Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a great fan of the chain and have breakfast or some sort of food there (Midsomer Norton branch) maybe twice a week. You know exactly what you’re going to get, and pretty much how much you are going to pay. Their prices do vary from branch to branch I suspect depending on their rates and expenses but in general they knock the opposition into a crooked hat. (The phrase alludes to the three-cornered hat, (or tricorne, worn by officers in the American Revolution. The brim of the hat was turned up on three sides, giving it a distorted look).
Anyway, you see what you get which in my case was small bits of bacon in a rather tasteless muffin (which I first thought was a pancake) , two hash browns, two sausages, two eggs with maple syrup. The whole point of food is that the elements are supposed to talk to each other and maple syrup can only be seen to talk to sausages and bacon if your * palate has been virtually destroyed by junk food. I paid £8.99 for the most expansive breakfast offering including a hot drink.
* Palate means the roof of your mouth and your sense of taste and preferences. This is not to be confused with a palette—the board on which an artist mixes paints. Finally, a pallet is a large, wooden platform used to move things, typically for commercial purposes.
I do associate Americans with eating junk food so I know it’s very prejudicial but this is very much an imitation I suspect. It reminds me of going to Indian restaurants run by Europeans. They copy rather than originate which I suspect involves ignoring some of the unwritten protocol that is behind the preparation of the food for example some of the sauces.
I note that they frequently change their prices. I remember during covid they were offering breakfast for virtually nothing and coffee for 99p. Prices can vary from week to week
I do savory more than sweet at breakfast and I found that the maple syrup effectively masked any differences in quality that there might have been in the other elements on the plate. For example, the sausages were tasteless. There is also a greasy spoon element in that breakfast. I don’t know whether this is an English phrase but – I’m looking – I find that ‘greasy spoon’ is associated with small restaurants that focus on fried or greasy food and originated – believe it or not – in America in the early 20th Century.
Other popular American breakfasts are eggs benedict-based but ‘Spoons do one anyway without calling it American. My default breakfast which never lets me down is the ‘Freedom Breakfast’ on sale at £3.99
On a slightly different topic I attended the restaurant at about 8:15 and found the usual early risers at their customary places. I think some people have made this part of their daily routine partly because it is in the ideal position right in the middle of the High Street in Midsomer Norton.
Don’t forget it was a cinema called the Palladium and I have appreciated the way the chain have shown respect of this by describing the history of the place and showing pictures of the Palladium as it was.
While I was eating, a couple came in with a noisy child and this spoiled the atmosphere for me because I like peace and quiet especially at breakfast. I noticed that other people were speaking in low voices rather like you would speak in church.
Anyway, for the first time, I took my plate of food and walked to the other end of the eating area so was spared the screams and tantrums of the very young child who must have been about 18 months. NB There is no escape from children during the school holidays but in a way it is good that mums can bring along their children without spending a whole fortune of money and enjoy the warmth and safety.
No, this chain is not so much children friendly as family friendly. Long story short – The test of a good pub is can you come in on your own and not feel self-conscious and I think Wetherspoons have got it just right. I wish they could run the country
……Back out in the miserable rain (but not cold) to write this diary entry,
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