't terribly surprising as it's a modernized British cuisine and Australia does that very well. I always feel like I'm in a smart cafe in Melbourne or Auckland than anywhere in England.

As for the previous poster, there's always been wonderful British food. But I have to admit the full English is not my favorite. It's heavy and stodgy and dull, but frankly, it's not that different from a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and toast in the US. Adding the beans is divisive enough in Britain as some consider it essential, others see it as an interloper. But don't get me started on Irish breakfasts as it's just a rip off of the full English, pretty much all Irish food is British food rebranded as "Irish" so they can charge extra to gullible Americans when it's no different (and often worse).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, you always hear people joke about how terrible British food is, so I was extremely surprised to find a place that is now my favorite bakery in Baltimore.

https://www.corner-pantry.com/

Live near there and go in regularly. It's more Australian than British in vibe and style, which isn't terribly surprising as it's a modernized British cuisine and Australia does that very well. I always feel like I'm in a smart cafe in Melbourne or Auckland than anywhere in England.

As for the previous poster, there's always been wonderful British food. But I have to admit the full English is not my favorite. It's heavy and stodgy and dull, but frankly, it's not that different from a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and toast in the US. Adding the beans is divisive enough in Britain as some consider it essential, others see it as an interloper. But don't get me started on Irish breakfasts as it's just a rip off of the full English, pretty much all Irish food is British food rebranded as "Irish" so they can charge extra to gullible Americans when it's no different (and often worse).

Great comment. Have you found a good Sunday roast in DC? Really miss that!

[Anonymous]

Reminder that OP couldn't find a photo of an attractive, real British breakfast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't know about the suburbs but you could try Elephant & Castle (near the Old Post Office) or the Dubliner near Union Station. They're as close to British as you can get downtown outside of the gorgeous embassy.
Would probably be a special request if you want the beans, blood sausage, et al. Call ahead.

Adding the Queen Vic to my reco's

But if you want the British flavor in your sausages, you'll probably have to order British bangers online ($50+)and cook them at home. US restaurants can't afford to offer those.

And now I'm curious. Are there American restaurants that actually import British bangers? Can they afford to do that? Are those "Irish sausages" on American menus imported from Ireland or "Irish-style"? Just wondering.

British bangers are fake sausages. I think the law requires a minimum of 42% meat but even less is possible depending on how the banger is classified. Maybe the standard is 50% meat and 50% grain filler. It's a byproduct of WWII rationing although there's a history of diluting sausages with grain fillers going back into the 19th century for the urban poor. Irish bangers are (unusually for Irish food) the better because they have around 70% meat ratio but it's still not 100% meat. So they're the "premium" bangers. 100% meat sausages in either country would be viewed as butcher's sausages although now commonly available in supermarkets too.

The traditional full English has the fake sausages aka bangers. Need that crinkling texture only a grain can provide. I don't seek them in England so have no idea of they are available in the US but somehow I suspect most of these places serve fat American sausages knowing their clientele would barf if they tried eating a traditional English banger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't know about the suburbs but you could try Elephant & Castle (near the Old Post Office) or the Dubliner near Union Station. They're as close to British as you can get downtown outside of the gorgeous embassy.
Would probably be a special request if you want the beans, blood sausage, et al. Call ahead.

Adding the Queen Vic to my reco's

But if you want the British flavor in your sausages, you'll probably have to order British bangers online ($50+)and cook them at home. US restaurants can't afford to offer those.

And now I'm curious. Are there American restaurants that actually import British bangers? Can they afford to do that? Are those "Irish sausages" on American menus imported from Ireland or "Irish-style"? Just wondering.

British bangers are fake sausages. I think the law requires a minimum of 42% meat but even less is possible depending on how the banger is classified. Maybe the standard is 50% meat and 50% grain filler. It's a byproduct of WWII rationing although there's a history of diluting sausages with grain fillers going back into the 19th century for the urban poor. Irish bangers are (unusually for Irish food) the better because they have around 70% meat ratio but it's still not 100% meat. So they're the "premium" bangers. 100% meat sausages in either country would be viewed as butcher's sausages although now commonly available in supermarkets too.

The traditional full English has the fake sausages aka bangers. Need that crinkling texture only a grain can provide. I don't seek them in England so have no idea of they are available in the US but somehow I suspect most of these places serve fat American sausages knowing their clientele would barf if they tried eating a traditional English banger.

Interesting! Thanks for your response!

[Anonymous]

Sophie’s Cafe in Gaithersburg does a great Full English. Bonus is that it’s located in the Montgomery County Airpark next to the runway so you get to see the small planes taking off and landing. Further bonus points is that if you go on a weekend, they have the premier league soccer game on the tv.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never thought I’d read “amazing” and “English breakfast” in same sentence.

London is famous for its bagels

https://thecalmchronicle.com/london-bagel-museum-a-paradise-for-bagel-lovers-in-seoul/

/s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't know about the suburbs but you could try Elephant & Castle (near the Old Post Office) or the Dubliner near Union Station. They're as close to British as you can get downtown outside of the gorgeous embassy.
Would probably be a special request if you want the beans, blood sausage, et al. Call ahead.

Adding the Queen Vic to my reco's

But if you want the British flavor in your sausages, you'll probably have to order British bangers online ($50+)and cook them at home. US restaurants can't afford to offer those.

And now I'm curious. Are there American restaurants that actually import British bangers? Can they afford to do that? Are those "Irish sausages" on American menus imported from Ireland or "Irish-style"? Just wondering.

British bangers are fake sausages. I think the law requires a minimum of 42% meat but even less is possible depending on how the banger is classified. Maybe the standard is 50% meat and 50% grain filler. It's a byproduct of WWII rationing although there's a history of diluting sausages with grain fillers going back into the 19th century for the urban poor. Irish bangers are (unusually for Irish food) the better because they have around 70% meat ratio but it's still not 100% meat. So they're the "premium" bangers. 100% meat sausages in either country would be viewed as butcher's sausages although now commonly available in supermarkets too.

The traditional full English has the fake sausages aka bangers. Need that crinkling texture only a grain can provide. I don't seek them in England so have no idea of they are available in the US but somehow I suspect most of these places serve fat American sausages knowing their clientele would barf if they tried eating a traditional English banger.

You mean “emulsified high fat offal tubes”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell me where NoVA area I can find a delicious British Breakfast, something like this (image below) plus mushrooms....

Pretty sure this is AI.

You’ll find the real thing looks less photogenic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell me where NoVA area I can find a delicious British Breakfast, something like this (image below) plus mushrooms....

Pretty sure this is AI.

You’ll find the real thing looks less photogenic.

Definitely AI, lol. That one sausage link turns into bacon halfway through, plus the shape of the toast…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol who would go out of their way for an English breakfast?

I don't know about "out of the way" but DH is from the UK, and teen DS loves English breakfast. I like it, too, except the black pudding. I do not like sugary pancakes with syrup for breakfast. Americans do seem to love sugary breakfasts.

Those beans and the tea also have sugar IME.

There’s also a full American breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and toast or biscuits.

Neither the full English or full American are things that people typically eat every day. Most Americans don’t even eat breakfast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sophie’s Cafe in Gaithersburg does a great Full English. Bonus is that it’s located in the Montgomery County Airpark next to the runway so you get to see the small planes taking off and landing. Further bonus points is that if you go on a weekend, they have the premier league soccer game on the tv.

Great find, thanks for sharing! And they have some Nordic specialties as well, thanks!