Show me the breakfast

Published on Wednesday, 21 September 2011 12:25

Written by Dirk Burhans

Best Breakfast Eats in Missouri by Ann M. Hazelwood

Reedy Press, St. Louis, Missouri, $14.95

Ann M. Hazelwood is a show-​me native who has authored several Missouri-​based food and travel books; a previous book entitled 100 Unique Eats and Eateries in Missouri (which I have not seen), inspired her to write the present breakfast volume.

The author begins with insights that will find instant familiarity with those who actively seek breakfast food: that a good breakfast should be quick and timely; that we expect the food to be homemade; that breakfast somehow has an “all about me” component… unlike lunch, where we pretty much accept the burger as served, we want breakfast done our way.

Hazelwood addresses a range of venues, from brunch places, bed & breakfasts, and the catchall she calls “eateries, diners, and dives.” While the inclusion of high-​end bruncheries along with “dives” makes for dilution of treatment, the bigger problems I have with the book have to do with presentation, choreography, and perhaps most importantly, a lack of involvement on the part of the author.

First, some nuts & bolts: Hazelwood has taken this largely rural state and broken it into regions – an appropriate approach – but the sections grade into one other without chapter pages marking the transition to new territories. While a state map at the beginning delineates the regions, a terrific touch would have been to include an inset map on each two-​page spread with a star indicating each restaurant’s location. Two-​page treatments for each establishment have titles like “A German Delight,” but the restaurant name is hidden in text below. Angled breakouts quote from everyone from Nancy Reagan to Burt Lancaster, and additional banners about, say, how to make scone batter contribute to a loose, playful layout; but the feel is fluffy and superficial, as if this filler were consciously added to make the book appear more fun. A directory or handbook format – each spread beginning with the restaurant name, an inset map in a consistent location, and an outdoor photo (frustratingly few photos of the buildings themselves are included) – would not only read with more authority and consistency, but would make it so much easier for readers to track down their breakfast heart’s desire.

The overall look is low budget, but that is not necessarily a deal-​breaker; what may be a deal-​breaker for road food hounds, however, is uneven venue selection. Historic establishments like Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in St. Louis, Vandalia Drug, or the Broadway Diner in Columbia are a page over from a 2004-​built bed & breakfast; and while some of the latter may indeed await legendary status, I was not always assured that they were deserving of inclusion.

Which is not to say that there are not many excellent Missouri breakfast establishments arriving in just the past decade! But Hazelwood has just barely opened the kitchen door for us. The smell of bacon wafts out, but we were not let inside for the taste. For sure there are tantalizing menu items – at the Grillz Diner in Sikeston, oatmeal is made with “milk instead of butter… cinnamon, a little pumpkin spice.” at Miss Aimee B’s Tea Room in St. Charles, the “Peach Bomb” is a whole peach “wrapped in pie crust, baked, and then drizzled with almond butter.” Wow! But perfunctory endings like “well worth the visit” or “see and eat for yourself” bespeak a certain lack of involvement – we don’t get that the author has been on a hunt. What drives her MAD for breakfast? What French toast would dissuade from ever feeling the need to venture to Paris, ever, even if on an all-​paid flight?

There’s no doubt that the author enjoyed her Missouri travels, and no question that she had rather pleasant interpersonal and culinary experiences throughout; this certainly comes across! What was lacking are her feelings about the foods and venues, and, for me, the nagging feeling that crucial places are missing, while unexceptional places were included. I hesitate to attribute purely marketing motives to the book without having seen her other publications, but I can say this: this volume will look terrific next to the candlesticks and potpourri at the B&B gift shop, but will likely leave true food aficionados disappointed.

Dirk Burhans is the author of Crunch! A History of the Great American Potato Chip and lives in Missouri.