A breakfast trial run.

No matter where we've lived, we've found our breakfast place. Ideally not just a diner, but not an upscale restaurant either. Most seem to have wooden benches or chairs that are slightly sticky. Most of the time the coffee is strong and the service somewhere between too slow and just right, and most Sundays, there are lines out the door.

We have found our breakfast place in Luna Grill and Diner. With a sort of small town vibe and homestyle food, it hits all the right notes. As our 10 years together could account for, we predictably order 2 coffees and 2 plates of eggs benedict, both with a side of fruit substituted for the potatoes. Since I feel everything is improved with cream sauce, eggs benedict is pretty much the most satisfying thing I can think of to eat at 10 am on a Sunday morning. Nevermind that Hollandaise sauce is not a cream sauce, merely a creamy sauce. It still sneaks in under the radar as the magical reason a poached egg perched on grilled ham that sits on a toasted english muffin is as close to a transcendent experience as one can get. Pretty pale looking at first, but full of sunshine once you burst that runny yellow egg yolk.
In a righteous attempt at creating this at home, I found new appreciation for the breakfast line cook. Indeed, I made a beautiful and decent tasting E.B. but the hollandaise was tricky. It came together and didn't break, but mine was too buttery and perhaps too lemony. It should be rich yet subtle and mine bragged too loudly of its fat content.

Still, we managed to choke it down and after the hour of prep time and the mountain of dishes accrued, we decided that next week we'd happily go back to Luna.

Anyone with a tried and true Hollandaise recipe is welcome to share it here!