A few months ago I had the opportunity to eat at a famous landmark in St. Paul. It is an old-style “diner” named, Mickey’s which is designed to look like a railraod dining car with it’s “Art Deco” style.

Mickey’s is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and seating is pretty much limited to a long counter and a few booths. We were there at about 2:00 PM on a Saturday afternoon and the place was full. The menu, as you might of guessed, is pretty much limted to burgers and fries and of course breakfast anytime. The portions are huge and no matter how hungry you are when you come in, you will be more than full when you exit!

My son and I sat at the counter while the rest of our party did manage to snag a booth. I’m glad we had the vantage point we did because we got the privelage of watching the cook do his job! He was a “veteran” looking cook, one that you could tell had long ago mastered this trade. He worked in VERY tight, cramped quarters and while order upon order came in, he managed to make the whole process look so simple and carefree!

He had burgers going, fries in the hopper, eggs and bacon, and of course, pancakes the size of manhole covers! One man cooking all of this food and making it look so easy!

It made me think of another “short-order” cook…

ME!

Oh sure, I don’t deal with the volume that “Mickey’s” does and my pancakes aren’t the size of manholes, but my morning breakfast routine does resemble that of a cook working in a diner.

Most mornings, my day in the kitchen starts off with preparing breakfast for my wife and myself about an hour before the first kid is due to get up. I’ll usually start off with some turkey bacon and eggs that include some ham, onion and a little cheese. Other days, it’s oatmeal, cereal or bagels. Coffee is already done when I get up since I get that ready to go the night before and set it on a timer. While enjoying the food, I get a chance to scan the newspaper and take a deep breath before the “breakfast” rush!

As I have mentioned before, our kids have staggered start times in our school district. The first two are up at 7:00, with oldest going out the door at 7:30, followed by our daughter at 8:10. Our other son gets to sleep in until 7:30 and leaves the house at 8:40. So as you can tell, I have a little bit of an assembly line going in the morning.

I want to make sure the kids don’t leave the house on an empty stomach. I do believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately…

This means making different things for different kids! My oldest likes eggs and hash browns, along with orange juice. He also likes baggels with low-fat cream cheese, which on some days he’s rushing to take with him. My other son also likes eggs and toast, but also likes pancakes, which son #1 doesn’t! My daughter is pretty flexible and in addition to enjoying my pancakes, she likes cereal and oatmeal. However, she doesn’t like my scrambled eggs! They all like muffins, which I try to surprise them with on occasion, especially on weekends.

So when I see a cook working hard in a diner, I can relate to that and of course I try to show my appreciation when it comes to the tip! In today’s strip, Dave has left a “tip jar” as a subtle hint to his family that they might show some appreciation for his efforts in the kitchen.

Hmmm…not a bad idea!