My Christmas gift to myself today: chicken fried steak, eggs and hash browns for breakfast, neatly wrapped in gravy and Tabasco sauce at The Coffee Shop in McGregor.
Or maybe it was a stocking stuffer, if the stocking were my belly.
It is beginning to feel much like Christmas, especially with winter weather swooping into Texas. That made breakfast with my friends Joe DiMaggio and Satchell Paige feel so right late this morning at The Coffee Shop.
For me, and I'm guessing for most of you out there, a hardy breakfast is a rare pleasure, though one that fit just right as the hardiness of the breakfast will play a significant role on this dreary day. I think, when it comes to breakfast, most of us are like the dad character in the Christmas movie "Elf." The Scrooge-esque dad passes on Buddy's breakfast of spaghetti noodles with maple syrup, saying he'll just stick with coffee. Yes, we do this. However, while I packed in the calories at breakfast this morning, I feel healthier than if I had just stuck with coffee.
The Coffee Shop, although it has coffee in the title, is not the place to limit oneself. Check your consumption inhibitions at the door and treat yourself. What happens in The Coffee Shop stays in The Coffee Shop. Case in point, one of my breakfast companions is a well-known vegetarian, but in order to protect his identity and food choice, I had to change the names of both of my breakfast buddies.
This morning, I had visions of waffles or pancakes or something with a lot of bacon on the side. But when Satchell ordered the chicken fried steak breakfast, which includes eggs any style, hash browns and the choice of toast or biscuits, he made my decision for me. That also is what I had to have.
Merry Christmas to me.
Never to be outdone, Joe DiMaggio, who also ordered the chicken fried steak breakfast, created a new menu item by putting a slice of chicken fried steak along with eggs and hashbrowns in one of his biscuits. This is the same person who puts his Whataburger french fries on his burger, so his "innovation" of the chicken fried steak breakfast biscuit was really no surprise. Delicious though.
One more bite: As I wrote this blog, I listened to the David Crowder Band's Christmas album "Oh for Joy." If you haven't bought this on CD or iTunes, give yourself a Christmas treat and do it right now. It's easily the best Christmas CD I've ever heard. I'll admit I'm partial to those boys, but still.
