MONDAY, MONDAY

It's Monday. Time for work.

Grab a big cup of coffee and head out. Maybe a double.

Make it a good week.

Coffee on 6th, Midtown

BIENVENUE AL LUNES

Yeah, the mixture of French and Spanish in that title tells you it's Monday and 

I'm in desperate need of caffeine. Good weekend, but long week ahead.

Here, have a cup on me. 

Ah, too late, the dog's got it.

Welcome to Monday.

MONDAY MORNING JOES

It's Monday morning. Time for that all-important first cuppa for the week.

Make it strong, and make it a double.

From the streets of Manhattan we have a coupla cab-drivin' Joes drinkin' a couple joes.

Welcome to Monday.

MONDAY, MONDAY

It's a busy time of year both during the work week and the social season on the weekends.

If you're having some trouble with your Monday morning, here are some aspects of coffee to get your week off right. From the red beans to the finished product.

Coffee growers, Maui

Kona

Maui

Smart Mouth Cafe, Vancouver

Starbuck's, New York

Peppermill Lounge, Las Vegas

Viento y Agua, Long Beach

CAFFEINE WITH A VIEW

Morning cup of coffee at the Belmont Brewing Company. the "BBC", 

in Belmont Shore - a part of our home town of Long Beach.

MONDAY MONDAY

Good morning. It's Monday.

Time to dust yourself off, grab a large coffee and get your week under way.

(I'm sorry, somebody has to do it.)

COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF, Sunset and Vine

VANCOUVER, BC - TAKE ME AWAY

There are times when things get tough. You start to dream of faraway places and the simple life.

At other times it's just a good cup of coffee that you need.

Pedro's Organic Coffee, Granville Market, Vancouver.

SEATTLE, WA - MAKE MINE A VENTI

Cheers. It's Monday.

This week looks like it's going to require a lot of caffeine, so drink up.

Make mine a venti.

(Granted this shot could have been anywhere, but it was taken at the Pike's Place Market

directly opposite the original Starbuck's.)

MINNEAPOLIS INT'L AIRPORT - MONDAY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY

It's Monday. Got this shot a couple of years ago and it's still useful on a bleary Monday morning.

Chances are you need this as much as I do.

Cheers.

And welcome to Monday.

NEW ORLEANS, LA - WAITING AT THE CAFE DU MONDE

It's a rainy and dark Wednesday morning here at the Thumbnail Traveler, and our wistful thoughts understandably turn to a favorite topic: Coffee.

The Cafe du Monde, in New Orleans' historic Vieux Carre, serves up justifiably famous coffee and beignets. Just the right way to wake up in the morning.

LONG BEACH, CA - STRONG COFFEE TO BEGIN THE NEW YEAR

My introduction to coffee came at a relatively young age. A special treat for us was upon that rare occasion when Mom would allow us to have a cup in honor of something special or a special day (like Christmas). It was served up with a large percentage of milk and two teaspoons of sugar.

Then, as I grew older and coffee became more of an everyday affair my tastes changed away from the highly-diluted, very sweet childhood recipe. In college I continued to add sugar, but it was one teaspoon and less milk than before.

Just after college the sugar gave way to artificial sweetener with the advent of Equal. (I hated the taste of Sweet & Low. Just never worked for me.)

Then came the coffee revolution, fueled by Starbuck's and its kin. Lattes, mochas, etc. But I mainly stuck with the tried and true "single sugar, some milk" combination of my youth.

Then came Paris. And despite discovering the wonders of Cafe au Lait and Cafe Creme, one day I happened upon a dark roast cup of coffee sans cream in a coffee and pastry shop a couple of blocks from the Eiffel Tower. I was hooked, and overnight changed my coffee preference to black with sweetener. And stronger than before. I began to use a coffee press as well as the coffee maker in our home. 

Coffee serves an important role in my life. The basics of my cup have evolved, just as I have, and will continue to do so.

A STRONG CUPPA JOE

"Learning about culture is a part of every Traveler. Know their words and use them. Thanks to @toddcarmichael I can say coffee in 7 languages"

Yesterday I tweeted this message while still working on my first cup of coffee. It was a halfhearted joke, making a reasonably sincere point.

Then it occurred to me the real value of the statement. In every culture we find both difference and similarities to our own. All too often we focus on the similarities and fear the differences.

But finding those things we have in common can sometimes bridge the gap and make us a bit more bold in exploring those differences.

I can order coffee in seven languages. It's a start.

SEATTLE, WA - MORNING JOE

Feeling the need for a strong cup of coffee this morning. I've got some Cafe du Monde in the coffee maker, but this perfect little lovely is from the Bang Bang Cafe -- terrific for breakfast  burritos as well as caffeine -- in Seattle, Washington.

LAS VEGAS, NV - BREAKFAST AT THE PEPPERMILL

It's Monday. You look like you need a strong cup of coffee.

I know I do.

From the very wakeful Peppermill Restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip.

Try the "make it yourself" breakfast burrito, aka chorizo and eggs. It'll cure what ails ya.

Caffeination Nation!!!

It's a big Monday, kids!!!

Time to Caffeinate!

London

Long Beach

Kona

Hollywood

Seattle

Las Vegas

An Airport, somewhere before caffeine...

WEEKEND ESCAPE

Time for a little traditional French roast cafe' and beignets?

Take a few moments and relax on the patio at the Cafe du Monde, New Orleans.

(Arrive early, before the tourists do.)

THE DAILY ESCAPE: Neeed....coffeee.....

Slow to wake up this morning.

Neeeeeeed cooooffffeeeeeeee.......

(Picture taken in First Class on American Airlines. Sometime last April.)

THE ROAD TRIP GREAT AMERICAN BREAKFAST

"I am not a great cook, I am not a great 

artist, but I love art, and I love food, so I am 

the perfect traveller." 
                                                   -  Michael Palin



The mark of any decent city in America, any decent destination for that matter, is the local breakfast hangout.

With no disrespect to Applebee's, Denny's or even the venerated Cracker Barrel, the best breakfasts are served up in small, usually one-off greasy spoons which have been around for years. He owner still works behind the counter or -- under the best of circumstances -- the grill. And the grill has flavors built up over decades, not hours.

The menu is basic. Eggs. Toast. Multiple omelette options, usually including a straight-ahead cheese option. The coffee is hot and usually whatever brand imay be the cheapest, but the pale off-white cup is constantly refilled. Water is served in either a plastic cup or styrofoam. The most recent innovation is the breakfast burrito, or if you're lucky chorizo and eggs (with tortillas for a do-it-yourselfer burrito). 

Tables are chipped with years of use. An aluminum napkin dispenser sits against the wall or backside of the counter, dispensing the white three-fold variety. The placemat is paper. The silverware may match. Or maybe not.

Coffee cups are plain off white, though in very rare cases will be mugs from other local businesses. Ketchup and sugar are always on the table, as are little rectangular jelly packets. Tabasco is available for the asking.

O.J., milk, iced tea.

Hash Browns are slightly greasy and crispy. And proportionally massive. If they don't cover at least a third of the plate, they're doing it wrong. Tater tots are acceptable, as are "breakfast potatoes" if crisp. (Mushy potatoes need not apply.)

Toast comes in three types: white, wheat and sourdough. Nobody ever orders the wheat. Two slices, buttered and cut diagonally. Medium scorch.

Breakfast meats are well done. Crispy. Bacon, sausage and ham. Jimmy Dean if possible. Hamburger patties if you're watching your waistline. No sauces, and especially nothing called "Eggs Fillintheblank". Benedict. Florentine. Manhattan. Nor will you see the words "casserole", "fritatta", "bake" or "soufflé". Eggs are eggs. Scrambled, over easy or sunny side up. Omelets. Cheese, Denver, or meat. 

 Poached if it's a higher end diner. On toast, of course.

(cont'd below)

 

 

The waitresses -- not to be sexist, but rarely do you find men anywhere but the grill in these places -- are of two types: young, chirpy women in their twenties...or more seasoned ladies who will refer to any patron, regardless of age, gender or race, as "hon". They are in charge, and it is their work that keeps the tables clean, the food warmly delivered and the coffee mug filled.

You will find that many are the chain restaurants who want to do this right. And if all else fails, they're better than starving.

But for a true American breakfast experience, go where the locals go: your neighborhood hole in the wall eggs place. Nothing else even comes close.