Breakfast | Cup Cafe, Tucson Arizona (take 3)

I thought for approximately 1/2 a second about changing the name of the restaurant on this post in an attempt to try & confuse you into thinking that I actually ventured somewhere different for breakfast today.  Then I thought, “It’s my Christmas Day & I’ll go to the Cup Cafe again if I want to!”  So I did.  I have no shame.  In my defence I did try to go somewhere else.  I had it all figured out & everything.  The lone problem was, not only was the spot that I picked not open, neither was anywhere else.  Except Cup Cafe.  Cup Cafe, take 3.

When I wandered into Cup Cafe this morning my eyes met with an amazing sight.  Every single table that was occupied, was inhabited by a party of {exactly} one.  Every single one.  I couldn’t decide if that was scary, sad or comforting.  So since I got to choose, I’ll go with comforting.  Maybe restaurants only exist on Christmas Day purely to serve single people who need to do something to get out of the house?  Whatever…I was secretly {very} happy to be back in the land of {perfect} Baked Eggs.

Rebecca came over & asked me what on the menu sounded good; to which there was only one possible reply.  “Everything”.  The second thing that came out of my mouth was, “If I order Baked Eggs, do not bring me any”.  I was determined to try something else on the menu & I had already decided what that something else should be:  Croque Senor, which I learned yesterday was a Mexican-style Croque Monsieur with extra cheeses on top & Dijon mustard within.  Yum.  Dustin warned me yesterday that the Croque Senor was huge.  When it arrived in front of me I concurred.  He most definitely was not lying.

Cup Cafe's Croque Senor

Being Christmas Day I decided that I needed to have a Christmassy hot chocolate, so Rebecca brought me Peppermint Hot Cocoa.  It was the perfect Christmas morning comfort drink.  And a Croque Senor is unquestionably a very comfort-inducing breakfast.  I am still not entirely sure about the Dijon mustard, but given that it wasn’t meant to be a classic Croque Monsieur,  but rather a Mexican-style version, I went with it.

While I was supping my minty cocoa & chowing down my huge ham & (triple) cheese sandwich, I busied my mind with reading some more of Jenny Holzer’s quips off the wall.  Here are a few of today’s favorites:

“Thinking too much can only cause problems”…”Fear is the greatest incapacitator”…”Disorganisation is a kind of anaesthesia”…”Guilt & self-laceration are indulgences”…”It can be helpful to keep going, no matter what”.

 Yeah, my mind was busy.  So busy in fact that I swear I burned off a whole bunch of calories while I sat right there.  So despite the fact that I had {very} recently downed a particularly large ham & cheese sandwich, I still wanted Baked Eggs.  Hey, it’s my Christmas Day & I’ll have 2 breakfasts if I want to!  So I did.  I have no shame.

Cast Iron Baked Eggs, just as fantastic the 3rd time

 I did have Rebecca leave the potatoes in the kitchen & went with the English muffin again, since you get only half as much as when you have the sourdough.  When the magical skillet arrived bearing it’s eggy gifts the whole thing was sizzling wildly.  I knew it would be a while before my mouth was going to be able to claim the prize.  So it seemed entirely appropriate to sip on some Dry Desert Lime herbal tea while I gazed lovingly at my bubbling cheesy goodness.

As I sat looking out of the window it suddenly occurred to me that it just didn’t feel like Christmas Day.  Maybe it was the blue-sky-and-sunshine weather.  I could almost pretend that it wasn’t Christmas…except for the endless stream of text messages wishing me a very merry one.  For which I am truly {very} thankful!!

The Cast Iron Baked Eggs were every bit as delicious as the previous two incarnations I had scoffed down the previous two days.  I think they may have been a little bit more delicious just because it was Christmas day.  You know how that goes.  A special day can magically make everything taste better.

Just as I was wiping the last drops of cheesy yumminess from the bottom of the skillet with a chunk of English muffin, & party of 10 arrived carrying large baskets filled to the brim with all manner of Christmas stuff.  They were soon seated, the table complete with mini Christmas Tree, their heads complete with crazy hats & their hands full of gifts galore.  How fun is that?!  But seriously, now is the time for me to head out.

Happy Holidays everyone!