Breakfasts Around The World – Touring Survival 101

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    Breakfasts Around The World – Touring Survival 101
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    Over the last decade or so I have been lucky enough to spend a good deal of time gallivanting around the world with a band (or two!) in tow, which is always a mixture of incredibly fun and incredibly painful. Sure, you get to see the world for free, meet interesting people and get drunk with them, hopefully for free as well. Unfortunately there is the other side of the coin, which involves crippling sleep deprivation, crippling hangovers, and being a nursemaid / friend / ballbreaker / relationship counselor / drinking partner to a bunch of your best friends / worst enemies, sometimes all during the one day.

    One thing that has remained constant throughout all of this has been the importance of a good breakfast for anyone in or working with a touring band. I doesn’t matter what musical cloth you are cut from, and whether you are an angry vegan anarchist or the backbone of a hip hop band, you need to wake up to something greasy, vaguely edible and washed down with something that hopefully passes for coffee. It’s also generally the one meal of the day that everyone can sit down and eat properly and socially, as all other meals seem to get interrupted by driving / soundcheck / press etc, which explains the 2am burger habits a lot of artists get into!

    The main difference in peoples approach is how adventurous they are when it comes to breakfast time. Some folks just want a bacon and egg roll and a black coffee wherever they are, some people will try the congee and hundred year egg cause bugger it, when in Rome right? Or Tokyo in that case… I can remember a horrible moment when a rock band I was touring all had the realization (at the same moment) that we had been in America for way too long, as we were parked at the side of the a Michigan highway eating our way through a 24 pack of Krispy Krme classic glazed while clutching gigantic containers of truly horrible coffee. We had assimilated and it was terrifying. Say what you like about American food though, they do a good breakfast aside from the coffee part of it, and they do it all damn day! Take note Perth….

    You also can get to the point that you choose accommodation because even though the hotel is a bit shitty, there is that great place with proper coffee and Huevos Rancheros just across the road. I am now guilty of this in more cities than I would care to admit to….

    Anyway – see below for a selection from around the world. Apologies for being US Centric!

     

    1. The Standard

     

    Denny’s simple breakfast. There are about a million Denny’s in America, they do breakfast 24/7 and they serve a purpose, no more, no less. Eggs, hash browns, bacon, and umm, a short stack. Notice the somewhat strange US obsession with mixing Savory and Sweet. Bacon and maple syrup? Sure…. Denny’s, go on freak yourself out

     

    2. The Mac Daddy

     

    Since we have seen the standard – lets see the Mac Daddy. Swingers Diner, West Hollywood. Huevos Rancheros and a Bloody Mary. Black Flag on the stereo, attitude from the waitresses and nothing but Mexicans in the kitchen. Yes this is one of those breakfasts that decides hotel choices haha. Started by an A&R guy out of interest!

     

    3. The Healthy European

     

    Smoked salmon on a variety of bread (this one looks like a bagel instead of the usual rye). This one looks like a bit of a room service job which is unusual, but if memory serves it was after an 18 hour drive. It’s amazing how good just a decent bit of tomato can make you feel after living on Deli platters and burgers for a week.

     

    4. The Scandinavian

     

    The hotel buffet takes a whole new level when you are either in Asia or Europe, and I am here to tell you that Finland is no exception. You get all the normal breads, eggs, fruits etc, plus a smattering of local faves. We only got to eat Reindeer for dinner here, but notice my friend Drew’s expression, he was trying to work out whether or not to eat the pickled mackerel. Happy to report we both gave it a crack, and survived.

     

    5. The L.A

     

    Last and probably least….. it’s an exercise in denial. What we have here folks is an attempt to fool oneself that you are having a healthy breakfast, when in reality you probably should have just gone the Southern Slam with an extra side of bacon. Black Bean cakes, fat free hash browns, salsa instead of hollandaise and mineral water. At least the coffee looks good I suppose, and they are whole eggs instead of an egg white and spinach omelet, but really people? Live a little…

     

    -Heath B

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    Tags:
    Breakfast, Dennys, Food, Krispy Kreme,
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Over the last decade or so I have been lucky enough to spend a good deal of time gallivanting around the world with a band (or two!) in tow, which is always a mixture of incredibly fun and incredibly painful. Sure, you get to see the world for free, meet interesting people and get drunk with them, hopefully for free as well. Unfortunately there is the other side of the coin, which involves crippling sleep deprivation, crippling hangovers, and being a nursemaid / friend / ballbreaker / relationship counselor / drinking partner to a bunch of your best friends / worst enemies, sometimes all during the one day.

One thing that has remained constant throughout all of this has been the importance of a good breakfast for anyone in or working with a touring band. I doesn’t matter what musical cloth you are cut from, and whether you are an angry vegan anarchist or the backbone of a hip hop band, you need to wake up to something greasy, vaguely edible and washed down with something that hopefully passes for coffee. It’s also generally the one meal of the day that everyone can sit down and eat properly and socially, as all other meals seem to get interrupted by driving / soundcheck / press etc, which explains the 2am burger habits a lot of artists get into!

The main difference in peoples approach is how adventurous they are when it comes to breakfast time. Some folks just want a bacon and egg roll and a black coffee wherever they are, some people will try the congee and hundred year egg cause bugger it, when in Rome right? Or Tokyo in that case… I can remember a horrible moment when a rock band I was touring all had the realization (at the same moment) that we had been in America for way too long, as we were parked at the side of the a Michigan highway eating our way through a 24 pack of Krispy Krme classic glazed while clutching gigantic containers of truly horrible coffee. We had assimilated and it was terrifying. Say what you like about American food though, they do a good breakfast aside from the coffee part of it, and they do it all damn day! Take note Perth….

You also can get to the point that you choose accommodation because even though the hotel is a bit shitty, there is that great place with proper coffee and Huevos Rancheros just across the road. I am now guilty of this in more cities than I would care to admit to….

Anyway – see below for a selection from around the world. Apologies for being US Centric!

 

1. The Standard

 

Denny’s simple breakfast. There are about a million Denny’s in America, they do breakfast 24/7 and they serve a purpose, no more, no less. Eggs, hash browns, bacon, and umm, a short stack. Notice the somewhat strange US obsession with mixing Savory and Sweet. Bacon and maple syrup? Sure…. Denny’s, go on freak yourself out

 

2. The Mac Daddy

 

Since we have seen the standard – lets see the Mac Daddy. Swingers Diner, West Hollywood. Huevos Rancheros and a Bloody Mary. Black Flag on the stereo, attitude from the waitresses and nothing but Mexicans in the kitchen. Yes this is one of those breakfasts that decides hotel choices haha. Started by an A&R guy out of interest!

 

3. The Healthy European

 

Smoked salmon on a variety of bread (this one looks like a bagel instead of the usual rye). This one looks like a bit of a room service job which is unusual, but if memory serves it was after an 18 hour drive. It’s amazing how good just a decent bit of tomato can make you feel after living on Deli platters and burgers for a week.

 

4. The Scandinavian

 

The hotel buffet takes a whole new level when you are either in Asia or Europe, and I am here to tell you that Finland is no exception. You get all the normal breads, eggs, fruits etc, plus a smattering of local faves. We only got to eat Reindeer for dinner here, but notice my friend Drew’s expression, he was trying to work out whether or not to eat the pickled mackerel. Happy to report we both gave it a crack, and survived.

 

5. The L.A

 

Last and probably least….. it’s an exercise in denial. What we have here folks is an attempt to fool oneself that you are having a healthy breakfast, when in reality you probably should have just gone the Southern Slam with an extra side of bacon. Black Bean cakes, fat free hash browns, salsa instead of hollandaise and mineral water. At least the coffee looks good I suppose, and they are whole eggs instead of an egg white and spinach omelet, but really people? Live a little…

 

-Heath B

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