Breakfast of Champions

Hello! Mr. and Mrs. Concord have been busy lately. Since my last post, we spent some time in St. Thomas and St. John vacationing and attending a friend's wedding. The beaches were nice, the weather was hot, and the iguanas were friendly. And congratulations to Jen and Aaron, the happy newlyweds! Anyway, it's good to be back in Seattle. Sure, it's nice to hang out in a tropical paradise, but there's nothing quite like the comforts of your own hometown. Last weekend we went out for brunch at the Volunteer Park Cafe. It was our second visit to the place, and it reinforced my opinion that it is the best breakfast joint in Seattle. I've long complained that too many restaurants serve the same stuff for breakfast: pancakes, omelettes (or "scrambles", or "rumbles", or whatever...it's all the same, really), french toast, eggs benny, etc. There's a huge variety of cuisines available for dinner, but people are pretty narrow-minded when it comes to their breakfasts. There are exceptions: I'm thinking specifically of Senor Moose in Ballard, which serves Mexican-style breakfasts, and Silence-Heart-Nest in Fremont, with it's Hare Krishna-inspired vegetarian offerings. But what if you want something that's not too far out, yet a step above your average American breakfast? Volunteer Park Cafe is your answer. As the name implies, it's a cafe, i.e. you order at the counter and seat yourself, but they offer a decent variety of breakfast dishes in addition to their coffee and pastries. And man, oh man, is their food delicious. I've tried both the breakfast panini (proscuitto, poached eggs, and gruyere cheese) and the carmelized, custardy brioche french toast. Sweet Jesus, they were amazing. Add to that the cool, laid-back vibe and the fact that it's tucked away in a residential neighborhood (always a plus in my book) near Volunteer Park and you've got yourself a winner.