Egg and Spoon Race

Erin and I are breakfast fanatics. Show us a greasy diner full of omelets, bacon, pancakes and toast, and I'll show you two westerners ready to hork it down. Saturday mornings in Milwaukee meant driving to Benji's, or the Honey Pie, or Maxfield's. It meant devouring a plate of "things that are bad for you," followed by a carafe of coffee and a mild food coma. It was heaven.

Korea is not much for our kind of diners. The closest we can get to "going out for breakfast" in Chungju, is to walk down to the Dunkin Donuts and have a cup of coffee and a couple of crullers. We don't generally do this because 1) it's kind of sad and 2) their advertising gives Koreans a questionable view of westerners.

But Seoul is different. Seoul DOES have western style, greasy spoon diners. And they are awesome. On our last trip to South Korea's capitol, Erin and I decided to try one out.

The Egg and Spoon race is a tiny little restaurant in Seoul's Edae neighborhood, right by the college. They open at 11:30 and, since there are seven tables in the whole place, they fill up quick for brunch. Meals are around $10.00 per person, and they have a pretty good variety.

Erin and I wanted something greasy, decadent and delicious, so we ordered a couple plates of waffles with bacon and sausages. While we waited, we checked out the decor. The Egg and Spoon Race has a random assortment of odds and ends crammed onto their walls, including a helpful little robot who's ready with some spare silverware if you should find yourself in the lurch.

When breakfast arrived, we spent a minute just gazing at it. Keep in mind, this is eight months into our trip. Eight months without our regular grease fix. And here we were, presented with a plate piled high with joy.

We ate ourselves silly, had a couple of bracing cups of coffee, and waddled out to the rest of our day. Note to self: come up with more reasons to visit Seoul for brunch.

-Sam

To find it, go to Ewha Women's university, get off on exit 3 and head about two blocks north. It will be tucked down a little side street on your right, so keep an eye out.