A good breakfast with a good newspaper is like visiting an old friend and catching up on the news. And breakfast, whether continental or the full English breakfast, as some call it, always comes with a delightful aroma and wonderful taste. Neither ever gets old. And, when you venture out for breakfast, the aroma and taste get a lift from the charm of the cafe and the cheerful attitude of the staff. And, don’t forget the music that sometimes wafts about to add a “je ne sais quoi” to whatever you’ve ordered. Recently, my wife and headed to breakfast at Barbarella Restaurant, a most delightful restaurant on 2171 Avenida de la Playa in the La Jolla Shores. It is a rustic place with California seating, indoor and out including a fireplace for those really into old-world relaxation. Barbarella named after its owner, Barbara, offers a full service menu, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and practically everything anyone would want to drink like a creamy cappuccino with breakfast. Of course, carefully selected wines and beers and other such drinks are available with lunch and dinner. Before we sat down to study the breakfast menu over a cup of delicious organic coffee, Italian Roast, we took time to enjoy the decorations. They were outstanding! Halloween monsters, mummies, skeletons, creepy black spiders, jack o lanterns and plenty of other scary things delighted us from every shadow, and seemed poised to shout “Boo” when we weren’t looking. What a treat for young diners, not to mention the young-at-heart. For someone to put that much effort into making Barbarella an inviting place to visit, told me that an equal amount of care most likely went into the menu offerings. And, after our breakfast, I knew I was right. I thought of the book and the cover story. You pick up a book for its cover but you read it because the story is good. Well, for over 16 years, Barbarella has been offering both, the cover of an inviting ambience and a menu of mouth-watering dishes. Barbara says, “We try to serve our customers food that comes straight from the farm to our kitchen without stopping along the way for anything chemical. We pride ourselves in offering organic food when we can.”
The menu also offers many gluten free selections. Not only that, it provides a big insight into Barbarella’s dedication to its customers. It speaks of Barbara’s passion to provide the freshest, organic, sustainable, local ingredients we can find for the dishes they serve. The breakfast favorites of many who stroll in for something good are the Barbarella Benedict and the Babarella Omelet. Recalling breakfasts her mother served, Barbara offers one of her mother’s morning delights, the Brioche French Toast. My wife, the consummate connoisseur, ordered the Barbarella Omelet and was not disappointed. I favor plain and simple for breakfast and Barbarella answered my call with Traditionale eggs. A side of smoked bacon and an English muffin took me right back to the breakfasts my grandmother used to serve. I fully endorse Traditionale eggs. Someone at the next table had the popular Mexican dish, Chilaquiles. I heard them say it was absolutely to “die for.” I vow to try it next time. This is a culinary gem that offers artistic decorations each holiday. Wherever I looked, people, with smiles on their faces, were enjoying their breakfasts. That made me think, Barbarella, you are doing something very right!
As I sat there enjoying my traditional breakfast, one I call plain and simple, I thought back to what I’d read about the old times in England, when breakfast, as in the “breaking of the fast,” was only served to the privileged few, if at all. The English, probably the Europeans as well, were a two-meals-a-day culture, not three. And, careful attention was paid to see that the breakfast orders were obeyed. In fact, overindulgences and gluttony were frowned upon by the church. It was presumed that if someone ate breakfast, they had other lusty and sinful appetites as well, such as ale or wine… and who knows what else. So, men were actually ashamed to eat breakfast and if they did, most likely didn’t talk about it. Not that breakfast was much to talk about. A breakfast during those times was little more than bread, cheese and ale. Interestingly, the main meal called dinner, was held at about 10:30 or 11 in the morning, and supper came about five hours later; both meals were partly social events that lasted a long time. (In certain parts of this country, notably the South, the noon meal is still called by some, “dinner.” The evening meal is “supper.” People unfamiliar with the usage are often confused when a tradesman says they’ll be by “before dinner.” It’s assumed they mean in the late afternoon and are surprised when the doorbell rings at eleven.) Breakfast exceptions were made in old England, for people who had to get up and travel great distances and thus need extra food to complete their journeys. Another exception was made for the ceremonial gatherings of the nobility. School children were allowed breakfast as were young monks. Presumably, others just went without unless they had a friend in the kitchen, which considering human nature, many probably did. Then, in the 16th century, in consideration of the long hours workers had to toil, people began to eat three meals a day. Evidently, presumed lusty appetites frowned on by the church, gave way to necessity. The output from a half-starved worker was evidently not sufficient to yield a good profit. In addition to meats, coffee and tea were added to breakfast menus. It was said at the time, that tea and coffee aided the body to rid itself of “superfluities.” In support of the movement toward a morning meal, some doctors made so bold as to announce that breakfasts were healthy and good for a body and mind. No mention was made of the soul. It is not known how many of the doctors ended up in hell and I’m not anxious to find out. From then until now, breakfasts all over the world evolved into a full meal. Today, for example, a full English breakfast, sometimes called colloquially, “a fry up,” consists of bacon, sausages and eggs, usually served with a variety of side dishes. And, no breakfast is served without coffee or tea. Breakfast sandwiches, having first been introduced in the Civil War, have made a strong comeback, particularly in coffee houses where people want their pleasures in a hurry.
Breakfasts in other countries are variations on the English breakfast and usually reflect local customs and habits. For example, the popular French continental breakfast consists of coffee, more often than not served with cream, or tea drank with pastries and croissants. And, no full breakfast in Germany would be complete without the huge sausages they love. Breakfast in the U.S. at least, has become a time to relax, read the morning newspaper and catch up on the news. Of course, with time being a luxury for many, the newspaper-read has devolved to weekends and even then, it can be rushed. Also, because cultures from all over the world have merged into our culture and, let me not forget, because of our focus on good health, an outing to a breakfast house can be a challenge. However, I always lean toward the good and easy. And good and easy means dropping by Barbarellas for an old time traditional breakfast, or something more sophisticated where all sorts of “healthy” things are added to the eggs, mainly vegetables and things I don’t recognize, my wife’s choice and probably the choice of most of La Jolla’s breakfast crowd. Open daily with a full bar at 2171 Avenida De La Playa, 454-7373,  barbarellarestaurant.com