Breakfast – I Love Belle and Herbs

Steak & Poached Eggs

Meri — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 21:25:48 +0000

Steak & Poached Eggs
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

The morning after our wedding, the kind folks at Belle & Herbs opened up early so that we could have a morning-after breakfast.

My first breakfast as a married woman was steak and poached eggs — two pieces of thin steak, 3 poached eggs, a bunch of hash browns and Bearnaise sauce. It was gorgeous and very filling!

Breakfast Panini

Steve — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 10:01:18 +0000

Breakfast Panini

Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

The Breakfast Panini consists of a lightly toased ciabatta, filled with sausage, bacon, mushroom and cheese. Maybe I should put that in order of quantity: cheese, bacon, sausage, mushroom. I think that there was probably a little too much cheese, as this was quite an over-powering taste, however I can forgive them for this, as it was very tasty. The last panini that I ate was in Italy (Florence to be precise), yet Belle + Herbs have mastered this great Italian skill and this panini was better than the one in the home country!

It didn’t look that much when it was on the plate, but it was certainly satisfying, and I would definitely have it again. One thing to watch out for though; the bits of sausage are all at one end and the bits of mushroom all at the other end. That confused me, and I wish I had eaten a little bit from either end rather than just attacking it in one go. If you want a taste of Italy, but better, then choose this!

(Oh, and just as an aside, they spell it as “Pannini” in the menu, which riled me slightly as I’m a pedant when it comes to spelling!)

Pain Perdu

Meri — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 21:16:23 +0000

Pain Perdu Closeup
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

Pain perdu (or “posh eggy bread” as the menu explains) is another new addition to the breakfast menu. This is essentially just French toast made with brioche instead of normal doorstop bread. We ordered some just to try it along with breakfast one morning.

As expected, it was quite a lot sweeter than normal French toast, but I enjoyed it greatly. The texture was very interesting — I’d say the brioche was better than normal bread (not surprising really!) as it withstood the egg/milk mix better.

Lovely simple addition to the menu, quite rich but delicious!

Full-On English

Meri — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 13:43:41 +0000

Full-On English
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

The Full-On English is another augmentation of the main breakfast options on the new menu. It features 2 bacon, 2 eggs, 2 sausage (for some reason I seemed to get 4 though…), beans, peeled plum tomatoes, mushrooms, 2 hash browns, black pudding, white pudding, breakfast sauce, potato scones and toast.

As you might expect, this is a seriously big meal. The waitress’ comment was “You’ll never eat all that” and she was right … the volume of beans overwhelmed me for a start!

The usual breakfast items were up to their normal high standard — the bacon was nicely cooked, the sausages tasty, the eggs perfect as usual, the hash browns crispy on the outside, soft on the inside (armadillos!) and the mushrooms juicy. The white pudding was nice (although quite heavy on the wheat bulking) although I didn’t have the black pudding, choosing to bring it home for the puppy (I like black pudding, but I have to be in the right mood for it, if you know what I mean).

My favourite items, however, were the potato scones, which were lovely and buttery and the plum tomatoes, which were a nice clean contrast to the richness of the other ingredients.

All in all, a great breakfast and a nice addition to the new menu, but arguably should come with a scooby snack warning due to its rather gargantuan size…

Steak and Eggs

Meri — Fri, 05 May 2006 16:08:12 +0000

Steak and Eggs Breakfast
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

There are a few new breakfasts on the updated menu, all of which seem to run on the premise that the pre-existing Belle & Herbs breakfasts just weren’t big enough and more ginormous options were needed!

This breakfast certainly fits the bill. My particular plate of food consisted of two pieces of steak, 4 eggs, 6 hash browns and a small pot of the best Bernaise sauce I’ve ever tasted.

Now, I realise that I fairly often wax lyrical about how great the food at Belle & Herbs is, but I want you to set that aside and REALLY listen to me this time.

THIS WAS THE BEST PLATE OF FOOD I HAVE EVER EATEN. Seriously. It was absolutely amazing. Gorgeous. Fan-bloody-tastic.

The steak came medium-rare, just as I’d requested, the eggs were done to their usual perfection, the hash browns soaked up the meat juices wonderfully and as I’ve already mentioned, the Bernaise sauce was the best I’ve ever tasted.

Now my only real problem is that I will lose my job if I insist on going into Belle & Herbs for steak and eggs every single day…

Farmer’s Breakfast

Meri — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 14:46:39 +0000

Farmers Breakfast
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

The Farmer’s Breakfast is a huge 4 egg omelette, filled with sausage, bacon, fried potato & onion and plenty of cheese. It’s served with some plum tomatoes and a great slab of fried bread.

The first thing to note is that this was an IMMENSE breakfast. Seriously huge. I didn’t even get through a third of it and I was hungry! Taste-wise it was very nice. I’m not usually a huge fan of omelettes, but this one was really good — full of interesting flavours.

The sides were great as well — the plum tomatoes juicy and a perfect accompaniment to the protein-filled omelette. The fried bread was … well, heavenly. The best fried bread I’ve ever had (but don’t tell my Grandma!).

I’d recommend this, but only if you were really really hungry or working off some serious hangoverage!

Muesli & Fruit

Elly — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 15:30:34 +0000

Muesli & Fruit
Originally uploaded by ellythompson.

Just for a change (and because I’ve already eaten far too much at Belle and Herbs this weekend) I decided to go for the ‘light’ option at breakfast today, which is the Muesli & Fruit.

Mine came with green apple, kiwi fruit, apricots, sliced banana and blueberries, but what you get will change day to day.

And the muesli’s good too – none of this slightly-powdered-shaken-in-the-box rubbish but a good mix of grains and dried fruit, with a good helping of plain yoghurt. My only reservation was that there was a little too much yoghurt for the amount of muesli but overall an excellent choice for the not so hungry.

Scottish Breakfast

Elly — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 12:07:11 +0000

Scottish Breakfast
Originally uploaded by ellythompson.

While deciding what breakfast to have this morning, I came to the sudden realisation that I hadn’t had the Scottish Breakfast yet. So that’s what I ordered.

2 Eggs, 2 Rashers of Bacon, A Flat Lorne Sausage, Pototo Cakes, Potato Scones, Black Pudding (not shown in the photo), White Pudding, Baked Beans and Toast. It’s a lot of food, but it was all so excellent, I just had to eat it all!!

Salmon Benedict

Elly — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 13:44:53 +0000

Salmon Benedict
Originally uploaded by ellythompson.

The Salmon Benedict is part of the extensive ‘variations on the theme of egg on toast’ range on the Belle & Herbs Menu. And because the Poached Eggs are wonderful and I prefer Smoked Salmon to Bacon, I decided to go for this combination.

Basically it consists of Poached Eggs on top of Smoked Salmon on toasted English Muffins, covered in Hollandaise Sauce.

I have to say, every bit of this dish was fantastic, both in themselves and as a combination. Definitely a new favorite for me!

Breakfast Club

Elly — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 14:02:51 +0000

Breakfast Club
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

The Breakfast Club is big – really big – you just won’t believe how vastly, hugely appetite-quenchingly big it is.

No, really.

The Breakfast Club consists of Bacon, Eggs, Sausages, Beans, Tomato Sauce between 3 pieces of toast and – if that wasn’t enought – a portion of chips.

Eating the Breakfast Club takes some skill and effort. You have to accept that you’re not going to be able to eat it politely – but once that’s done, it’s a really great breakfast!

American Breakfast with Poached Eggs

Meri — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 12:53:06 +0000

Another American Breakfast
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

This breakfast has become a real favourite of ours. It’s on the Belle & Herbs morning menu, but since this is served until 3pm, it’s often a good lunchtime option as well!

There is an choice with all the breakfasts to have poached instead of fried eggs. I really love poached eggs when they’re done well and these were excellent.

3 buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup, 2 bacon rashers, 2 hash browns, 2 poached eggs, flat griddled sausage and a massive hunk of white toast which you can see in the background. All in all a very filling meal and delicious!

The Big English!

Meri — Sat, 05 Nov 2005 17:48:51 +0000

The Big English
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

We went to Belle & Herbs this morning as we often do at the weekend and I realised that amazingly we hadn’t had any of the “standard” breakfast options! We’d been too busy exploring the different variations to try the basics.

So I settled on having a “Big English” breakfast. With 2 bacon, 2 sausages, 2 fried eggs, mushrooms, fried tomato, 2 hash browns, baked beans, a massive slab of black pudding and their special breakfast sauce, it certainly was big!

As usual all the individual ingredients were lovely — the eggs were especially well done — and the overall combination was delicious and very filling. I have to admit that at 0930 on a Saturday morning I couldn’t quite face the 1.5 inch thick slab of black pudding, but our puppy assures me it was the best thing EVER!

The special breakfast sauce was very interesting — evidently homemade, slightly spicy and a great accompaniment to the mushrooms and sausages. I’d love to know what’s in it, but I suppose that would be telling…

Ham ‘n Eggs

Meri — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 20:18:19 +0000

Ham ‘n Eggs
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

Although we’ve tried almost every item on the main breakfast menu, there are still a few items down the bottom of the first page that we haven’t managed to have. This was one of them and to be perfectly honest I wasn’t quite sure it was really a breakfasty kind of option.

How wrong I was.

The ham was nicely textured, richly flavoured and not too salty. The eggs were up to the usual great Belle & Herbs standard. The real star, however, was the mix of caramelized onions and fried potatoes.

The overall effect was an explosion of different textures and tastes — lovely!

Cinnamon French Toast

Meri — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 18:09:17 +0000

Cinnamon French Toast
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

Belle and Herbs have the best breakfast menu EVER. If you needed any further proof, then this Cinnamon French Toast is it. Massive slices of doorstop white, briefly soaked in sweetened egg mix, then fried in butter.

It was absolutely gorgeous — not mushy (as French toast often is!) but beautifully firm. The texture sorted, the flavour was wonderful!

American Breakfast

Elly — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 12:48:15 +0000

American Breakfast
Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

The American Breakfast is my FAVORITE thing off the Belle & Herbs Menu. It’s one of those dishes where the people at the table next to you give you “You can’t possibly eat all that!” faces when it’s served to you.

It consists of 2 eggs, 2 rashers of bacon, 2 hash browns, a flat griddled sausage, 3 buttermilk pancake with butter and a pot of maple syrup. With toast on the side. And I love every part of it.

Ulster Fry

Elly — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 20:02:57 +0000

Ulster Fry

Picture uploaded by ellythompson.

The Ulster Fry (part of the FANTASTIC breakfast menu) consists of Bacon, Eggs (usually fried, but you can ask for scrambled (like I did) or poached) sausages, black pudding, white pudding, soda farl and boxdy potato cakes. Yum!

Apple & Cheese Toast

Meri — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 16:55:50 +0000

Mmmm, Smelty!

Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

Tangy apple sauteed in butter & cinnamon, spread over two pieces of thick toast and covered in molten mature cheddar might seem a bit of a strange combination, but it really works.

The apple was very evidently fresh, having just been sliced and briefly sauteed. This made it tangy and textured enough that it wasn’t too sweet to mix with the flavour of the cheese. Cinnamon just took the edge off a little and there might have been a little nutmeg in there too.

The real triumph of this dish, however, is the texture — difficult to describe, so you might have to try it for yourself!

Other photos can be found here, here and here

California Benedict … and Toast!

Meri — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 15:43:13 +0000

California Benedict … and Toast!

Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

The California Benedict consists of a toasted English muffin, crispy bacon and poached eggs, covered with guacamole. I assume it must be a Belle & Herbs invention, since I’ve never seen it anywhere before and a quick Google turns up nothing of the sort.

Although the generic Benedict ingredients were up to their usual high standard, the guacamole was a bit over-spiced for this combination. It overpowered the flavours of the eggs & bacon, which was unfortunate.

Not a bad dish at all, I think you just need to enjoy guacamole more than I do to really love it!

Part of the problem as well is that this was the morning of the tragic cat incident so having had all that happen, we weren’t really too hungry.

Best Eggs Benedict EVAR

Meri — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 15:35:56 +0000

Best Eggs Benedict EVAR

Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

Since I had enjoyed the Eggs Benedict so much when we first discovered Belle & Herbs whilst househunting, I chose to have it again.

For those of you who missed the first installment, the Eggs Benedict consists of a toasted English muffin, 4 rashers of bacon topped with 3 poached eggs and smothered in Hollandaise sauce.

Since it was already perfect the first time, the only real improvement on this occasion was that we had a better camera and got some better shots of it!

Ulster Breakfast

Meri — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 12:26:52 +0000

Ulster Breakfast

Originally uploaded by meriwilliams.

The Ulster Breakfast comprises 2 sausages, two slices of bacon, 2 fried eggs, 2 fried black pudding, 2 white pudding, boxdy potato cakes and soda farl fried in butter.

This breakfast really is a heart attack on a plate, but the nice thing is that it really doesn’t seem greasy at all when you’re eating it. As is always the case at Belle & Herbs, the eggs were done to perfection, not at all jellified as is so often the case.

The most interesting thing in this breakfast were the boxdy potato cakes. When I read the menu I had no real idea of what these would be like — they turned out to be gorgeous though! Small cubes of potato, with plenty of onion, bound together by egg or possibly some sort of batter. Yum!

The black and white pudding were both really good as well — fried so they were crisp on the outside without being dry. Personally I don’t always like these puddings, just because they’re quite heavily spiced for a breakfast food, but I did enjoy them this time.