(Well, that's what I tell myself as I tuck into some favourite dishes and the ultimate drink when made properly - coffee, preferably fairly traded.)
OK, those who have visited this page before will know that Cafe Royal, Newcastle used to be my top breakfast spot. I did say it was the only place worth getting up early for on a Saturday morning - but I was wrong! M&S at Haymarket have opened a shiny deli bar and do lovely sour bread toast and raisin pastries (well, other stuff too but that's my favourite) and their coffee is delicious and fairly traded! Maybe see you there on a Saturday!
Mugg & Bean. The place to overdose on caffeine. Friendly staff, the biggest muffins in the world.
The Waffle House. Ramsgate (The SA one) What can I say? Any time of the day, the menu is fantastic, but my mouth-watering fave is the waffle with cheese and pickle, served by Hilton, at one of the tables overlooking the lagoon. The little art gallery and craft shop are lovely too, and you can buy Beaver Creek Coffee to take home.
Balule. Well, you have to do your own cooking, and there's no electricity, but it's hard to beat cooking boerewors on a braai while a hyaena watches you drink Amarula, even if bats do fly into the shower and mice eat the keys of mobile phones. Should be followed by a breakfast at Skukuza, arriving in time to hear the waiters beat the drums outside the restaurant, and in time to get a seat outside by the river, where hopefully some crocodiles or hippos will go past.
Tim Hortons. Not the poor UK franchises, it's got to be the real thing, paid for with Canadian dollars, and with a nanaimo bar to eat with my coffee, and possibly the biggest box of Timbits to take out. Preferably TH in Water Street, St John's, Newfoundland.
And of course, the place that helped to start my love of coffee (or should that be addiction?) the Coffee House in Montrose. Still a family favourite to get the day going and see familiar faces at neighbouring tables.
I know from all these links and the many times that food features in my writing that you'll be thinking does this woman do anything other than eat or think about where her next meal will be? Sometimes. And of course, the reason I'm not double my size is because I try to go to the gym three times a week (when not out eating).
