First Watch

First Watch is consistent. Every time I've been there. There is a comfort in that. They have the traditional, they have the healthy side, it is always damn good, but there are no 'shizams',nothing to wow you. Some mornings you just want to know that you can lazily walk into a place, know exactly what you are eating and order it exactly how you want it. Some mornings you don't want to be that into your meal, you just want to eat it in peace and read your paper, work on your emails (there is free wi-fi here), meet with your freinds, or have a business meeting. First Watch is your joint.

Their omelet choices are surprisingly creative and span the globe (well, the American version of global foods). Also, they use cage-free eggs if you are concerned about the chickens. Along with the delectable breakfast classics (chocolate chip pancakes made from scratch, you know, for the kids), First Watch is one of the only breakfast specific places that offers actually healthy options. If that is your cup of tea, then you definitely need to go here. They serve egg white only, plain oatmeal, fresh fruit, veggies, etc. They offer all of the nutritional information and ingredients for every menu item on their website and in the restaurant. The little page icon next to the item will bring up a page with the nutritional info. Great for special dietary needs or allergies.

For you coffee-holics they have Sunrise Select Coffee. I've never heard of it, but I'm no coffee maven.

They also have a Sunday Brunch. I've never been but hear its good. (Have you been to it? Want to be published?! Contact me and lets arrange it!)

Fair City Mall
9600 Main St.
Suite S
Fairfax, VA 22031

Farmers Market Breakfast

Well, I am back from a slight hiatus at school and ready to eat some great breakfasts again!

To start, s slightly alternative Breakfasting Idea: Go to Breakfast at a Farmers Market!

Since I live in Fairfax, I went to the Saturday Fairfax Farmers Market. There were all sorts of vendors there, far beyond produce. Today there was a Celtic stand serving pasties (a traditional British pouch) stuffed with eggs, spinach and all sorts of other yummy things. There were obviously fresh fruits of all sorts but also bread and pastries stands, jam and honey stands, and some dipping stations at a few. A perfect break to your fast.

I never would've thought of eating breakfast there but I'd like to pass on the idea so that you too can enjoy it fully by making it a plan! If I go again I might bring my own little cup of greek yogurt to put fresh fruit, local honey, and homemade granola in as I walk around!

If you are in Fairfax, see below. If you live in a different part of Northern VA, check out the Farmers Market App for the iPhone or do a google search for your area. There are great ones around here!

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The city’s annual Farmers Market is held from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesdays at Van Dyck Park on Old Lee Highway. For information, call 703-642-0128.

The Downtown Fairfax Coalition Community Market is held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the corner of West and Main streets, near the Wachovia Bank. For information, call 703-430-6164.

The Sunday Farmers Market is held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays at the corner of Old Lee Highway and North Street, in the George Mason Square lot. For information, call 703-430-6164.

Anita's

Anita's is a local chain of authentic Mexican food. "Anita" was the owner's wife. Every single time I've been at Anita's, I've had a great meal and efficient service. They get it done.

Their breakfast menu is full of yummy choices. There are Mexican style favorites, some fun new Mexican options, and some American classics. I was happy with quality of something as simple as a two egg classic and equally as happy with the Santa Barbara Omelet, stuffed with guacamole. Their salsa is fresh and spicy. Listen to other options:

Machaca Burrito

Shredded beef or fresh pulled chicken and scrambled eggs wrapped in a flour tortilla. Served with refried beans, homefries and "New Mexico Style" red or green chile.

Mr. T Special

Sizzling strips of pork marinated in "New Mexico Style" red chile, grilled and served with two eggs any style, refried beans smothered with red chile, homefries and hot flour tortillas.

There is something about sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and refried beans that compliments breakfast food quite nicely. Piping hot and fast, Anita's breakfasts are just scrumptious. Their coffee is nothing to write home about but it isn't bad. They offer free chips and salsa with your meal which I declined. It was just a little too early to eat chips and salsa.

Anita's home fries are shredded potato, loose, and fried to a golden crisp. Sometimes this style of home fry lends itself to a disappointing uncooked potato under the crisp outer layer but Anita's has never failed to give a satisfyingly crisp serving through and through each time.

The Fairfax location opens at a painfully early 5 AM! Each location has different hours, so check before heading out.

Belly Up to OCB Breakfast

For my family of six, breakfast is the best meal of the day. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone loves to eat breakfast. One early Saturday morning, we piled into the minivan to check out Old Country Buffet's breakfast buffet at Fair City Mall.

This was our first trip to OCB for breakfast and we were not disappointed at the vast array of breakfast items: pancakes, French toast (made from French bread), cereals, grits, biscuits, gravy, waffles, scrambled and fried eggs, bacon, sausage links and patties, fresh fruit, an entire taco/burrito bar, fried ham, muffins, and freshly made omelets.

We arrived around 8 a.m. (OCB opens at 7:30 on the weekends for breakfast), and found the restaurant uncrowded and the food hot and fresh.

The kids ate so much breakfast, that the two older ones weren't hungry at all for lunch and the two younger ones, barely at any lunch. Even my husband and I were not very hungry for lunch, either.

Here's a rundown on the children's breakfast bonanza:

N, age 7, ate three pancakes, a chocolate muffin, some scrambled eggs, bacon strip, sausage link, and a glass of chocolate milk.

L, age 5, ate two pancakes, a chocolate muffin, some scrambled eggs, bacon strip, sausage link and a glass of chocolate milk.

M, age 3, ate a biscuit, a pancake, a muffin, some scrambled eggs, bacon strip, sausage link and a glass of chocolate milk.

S, age 19 months, ate a biscuit, two pancakes, and a muffin and a half.

Overall, the food was hot and tasty. The pancakes were a bit dry, but with four or five different types of syrup to pour over them, you wouldn't really notice. The eggs tasted fresh and were not rubbery. I had a fresh omelet that was delicious. My husband said the coffee was rather tasty, too.

Consider OCB for your next breakfast out--I think you just might be pleasantly surprised.
[OCB Breakfast 7:30am - 11am Saturday and Sunday ONLY]

S. Hamaker

Arties

Artie's ... If you've never been there for a meal, put it on your list. This restaurant, part of the Great American Restaurants (a local chain), is amazing and is a must in general. But to get to the point, they do an exceptional Brunch.

Only open for Brunch from 10:30am - 3pm on Saturdays and from 10am - 3pm on Sundays, Artie's keeps incredibly high standards for service, decor, and food. It is worth the wait to the weekend hours. From the time you walk in to the time you leave, you will get more than you could ever hope for in a casual dining experience. So much so that you almost feel as though you are in an upscale restaurant.

Its great for couples, singles, friends, and families with kids. The prices are a little more than your IHOP down the street but not by too much and the quality blows IHOP clear to Timbuktu. The ambiance is so cool. Its a classy New England Boathouse inside, with a deck, classic wooden boat models, and murals of boating scenes. Your hosts and servers are so happy, its almost ridiculous. Their smiles are infectious but they won't snuggle up to you or sing to you (ie. its not TGI Fridays).

Every dish I've had there for brunch is tastey. My favorite is the French Toast, thick and crunchy, with a granola crust, fried to perfection... I never knew french toast could taste so good. I don't especially like the way they do their scrambled eggs (in terms of texture) but they sure taste good. If you go for the Brioche French Toast Grand Slam, you get to taste the exceptional French toast, the eggs, the bacon (perfectly cooked), the home fries (I didn't know I liked home fries until I had these), and the yogurt dipping sauce. My other favorites are the Bubble and Squeak and the Brunch Crab cakes, both served on unbelievably fresh, moist, and flaky biscuits. But be adventurous, you won't be disappointed. And be sure to say yes to the offer of bread to start - warm lightly fried dough balls rolled in sugar and a dense breakfast loaf. Oh, and try some of their fun brunch drinks.

Always call ahead (703-273-7600) to Artie's, as they are often on a wait. Calling ahead gets your name on the list and starts your wait before you even get there. They only take reservations at off peak hours.

-- S. Coffin

In Memoriam

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I want to document the death of a diner. For the briefest moment, Metro diner existed in among the colonial buildings of downtown fairfax, nestled on the corner, offering eggs and chili and french fries. Wait, I don't think they had fries. In fact, let the death of Metro diner stand as a warning to other restaurants, and a plea for help. There is a terrible shortage of short order eating to be had in this town. Having spent some time in Philadelphia, one gets rather spoiled by the abundance of Greek diners, each knowing their way around everything from Gyros, to omelettes. We just don't have the same thing here.

So, let us remember Metro diner as the light that failed, and let's remember why. The Diner is a business and eating model that needs no improvement, no cleaning, no polishing, no changing (alright...I will grant you that a lot of diners could use some cleaning). I will miss Metro because of what it represented, but what I really want is the mom and pop place that isn't on the corner here.

I want to order french fries with my omelette at 8 in the morning on Saturday.

- J.Anderson

Robeks

Robeks rocks. If you are looking for something to go or just something fruity for Breakfast, Robeks is the place. Everything there is fresh (or freshly "flash" frozen) and they don't use icky fake powders or sweeteners as a base for their smoothies. They are open by 6:30am on the week days (9am on Sat. and 11am on Sun.) and don't close until 8pm.

I don't eat their food (why go for the fish sticks at a pizza joint, right?!) but I love their smoothies. The two Acai smoothies are my favorites but I also dig the Bonzai Blueberry and the Pomegranate Passion. Though I have to say, I get something different almost every time I go in because I know it will be good and a great surprising taste. They are refreshing and thick and they taste REAL! Not like Smoothie King. Bleh.

The boosts that you can add are pretty cool too. The "power smoothies" come with boosts already included, if you are looking for some vitamins or protein or what not. But if you get overwhelmed with details, just ignore that.

The Robeks' that I've been to are really good about customizing your smoothie too. I usually get spinach added to mine as it gives you some green but can't overwhelm the fruits in terms of taste ... why not, right!?

You can also get some very different juices, if you are feeling adventurous. Wheat Grass is a staple for my orders. It is really sweet and comes as a shot. You definitely need a "chaser" for the wheat grass shot, as its a little ... pasture-y. The juices like G-Snap are quite the punch too.

Find locations here.

-- S.Coffin

Corner Bakery

This morning I went to Corner Bakery. My breakfast partner and I each got one of the egg dishes, the American and the Anaheim. The eggs were definitely actual eggs (rather than egg beaters, etc.), cooked well, and not too greasy. The bacon was thick and cooked perfectly. I hate it when its floppy and dripping. BLEH.

I also got the oatmeal which was tasty but nothing to rave about. The gluey texture was a little off putting but the taste and actual feel of it in your mouth wasn't bad. I'd like to try the steel cut oatmeal next. The oatmeal comes with a little cinnamon crispy toast thing that was soooo yummy.

I think Corner Bakery prides themselves on being able to accommodate healthy variations and allergies. They had Soy Milk out by the coffee, along with the half and half and milk. That's the first time I've seen that. They also mark options that are gluten free, vegetarian, and dairy free.

While I went to the Fair Oaks Mall location, there are other NOVA locations here, including Tysons, Arlington, and Sterling.

Overall I like the atmosphere of the open floor plan, casual, modern cafe. The service is a lot like a Noodles & Co. or Panera Bread (if you've ever been to either of those places). There was that "healthy feel" to the food but a warmth to the outcome. It seems as though places focusing on the "healthy" ingredients forget that it should also be yummy and HOT. Corner Bakery did a good job.

-- S.Coffin