Comments on: Breakfast Is Not a Stage

By: matti

matti — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:49:24 +0000

love the stage, ate there almost everyday my week in NYC this summer :)

By: kim

kim — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:10:20 +0000

I also don’t prefer the brunch menu because I don’t eat egg, but I enjoy the brunch atmosphere because it’s really the only mealtime I get to hang with my friends. I’ve never been to Stage, but it’s special, down to earth places like these that make our city so authentic and unique.

By: Zach

Zach — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:20:45 +0000

I was in Berkeley this week around breakfast time. I intended on going to Ann’s. And then I realized it was Tuesday. Sometimes, life is difficult.

Zach

By: James Boo

James Boo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:46:23 +0000

If you get to Stage before noon (before 1 on Saturdays), breakfast is discounted – $3.50 for two eggs and homefries! Plus, breakfast sandwiches are always cheap.

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:01:56 +0000

This is the kind of breakfast that reminds me of Denny’s. Unfortunately, my memories of Denny’s were back in the day when they had 3.99 grand slam breakfasts. Ain’t nothing in NY cost 3.99 for breakfast, except maybe a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Here I generally would make a sadface… but this does look really tasty though. MMMM…

By: James Boo

James Boo — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:51:44 +0000

My dear boy,

I didn’t intend to characterize you as turning your back on breakfast – after all, you introduced me to Stage :) I also say nowhere here that brunch and breakfast and diametrically opposed. They’re two different meals, and I don’t want to go to brunch when what I really want is breakfast. The tragedy is that a lot of people are really quick to dismiss breakfast but soil their diapers over brunch, and some even go so far as to say that brunch can be defined as a better breakfast. There’s some semantic freewheeling involved here, but I think you see the distinction clearly. Any good eater can enjoy both meals for what they are; the fact that I don’t care for brunch certainly isn’t meant to detract from that.

Can’t wait to enter Stage right with you in the new year!

By: Joon S.

Joon S. — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:35:55 +0000

James: excellent post, as always, although this place is near and dear to my heart (literally–I think some of the fat from its meals has wedged itself somewhere below my aorta).

Some thoughts, if I may:

(1) “Ironically, also a brunch lover.” Look, James. I like brunch. I like it because it’s a social occasion and hey, because sometimes you want something alcoholic with your meal. However, I fear your words will mischaracterize me as loving brunch to the exclusion of breakfast. Nothing could be further from the truth. I, too, love breakfast. Breakfast is the king of meals, ruling over the land with its minions of bacon and eggs and toast. I don’t know if brunch and breakfast are diametrically opposed. Maybe brunch is the queen whereas breakfast is the king? Why can’t we all just get along? (Does anyone remember that reference? Yeesh.)

(2) Ann’s Kitchen is good, but I didn’t really like their potatoes. Go figure.

(3) The Stage Restaurant is one of the few places where I would feel comfortable striking up conversation with the person immediately (and I mean IMMEDIATELY) to my right or left. My dining encounter there had me talking to two people–the guy looked like the poor man’s version of Freddy Mercury, the girl was someone maybe .75 his age–who were obviously coming off a high of something. Thankfully, they recommended the pierogies to me, which are great with sour cream and mushroom gravy.

(4) The corned beef hash, with two poached eggs, is sublime.

(5) I intend to make a few trips up to NY next semester. Do let’s go to the Stage?