Foxy Lady
I'm not much of a breakfast person. During the week I might grab a yoghurt and a cup of strongly brewed tea in the morning rush to get to work. Cereal has never really appealed and when I do indulge, at the weekend, my breakfasts usually consist of eggs, beans or fried pork with some form of toasted bread (scrambled eggs in toasted pittas is a particular favourite).
The best breakfasts I have are usually cooked by someone else - usually my partner but sometimes, when we've both had a long week and aren't inclined to do anything more complicated than find a comfortable chair and lose ourselves in a book over the weekend, we head out in search of brunch. Not wanting breakfast until I've been awake for at least an hour is another of my quirks.
Yesterday we had to venture into Penarth early so, instead of rushing a piece of limp toast, we decided to head to Foxy's Deli for a breakfast treat. Situated near the train station, Foxy's is part deli, part cafe and celebrated its 10th birthday this year.
We took our seats in the rear seating area (though given how warm it was we may have been better choosing a seat in the main area, near the open door and under whirling ceiling fans) and were quickly given a menu. Breakfast is served all day (excellent for those of us who aren't hungry until 11am) and consists of the usual full English (and vegetarian equivalent - £6.50 and £5.50 respectively) plus Eggs Benedict and Florentine (£5.25 each) and a wonderful array of things served on toast including scrambled eggs and smoked salmon (£5.95) balsamic tomatoes (£4).
Now normally nothing can keep me from an Eggs Benedict. I love everything about it. The soft poached egg oozing onto ham and mixing with the creamy hollandaise - bliss. On this occasion, and with the time ticking on to lunch, I decided to give it a miss and instead opted for the Creamy Sauteed Mushrooms with Grain Mustard and Cream (£4.50) served on granary toast with some extra Glamorgan Sausages on the side (80p each). To wash it down with I chose a bottle of strawberry Pago juice (£1.45) simply because I'd never seen it before.
After an uncomfortable moment where the smiling waitress asked if we knew that Glamorgan sausages were vegetarian (I must have "carnivore" tattooed across my brow), we settled down and checked out some of the art on display. Our juice was served in chilled glasses and was bright pink. Taking a sip it was no doubting that it was strawberry juice - sweet, syrupy and tasting quite reminiscent of those little pots of jam you get served with your scones. Instead of being cloying it actually managed to be quite refreshing though I'm not sure I could drink more than 1 at a time.
Our breakfasts were cooked fresh and took around 10 minutes from ordering to arrive - so much nicer than hearing the microwave ping a few minutes after your order has been taken! Two slices of granary bread were toasted to perfection (granary not your thing? there is a choice of breads available) and topped with button mushrooms in a creamy mustard sauce, spiked with tarragon. I was expecting the mushrooms to be finely sliced but instead these were quartered, leaving the mushrooms deliciously meaty and soaking up the sauce without disintegrating into it.
The sausages were packed full of leek, giving it a strong onion flavour, and salty Caerphilly cheese and enrobed in light but golden crumb. They were a good size and worked beautifully with the mustard sauce.
Whilst my partner polished his off with gusto, to my shame I was too full to finish and had to admit that perhaps didn't need the extra sausages on the side (though they were lovely).
Breakfast came to £15.10 and would definitely tempt me out of my Benedict comfort zone to try more of the menu. And I didn't even miss the bacon.
The best breakfasts I have are usually cooked by someone else - usually my partner but sometimes, when we've both had a long week and aren't inclined to do anything more complicated than find a comfortable chair and lose ourselves in a book over the weekend, we head out in search of brunch. Not wanting breakfast until I've been awake for at least an hour is another of my quirks.
Yesterday we had to venture into Penarth early so, instead of rushing a piece of limp toast, we decided to head to Foxy's Deli for a breakfast treat. Situated near the train station, Foxy's is part deli, part cafe and celebrated its 10th birthday this year.
We took our seats in the rear seating area (though given how warm it was we may have been better choosing a seat in the main area, near the open door and under whirling ceiling fans) and were quickly given a menu. Breakfast is served all day (excellent for those of us who aren't hungry until 11am) and consists of the usual full English (and vegetarian equivalent - £6.50 and £5.50 respectively) plus Eggs Benedict and Florentine (£5.25 each) and a wonderful array of things served on toast including scrambled eggs and smoked salmon (£5.95) balsamic tomatoes (£4).
Now normally nothing can keep me from an Eggs Benedict. I love everything about it. The soft poached egg oozing onto ham and mixing with the creamy hollandaise - bliss. On this occasion, and with the time ticking on to lunch, I decided to give it a miss and instead opted for the Creamy Sauteed Mushrooms with Grain Mustard and Cream (£4.50) served on granary toast with some extra Glamorgan Sausages on the side (80p each). To wash it down with I chose a bottle of strawberry Pago juice (£1.45) simply because I'd never seen it before.
After an uncomfortable moment where the smiling waitress asked if we knew that Glamorgan sausages were vegetarian (I must have "carnivore" tattooed across my brow), we settled down and checked out some of the art on display. Our juice was served in chilled glasses and was bright pink. Taking a sip it was no doubting that it was strawberry juice - sweet, syrupy and tasting quite reminiscent of those little pots of jam you get served with your scones. Instead of being cloying it actually managed to be quite refreshing though I'm not sure I could drink more than 1 at a time.
Our breakfasts were cooked fresh and took around 10 minutes from ordering to arrive - so much nicer than hearing the microwave ping a few minutes after your order has been taken! Two slices of granary bread were toasted to perfection (granary not your thing? there is a choice of breads available) and topped with button mushrooms in a creamy mustard sauce, spiked with tarragon. I was expecting the mushrooms to be finely sliced but instead these were quartered, leaving the mushrooms deliciously meaty and soaking up the sauce without disintegrating into it.
The sausages were packed full of leek, giving it a strong onion flavour, and salty Caerphilly cheese and enrobed in light but golden crumb. They were a good size and worked beautifully with the mustard sauce.
Whilst my partner polished his off with gusto, to my shame I was too full to finish and had to admit that perhaps didn't need the extra sausages on the side (though they were lovely).
Breakfast came to £15.10 and would definitely tempt me out of my Benedict comfort zone to try more of the menu. And I didn't even miss the bacon.
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