Vegan Breakfast Anywhere

Going out for breakfast with non-vegans at mainstream restaurants can be a challenge. You peruse an enormous menu, only to realize that nothing listed can be veganized because everything contains eggs or cheese, even if you find something you can leave the meat out of. My most recent solution to the dilemma is to flip straight to the side dishes. Most often I'll find a perfect little "shopping list" of items to mix and match for a satisfying breakfast I can enjoy with my friends without being a big weirdo and picking apart one go the chef's specials. Sometimes it's easier for all concerned to just start from scratch and ask for what we want.

My go-to side dish right now is potatoes. I love potatoes, and many restaurants make wonderful homestyle spuds fried up with onions and seasonings. There's usually a lot of oil too, but I don't go out for breakfast that often, so when I do, I just enjoy my fried taters and don't worry about it. 

My favorite combination is potatoes with salsa and avocado. On a recent visit to the San Jose Cafe, where I met up with a childhood friend for a bit of catching up, I was able to get just what I wanted, and even had them throw in some fresh spinach. The result was a comforting plateful of potato love. 

I liked it so much, I told the waitress to give the cook a kiss for me. She reported back that he was all grins, and that really made his day. It's good to show appreciation, and good to find easy ways of eating out with friends. I love getting together with my old pals when I visit San Jose. And now I have a new breakfast pal, the humble potato, with all the veggie fixings.