I should not be allowed to go to breakfast unaccompanied by an Adult (and tales of taking the Big Apple and turning it into a Bloody Apple Mary)

Breakfast has always been the punctuation in my life story and so it seems entirely appropriate that in the latest Beedub Chapter - loosely titled 'Carpe Caffeine' - it would be over breakfast with friends, that I would both rashly and wonderfully decide to decimate my credit card and join them for a week in New York a day later.

I have been to New York several times, but this was the first time I made a conscious decision to sink my teeth into the Big Apple and follow my nose with the hope of finding perfect places to eat, leaving the New Year Sales and ample tourist attractions to Manhattan virgins.

If Las Vegas is the Mecca for gamblers, then the City-That-Never-Sleeps is most definitely the holy grail for Breakfastites.

A few things I learned about Breakfast in New York..
#1 Breakfast is not an afterthought, it is a signature for most restaurants - hallelujah!
#2 Jetlag induced dawn wake-ups come in very handy for getting the jump on New Yorkers and beating the queues at popular breakfast spots, especially on weekends when Brunch is the third major religion
#3 Bloody Mary's and Brunchy cocktails are ubiquitous in NYC. Therefore it's rude not to have one
#4 Make the trip to Brooklyn - it is worth it
#5 You can count on pancakes on every menu so you can afford to be choosy
#6 Online research is great, but follow your nose too - there are literally thousands of special places to have breakfast just waiting to be discovered

#7 Random fact: look out for the giant A sign on the outside of restaurants - it means the hygiene standard is top (thanks Yankee for that)
#8 If you are on a budget, investing in breakfast is an ideal way of saving money - a good breakfast will see you all the way through to dinner

And in other words...

I ♥ Breakfast, ♥s Breakfast in New York. Big Time.

With the help of my old friends Timeout and Zagart and some real, genuine New Yorkers, we found the most delightful and eclectic mix of breakfast places imaginable. I hope you get a chance to make it to some of these...(click the links to visit the reviews)
Balthazar, SoHo
Five Leaves, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Bubby's, Tribeca
David Burke Kitchen at James Hotel, SoHo
Dean and Deluca


Photos (all the really good ones) are kindly provided by the wonderfully talented Yankee Hank Abroad.