English Breakfast: Good, But Once Was Plenty

On my first business trip to London in the 1990's the stereotype about English food ("bland, soggy, overcooked, and visually unappealing") I found generally true. But I was pleasantly surprised by the English breakfast.

The full English breakfast has been a staple of the nation’s diet for hundreds of years, but no one can quite agree on what should be included—or left out...

Almost everyone agrees sausages and bacon belong on the plate, but after that things get more complicated. What about mushrooms, fried bread or grilled tomatoes? Should eggs be fried, scrambled or poached? Hasn’t anyone heard of vegetables?

The breakfast that was served to me had fried tomatoes and beans but no blood sausage. In a bow to American sensibilities the restaurant offered, and I gratefully accepted, coffee. (I'd rather have eaten the blood sausage than drunk the abominable tea-with-milk-and-sugar.)

The English breakfast was expensive--£12, when the exchange rate was about $1.60 / £1 and it was 30 years ago--and the travel policy covered it. Given the quantity of food, I refrained from having another "full English" and contented myself with a croissant for breakfast the rest of the trip. It was good, but once was plenty.