The day that I cooked on live TV was a very special and exciting day for me. Not only did I COOK ON LIVE TV, but one of my best friends was in town. Michael's sister, my sister-in-law, arrived in Baltimore late the night before, and was awesome enough to agree to watch the boys while I made my television debut. After we made it back home, we decided to celebrate. We'd all go out for breakfast at Federal Hill's newest breakfast spot, Blue Moon Too.
Now, if you're from Baltimore, the surrounding area or have watched the Food Network hit, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, or or NBC's Food Fighters, then you may know of Chef Sarah Simington and her tiny 35-seat, 950-square-foot breakfast heavyweight in Fells Point, The Blue Moon Cafe. You may have seen the lines wrapped around the block, and the hour-and-a-half-plus wait times. Since the doors of Blue Moon opened in 1996, you may have heard rumors of breakfast too good to be true. You may have even seen one of their seemingly crazy concoctions, like their famed Captain Crunch French Toast, It is a thing of actual legend.
Chef Simington took her itty bitty Fells Point concept, and created a second location, a 3,400 square-foot, 99-seat space right here in my neighborhood of Federal Hill. WHAT!?! I heard somewhere that the kitchen in the new restaurant is about the same size as the ENTIRE space at the Fells Point location. Crazy.
Blue Moon Too opened their doors 2 years later than Simington had hoped for, but they opened with a bang. And somehow, it took me FOREVER to get over there to see the cafe in the flesh.
I still don't know HOW it took so long. I mean, we even got to meet and talk with Chef Sarah on Halloween outside of Blue Moon Too. That woman is awesome. She was BEYOND kind, super fun and frankly, I fan-girled. I'm not ashamed to admit that. She's committed to the neighborhood and her crew is super involved in the community, and for that, we are all grateful.
But that morning, the morning of my television spot on Fox45, we decided to celebrate by finally, FINALLY, going to Blue Moon Too. Finally.
We arrived around 9 a.m. on that beautiful Saturday morning, and managed to grab a table right away in the large, quirky dining space. I was obsessed as soon as I put one foot in the door. It's like Sarah Simington and I have the same mind in terms of decor. I mean, are you kidding me? Bright blue and black stripes, wrought iron, spooky murals, portraits of Edward Scissor Hands, Cat Woman and Beetlejuice adorn the walls. I was in hog heaven, you guys. I just couldn't get enough.
The atmosphere that sunny Saturday was buzzing with bright energy. The staff was so pleasant and helpful. The place is very obviously family friendly, and they were more than ready to accommodate our group, including the kiddo and Mr. Baby.
They even had a fancy high chair for him that clamped onto the table. This made him VERY happy. He loves feeling part of the squad.
Anyway, we were left at our table with menus to pour over. There were so many delicious decisions to be made, but after long last, we all made our selections.
Amanda chose the Huevos Rancheros Santa Fe, two corn tortillas covered with chorizo, two eggs any style, spicy rancher sauce and cheddar cheese. Michael decided on G&G's Country Scramble: homemade biscuit topped with eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese and smothered with sausage gravy all served with a side of hash brows. I got the Mexican omelette with chorizo, onions, peppers, tomatoes, highly seasoned with spicy Spanish herb and topped with cheddar cheese. Major went for it, the star of the menu, the Cap'n Crunch French Toast. Amanda and I also ordered cinnamon roll lattes, which by the way, was DELICIOUS.
When the food came, we all ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the presentation and size of each plate. I mean, dang! SO much food! So much BEAUTIFUL food.
Michael's G&G was packed full of flavor. It was basically the love child of biscuits and gravy, with bacon and eggs. Two classics came together in a divine collaboration, and landed on his plate beside a pile of buttery, crispy hash browns. He loved it. He loved the whole creamy, peppery, meaty mess.
Amanda's Huevos Rancheros Santa Fe were far more delicate than the G&G, and actually reminded me of plates I've ordered from some of my favorite Mexican restaurants back in Texas. The house-made spicy and peppery chorizo paired with the creamy eggs, spicy sauce and the nutty and sweet tortillas made a perfect combination.
My Mexican omelette was insane. Like, punch you in the mouth, slap you across the face good. Like, I NEED MORE OF THAT GOODNESS NOW, good. There's just so much flavor in these dishes. So much FRESHNESS. So much texture and deliciousness.
Then there was Major's. When Blue Moon was featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives " back in 2008, Chef Simington made this very dish, the Cap'n Crunch French toast with Guy Fieri. After the show aired, the Cap'n Crunch French toast became globally famous. Fortunately for us, the French toast tastes just as good, if not better, as it looked on TV. Two thick slices of bread are dipped in batter and coated with Cap'n Crunch cereal, cooked with skill and love, then topped with fresh fruit, and homemade, perfectly whipped cream.
The fruit, as Major put it, "tasted like it was just picked." It was super fresh, and super perfect paired with the sweet and crunchy toast. The whole thing screamed elegance, composure and finesse, while also giggling and running around with fun and excitement. Strange that all of that refinement would come from a box of children's cereal.
Basically, our first meal at Sarah Simington's Blue Moon Too was incredible. Every time we walked past Blue Moon for the next couple of days that Amanda was here in town, we both talked about the amazing food, and how much we want to be back in that space, eating. Every time I walk by now, weeks later, I wish I were inside, eating.
And you know what I want? I want the Frito Pie french toast. THAT'S RIGHT. On our way out of the restaurant on that sunny Saturday morning, a man was sitting at the counter with the most majestic looking plate of food in front of him. I had to stop. I stared... I pulled a waiter over to ask, "What is THAT?!" Frito. Pie. French. Toast. Apparently the toast is savory. The whole deal is something out of my dreams. So, until then...
