In Travels with Charlie, John Steinbeck wrote that he never ate a really good dinner at a roadside cafe or a really bad breakfast. I agree; most restaurants cook a pretty good breakfast if you stick to bacon and eggs.
Nevertheless, it is hard to find a restaurant that serves a really good breakfast--a place that serves perfectly prepared eggs, bacon, grits, and pancakes in a casual and friendly atmosphere.
Therefore, I count myself among the blessed to live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home of Zeeland Street Restaurant. Zeeland Street is a really good breakfast spot. Indeed, the New York Times listed this eatery among the 50 best restaurants in America.
My wife and I ate breakfast at Zeeland Street a few weeks ago. We ordered the Zeeland Slam: bacon, eggs, grits, and pancakes.
In the South, at least, a restaurant's breakfast can be judged by its grits, and Zeeland's grits were perfect--piping hot and lightly seasoned. I like to sprinkle a few drops of Tabasco sauce on my grits, which Zeeland provided on its condiment table.
However, what set this breakfast apart was the breakfast syrup on the pancakes. All across the nation, restaurants serve high-fructose corn syrup with their pancakes, the same stuff, in essence, that sweetens store-bought candy and soft drinks. And that syrup is generally laced with various additives.
Zeeland Street offers diners a second option: Steen's cane syrup. Steen's syrup is extracted from sugar cane, and nothing is added. Cane syrup is healthier than high fructose corn syrup, which has been linked with obesity, diabetes, and liver damage.
Of course, eating small amounts of corn syrup won't kill you, which is reassuring, given the amount of the stuff that shows up in all kinds of processed food. If it were seriously harmful, we'd all be dead.
Besides health considerations, cane syrup is preferable to corn syrup because it tastes better, and I'm grateful to Zeeland Street for serving it.
Of course, excellent food is only one of the qualities that set Zeeland Street apart from other restaurants. What really makes this restaurant shine is the owner, Stephanie Phares. Stephanie is always cheerful, and her infectious laughter, which can be heard throughout the restaurant, always brightens my day.
As John Steinbeck wrote in a short story, "some element of great beauty" can be found in a hearty breakfast in the early morning. Baton Rouge can experience that great beauty at Zeeland Street Restaurant by eating the Zeeland Slam and hearing Stephanie Phares's joyous laughter.
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photo credit: Collin Richie & 225 Magazine |