You asked for it, readers. More blogs, and about more random topics, not necessarily a log of day-to-day events.

You know what made a huge comeback for me in 2020? Hashbrowns. What a damn shame that the world’s finest breakfast side was cast aside for so long. I’ll bet I personally fried up and consumed 40-50 bags of hashbrowns in 2020. I can tell a good hashbrown from a bad one any day. Alexa makes the best frozen hashbrowns. Whole Foods brand is pretty solid. HEB’s brand-name browns are very mediocre and get frozen into a giant rock.

Working from home full-time, I usually take a few minutes and prepare myself a hearty breakfast every morning after the kids have been taken to school. My breakfast is almost always the same—about a third of a bag of hashbrowns, a kielbasa, and two fried eggs. Once prepared, I combine them and douse them with hot sauce. Mmm-mmm!

On occasion, I’ll do something quicker like an English muffin with peanut butter, or perhaps even toast. But if time permits, it’s the hash-sausage-egg route. As a kid, Dad was always frying up eggs and toast with either bacon or sausage for breakfast. I’d often partake. He sure was on to something!

All breakfasts are accompanied by a mug of coffee, of which I took up upon the birth of John. Prior to 2014, I didn’t care for coffee. I could stomach a mocha, but that was about it. Once sleep started to become harder to come by, I had to give in and caffeinate. Now it is almost a given that I’m up brewing a pot of coffee.

I also enjoy juice more than the average man, I think. Lauren is not much of a juice drinker. If I don’t remind her, it often gets left off the grocery list. If I were to rank juices, I think it would be very difficult. Sure, orange is great, but so are apple, grape, cranberry, lemonade and many other kinds. It’s really a toss-up. I could go any direction. Just not grapefruit.

Then there are the sweet-tooth breakfasts. Those are good on special occasions. There is a great place in Austin called Snooze that has amazing sweet pancake and French toast options, usually layered with frosting or whipped cream or caramel or something. Those always sound really good beforehand but wind up being too much.

Yet another fun alternate breakfast is biscuits and gravy. That is not something the average guy can just whip up on a workday. That’s usually my go-to at Kerbey Lane. And then there are the Benedicts. I made bulk Benedicts for Lauren’s birthday brunch this year and invited some friends over pre-COVID. They received exemplary remarks!

Bagels, that’s another good one. Unfortunately, they just aren’t a big thing down here in the South. When we were in New York last year we had some amazing bagels. Here, you’d likely have to search for an Einstein Bros. I even once bought bagels and took them to work back in the Protect America days and no one would try one. I am kinda weird in that I prefer my bagels untoasted with a fruit-based shmear, preferably strawberry. Lauren would always get something with savory toppings or lox.

Hell, I’d even sign up for a good bowl of oatmeal now and then, or an omelette if at a hotel or somewhere that someone is specially preparing them. One thing I won’t ever eat though is cereal. I bet I haven’t eaten a bowl of cereal with milk since 1995 or earlier.

What do you think, readers? What is your go-to morning breakfast routine?