What do you eat for breakfast when you’re sick in NYC?
I’m going to out myself again as a newbie in the culinary and foodie world, but that’s my place on this here blog, so here we go. This morning I slept through all my alarms, both electronic and internal, due to the deep, deep sleep one gets when the body is fighting off a cold. Awaking late, I rushed out of bed, hit the subway, and ducked into the deli closest to work — only to find that breakfast was over, and only lunch food was about.
Thus this morning’s quandry: what do you eat for breakfast when you’re sick in New York City? (Or any other commercial center where food options aren’t spectacular.) I wanted something nourishing, in the Hale Sophia Schatz sense of the word, and I was lookin’ at a cornocopia of junk and fast food.
Stumbling block Number 1 was the grill — egg and cheese between some kind of bread is my staple. But not only had the grill moved on to cooking only lunch food, but there’s the old wives’ tale about not drinking milk when you’re sick. Somebody told me that wasn’t true, but I cannot tell if my personal experience confirms or denies it. Best play is safe. No cheese today.
Stumbling block Number 2 was my other breakfast fall back: cereal. But go back to Number 1 and we’re still at square zero. That rules out the little single-serving bowls of cereal, but on top of that they were all “honey nut” this or “chocolate frosted sugar bombs” that. Hardly nourishing food. Next!
Stumbling block Number 3 was the dearth of anything short of fried and greasy food! Not a nourishing bite as far as the eye could see! Having brought leftover lentil soup with me, my body was aware that I needed some other nutrients than just more soup.
Nothing. I settled for a muffin. Somebody throw me a bone and help me out. What do you eat in NYC when you’re sick?
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Print This Post
Email This Post
4 Responses to “What do you eat for breakfast when you’re sick in NYC?”
-
Tovah Says:
November 6th, 2007 at 1:08 pmWhole grain cereal is available at any healthfood or upscale grocery store. I like Erewhon’s Crispy Brown Rice. If sick I’d choose rice or soy milk since dairy increases mucous production and is harsh on the tummy.
Home fries are always a good bet, in my book, and most diners serve them all day.
Whole grain toast with jam and a little butter is always good, or with hummus if you’re trying to go the nutritious route. Most restaurants can do this for you.
Eggs are good, too. Or go to the corner store and get some instant oatmeal. Hot cereal is filling and gentle on the stomach and readily available.
-
Leah Koenig Says:
November 6th, 2007 at 1:26 pmHey Ben - sorry you’re feeling sick…feel better. My suggestion - hot, steamy, nourishing noodle or miso soup. There are noodle shops and sushi joints all around NYC - even in midtown!
-
aliza Says:
November 7th, 2007 at 9:32 pmfor breakfast…oatmeal if they have it (in the winter)…or egg sandwich w/o the cheese (i second the low dairy argument, although i still eat plenty of yogurt when i’m sick b/c it’s just so great). or toast. a recent breakfast favorite of mine is pb&j on toast (preferably some kind of harvest or cinnamon raisin bread).
-
yoseph leib Says:
November 8th, 2007 at 9:20 pmvegetable soup, duh. Where in NY are you? If there’s anywhere good food is to be found on any given corner…
Echoing the dairy argument, and i’m pretty sure there’s even a talmudic source for that tradition– anything that is warm is better, spicy or pungent things get a reccomendation. They have this awesome thing called “Ginger” that’s gotten popular in alot of groceries lately…
Tea, without sugar, duh squared. Oatmeal sounds good to me as far as a winter staple grain goes. Any asian places around you? Miso soup is the best kind of sick food, ideally. Warm, pungent = good for sickness. but I really wonder what part of NYC you’re describing.
