Touch of Grey

My cousin Amy was in town for the weekend and although Matt and I got to hang out with her on Saturday night for a little drunken revelry, we wanted to make sure we got in some sober time.  That led us to an MLK breakfast this morning during our day off work.  I rarely do breakfast.  Brunch all the way, but when I'm told to be somewhere, I show up - even if it is at 10:30 AM.

If there was ever a reason to get out of bed early, Grey Dog is it.  They serve breakfast until 3 PM, so even if you can't manage to get out of bed as early as we did (I say this like a true New Yorker, as if anything before noon is the crack of dawn), you can still enjoy morning goodies.  They also start serving lunch early, so if you're craving a chicken sandwich at 10:30 in the morning, go for it.

Before the food, let me describe the atmosphere: The restaurant is small, so expect to squeeze your plates onto tiny two-tops.  Local artwork takes up half of the exposed brick wall, the other half of which is covered by huge chalkboards, crammed with the many breakfast, sandwich, soup, and daily special options.  A picket fence lines the counter where you place your order for a cute touch of country in the city.  The silverware and coffee fixins fill an armoire so you can get your place setting ready while you wait for the server to bring your food, which I'll get to now...

First things first: get a cup of coffee.  Their particularly good brew is a bottomless cup, so don't forget to take your mug to the counter before you leave so they can fill up one last cup to-go.  Matt was pushing the muffins hardcore, so we decided to split a pumpkin one between the three of us.  I admit, I was leery of the vegan label, but ended up picking the crumbs off the plate.  To my surprise, it was decidedly non-veganlike.  That was a nice little starter, but the entrees really got my day off to a good start.  Amy got literally the largest tuna melt I have ever seen.  She estimates she ate two full tunas.  Matt and I both got the breakfast quesadilla - him with sausage, me with bacon.  The roasted bell pepper, onion, and honey-wheat tortilla combined with the salty bacon, egg, and cheese to make it breakfast to lunch transition-friendly.  The portions are ample, which makes the fact that the most expensive dish is only $14 even better.

I must admit, it was nice to be up and about so early.  By 1:30, I had already eaten breakfast, walked around two stores (making the truly exciting purchase of a picture hanger), and popped the final Mad Men Season 1 disc into my DVD player.  Those early birds are onto something.