I won't sing for my supper, but I'll bike for my breakfast!

Have you had breakfast yet? If not, grab a cup of coffee and a bagel before you start reading this post. Read it empty-bellied at your own risk!

As I’ve mentioned on a few other posts, we were down in Chatham for the last two weeks of August.  We had a bit of rain the second week (OK, a lot of rain – April showers may bring May flowers, but August showers simply make me cranky!), and were anxious to get out of the house and be active again.

On Thursday, we got up earlier than usual, having slid into near slothdom with all the rain.  Donning our helmets and cheery morning attitudes, we hopped on our bikes and joined the bike path.  Cape Cod has a number of rail trails created by paving abandoned rail corridors; I don’t think this was one of them, although it was well-marked with painted lane lines in spots.  We saw a number of other cyclists, dog-walkers, and runners out that morning.

Our ride was only 3 miles, but we worked up quite an appetite (and were doing it before coffee!).  Our destination was hangar B, the restaurant at the Chatham Municipal Airport.  I had heard that it was “really good,” and expected a “really good” diner — you know, The Piggish Pilot Plate, or Food for Famished Flyers.  Well, although it is diner-ish in appearance, the food is OUTSTANDING, truly gourmet!

The Little Guy (now LM6, he had a birthday yesterday!) started with a red velvet cupcake (yes, a cupcake for breakfast … it was vacation!), followed by silver dollar pancakes.

LW8 started with an old-fashioned donut, followed by silver dollar pancakes.  The donut was very reminiscent of the kind my Gram used to make … deep-fried and delicious.

LM12 and I ordered the same breakfast meal – French toast made from a rich bread pudding, topped with fresh berries … truly fresh berries … strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

A thick homestyle waffle was served up for LW14; like the French toast, it was accompanied by real maple syrup (accept no substitutes!).

Are you hungry yet?  Have you had some coffee to wake up?  We did!

Hangar B serves coffee from a local roaster, The Art of Roasting.  We had been drinking Trader Joe’s ground coffee at our home-away-from-home; TJ’s is great on the road (or at home when I don’t feel up to grinding beans in the morning), but The Art of Roasting re-awakened our coffee tastebuds!

J’s morning meal was an amazing breakfast sandwich.  And we’re not talking Egg McMuffin, we’re talking grilled croissant, lettuce, avocado, scrambled eggs, tomato, and cheddar.  I wanted more than my usual “just a bite” sample.

But, wait, there’s more …

Usually in diners you’ll find those gold-foiled pats of butter and a stack of single-serving jellies (mostly grape).  Presentation is everything, and these folks have it  down to a science.  Small sauce dishes were brought to the table – one had creamy butter piped into it from a pastry bag, the other contained a delicious jam.  It was strawberry with something I couldn’t quite put my finger on, so I asked our server … balsamic thyme strawberry jam!  He told me that they also have red wine raspberry jam on occasion.

What a great way to start our day!  We were pleasantly full, but not too stuffed to bike to the playground for a bit before hitting the beach.  Hangar B is definitely a place I’ll return to on other Cape trips.

I enjoyed the entire meal (everyone in the family had a fantastic breakfast), but was especially pleased with the flavor combination in the jam.  I just yesterday made jam for the first time (Sweet Pepper Jam from the Put ‘Em Up cookbook), and am ready to start experimenting … do you have a jam/jelly cookbook to recommend?

See what else is happening in the kitchens of the blogosphere this weekend.  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking to find links to other food-related posts.  There may be book reviews, recipes, kitchen gadget tips and tricks, etc.