Today in non-edible food finds

Toast It Coasters

This city has a million and one stores and shops to choose from but one of my consistent favorites is the MoMA Store, which never fails to have a fantastic selection of gadgets, gizmos and random tchotchkes to entertain me with. Case in point: these funny and kind-of-cute coasters shaped like toast. Toast! Who doesn’t love toast? I certainly love it!

Made out of cork and packaged like a regular ol’ loaf of sandwich bread (whole wheat perhaps?), I think these are the coolest thing since… sliced bread? Well, no, not that cool, but I still think they’re fun. If I were a coaster kind of person, I think I’d go with these.

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Changing up the brunch routine

Baked eggs

I’m one of those people that actually likes change. If it doesn’t happen by itself, I get antsy and go looking for it. That  even applies to what I eat, most recently brunch. I’m all for the usual suspects, French toast, sausage and scrambled eggs, but I needed something new and slightly different during brunch, so I went looking for it not far from my apartment at  Cafe Gitane at The Jane Hotel.

Instead of the standard omelet or plate of scrambled eggs, the Moroccan inspired Cafe Gitane offered me baked eggs with smoked salmon and roasted potato chunks. The three eggs baked in the ceramic dish were cooked to a soft, gooey consistency so that when I punctured their almost perfectly flat surface with a toasted piece of baguette, a runny stream of orange yolk erupted out on to the otherwise white eggs. The salmon lent it a big, smokey flavor and the potatoes made it chunky and hearty. The whole thing was reminiscent of eggs and potatoes yet different enough that it was a new and delicious plate all together.

Avocado toast

And while the baked eggs were good, even better was Cafe Gitane’s delicious spin on breakfast toast. A thick, dark slice of seven grain toast was slathered with a creamy, buttery spread of avocado, lemon juice, olive oil and red pepper flakes. The bread was nutty and rich while the avocado was bright, tangy and zesty. Really, this avocado toast would have been good with any meal, any time of day.

There weren’t pancakes, biscuits or bacon that I could remember, but it was a nice another example of how a little change could do you good (or at least taste pretty damn good).

Cafe Gitane on Urbanspoon

Breakfast in Miami

This year, to celebrate our great nation’s independence, I headed south, to home, to Miami. On my to-eat list was just one category: Cuban food. Sure, I could probably find Cuban grub in New York (afterall, what country’s cuisine isn’t represented), but in Miami it’s everywhere. Literally. Every block has a Cuban sandwich shop, restaurant, coffee shop, food-by-the-pound place, food cart, or old lady selling the stuff she cooked up at home. And I missed that. I’m not Cuban but I sure love the food.

Saturday morning, when my sister asked what Flaneur and I wanted for breakfast I was quick to blurt out my answer: “Cuban!” It didn’t matter from where really (most places in Miami are good) but I had a few things in mind.

The somewhat unassuming yet totally delicious tostada and cafe con leche

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