Croque of gold

We like a croque-madame at Fine Dining. There's something very mouth-pleasing about its eggy hammy breadness, although we were once bitterly disappointed by its naughty husband, the croque-monsieur in a beer garden in the Lake District.

Here's a croque-madame we had at chain restaurant Café Rouge in Cardiff Bay. It got us through a hangover and was nice and comforting and all friendly-like. We put a load of ketchup on it and it didn't seem to mind. That's your croque-madame: easy-going. So we were somewhat alarmed to learn about the croque-madame's bigger, brasher, beefier Portuguese cousin – the francesinha. Terrifying. We're not sure we could manage one of them. It would be like getting beaten up in your stomach. Although the chips look like they'd be amazing dipped in that sauce. It's got two kinds of boozes in it!

Here's a recipe...
And here's the blog, I Just Like To Eat, that we borrowed the francesinha picture from.

A eggs on it

Poached eggs on toast at Canteen. With a slightly gory-looking roasted tomato thing. Ideally, I'd like a runnier yolk than this though. Ah, that's better… I nicked the title of the post from this tasty zine.

Sunday best

A fry-up at Canteen (never had such a cress-heavy full English breakfast before) then a lovely lamb roast at the recently refurbished The Ship in Kennington. My companion had the beef. Now what's for tea?

The twelve eats of Christmas: 7

A lovely, yolky bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast. Thanks Mum!

Breakfast The Fey Way

A breakfast sandwich from the Stage Deli in Manhattan. Fried sausage, fried egg, extremely fried streaky bacon, all served between two thick slices of very fried bread. The only thing that isn't fried is the cheese, but to their credit, they did melt it slightly to bring out its own natural oils.

This sandwich has a name: it is called the Tina Fey.

The twelve eats of Christmas: 1

Christmas Eve. Poached eggs at Canteen then lentil chilli and banoffee pie at Marc & Sam's house, a meat-free start to the holidays.

English gentleman

A slightly poncey full English breakfast with an alarming-looking fried egg and a quenching drink made from cranberry, rose and elderflower or something at Canteen. Nice. I had a peppermint tea too, which was very refreshing.

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit

Slightly poncey Welsh rarebit with a poached egg on the side at Canteen.

Brecwast

Two breakfasts at the lovely Plough hotel in Rhosmaen, South Wales. A poached egg and beans on toast, and then the following day, a vegetarian breakfast involving an impressive Glamorgan sausage.

Self-assembly breakfast

A bacon and fried egg sandwich on the roof terrace at the Blue Fin Building.

Small fry

Breakfast at the Blue Fin, eaten off a tiny plate, Liz Hurley-style.