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Top Of The Morning Tired Of Bacon And Eggs? Restaurants Serve A Little Pizazz With The Morning Meal.

When I say breakfast, do you say boring? If so, consider these ideas from some of Spokane’s trendiest restaurants, where they’re trying to prove there’s more to the first meal of the day than raisin bran or burnt toast.

At the II Moon Cafe, for example, you can still get steak and eggs for breakfast, but the steak is a big slab of squid.

The dish, called Crazy Cat Cafe Calamari, was inspired by co-owner Rob Saucier’s memories of a similar concoction he used to eat 20 years ago at a funky little restaurant in Monterey, Calif.

II Moon chef Steve Quinones serves the tender, pan-fried calamari with a creamy, sweet red pepper sauce that’s flecked with cilantro and fresh basil. It can also be ordered with a simple butter sauce.

Quinones admits the combination might sound a bit odd for breakfast, but the comforting blandness of the eggs provides a nice contrast to the piquant sauce on the calamari.

However, the calamari steak and eggs don’t exactly sell like hotcakes. “We only get a few orders every day,” he said.

Other unusual items on the breakfast menu at the II Moon include a rich omelet stuffed with seafood and an uncommon spin on eggs benedict - smoked salmon and poached eggs perched on a bagel with cream cheese. The dish is then topped with a tangy, green tomatillo sauce.

Dave Mariscal, the new chef at the Elk in Spokane’s Browne’s Addition, said diners seem more open to trying something new and different, a development he attributes to people being more health-conscious.

“People don’t seem to be eating as much meat, so they’re getting away from the traditional breakfast,” said Mariscal.

At the Elk, the breakfast burrito and the pasta-egg scramble or the potato-egg scramble easily outsell the more standard fare.

“If we run a special on bacon and eggs, I sell about one order to every eight orders of the potato-egg scramble,” Mariscal said.

The breakfast burrito, a longtime favorite of Elk patrons, obviously has Mexican influences, but the addition of pan-fried potatoes gives the dish an American flavor.

The burrito itself is simply a flour tortilla stuffed with refried beans, diced sausage, cheese and potatoes sauteed with Italian herbs. A meatless version is also offered.

Luna, the stylish South Hill restaurant, has had great success with its own Mexican-influenced breakfast entree, the black bean quesadilla.

The dish consists of black beans - today’s trendiest legume - along with eggs, mild Anaheim chiles and roasted red peppers tucked into a tortilla and grilled. It’s served with a fresh fruit salsa.

“If people had a bigger variety of things to choose from, they would probably eat breakfast more often,” said chef Abby Yerxa, who created the black bean quesadilla before she recently relocated to Seattle.

But she discovered what sells at lunch or brunch might not fly for breakfast. A creamy polenta - the fancy way of saying cornmeal mush - topped with a spicy eggplant-tomato sauce appeared only briefly on the breakfast bill of fare before moving to lunch.

“It was probably just a little too weird for people,” Yerxa said.

However, breakfast customers think nothing of ordering stir-fried tofu and veggies for their morning meal. It’s one of Luna’s best sellers. Infused with spicy curry powder, Yerxa said the dish gives sleepyheads a jump start.

Still, many breakfast lovers prefer to take only small detours off the mainstream. The lineup of flapjacks at Old European Waffles, Cakes and Tea, a restaurant in the Spokane Valley, gives customers the chance to sample something unusual, but not completely foreign.

The European-inspired pancakes include delicate Swedish crepes, German potato pancakes and ballshaped Scandinavian concoctions called aebelskivers. All are made from scratch using the family recipes of owner Rick Pedersen.

Though an aebelskiver may look something like an doughnut hole on steroids, its much lighter than a doughnut. It’s made from an egg batter and cooked in a cast iron skillet.

Some customers at the Old European drench aebelskivers in maple syrup, while others prefer them plain or with a little powdered sugar, said manager Scott Bancroft.

Toppings on the restaurant’s hearty German potato pancakes are also a matter of personal preference. Applesauce is the traditional choice, but some diners request salsa or sour cream for their pancakes.

One of the Old European’s most popular items is a sampler pancake plate, which offers a culinary tour of the continent.

“I think people get tired of the same old hash browns and eggs,” Bancroft said. “We’re always getting new customers telling us they really love having something different.”

Breathe some life into your own morning meal by trying the following recipes:

Crazy Cat Cafe Calamari

From the II Moon Cafe

4 - 4 ounce calamari steaks (see note)

2 large red peppers, seeded and diced

5 ounces riesling wine

2 ounces vegetable stock (available in cans)

cayenne pepper

flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon

fresh basil and cilantro, optional

Simmer the red peppers in 3 ounces of riesling and the vegetable stock for five minutes. Place the cooked peppers and a few tablespoons of the liquid in a blender and puree into a soft paste, adding more of the cooking liquid if necessary.

Add a dash or two of cayenne pepper, to taste, mix briefly, then strain the mixture into another container.

Meanwhile, dredge calamari steaks in flour and saute in a hot skillet with two tablespoons olive oil. Cook to golden brown and turn, about two minutes on each side; do not overcook or steaks will be tough.

Drain the oil and to the pan add 2 ounces of the white wine, the red pepper sauce and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Stir in two tablespoons of butter. Garnish with fresh basil and cilantro.

Note: Calamari steaks are available at some supermarket seafood counters and at specialty seafood shops.

Luna Breakfast Quesadilla For 4

1 onion, diced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 cup dried black beans

1/2 cup mild green chile (Anaheim), chopped

1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

cracked black pepper to taste

For The Quesadilla:

4 large flour tortillas

12 eggs, lightly beaten

salt & pepper to taste

Orange Salsa:

1 cup orange, diced

1 red onion, diced

3 jalapeno peppers, finely diced (see note)

juice of 3 limes

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

salt to taste

For the black beans: In a medium saucepan, saute the onion and garlic until translucent and add beans to the pot, followed by 2 cups of water.

Simmer, until tender, about 30 minutes, adding more water if mixture dries out.

While the beans are simmering, saute chile and bell pepper in another pan until soft. Season with cinnamon, salt, and cumin and add to the beans.

Simmer mixture, covered, for two additional hours, adding water occasionally if necessary; when finished, the bean mixture should be fairly thick, not soupy. This step can be completed ahead of time.

To assemble the quesadilla, start by toasting the tortillas on a grill or in a non-stick frying pan, then place on plates. Scramble the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Evenly divide black beans and eggs onto one half of the tortilla and fold over.

Top with sour cream and orange salsa.

Note: This quantity of jalapenos will make a very spicy salsa; reduce the quantity if you prefer milder flavors.

Spicy Tofu Stir Fry For Four

From Abby Yerxa, Luna restaurant

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

1/4 cup yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup green bell pepper, julienne

1/4 cup red bell pepper, julienne

1/4 cup carrot, thinly sliced

1 pound fresh tofu, diced

2 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon tumeric

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/8 cup soy sauce

Add oils to a large pan and bring just to the smoking point over high heat. Saute garlic, vegetables and tofu for several minutes until caramelized, stirring constantly so as not to burn the garlic.

Reduce heat and add remaining seasonings. Serve immediately.

China Moon Shanghai Rice

From Morning Food by Margaret S. Fox and John Bear (Ten Speed Press)

1 cup short- or medium-grain rice

3 tablespoons tiny cubes smoked bacon, fatty bits included

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (if using sea or table salt, use half the amount)

1 tablespoon (approximately) corn or peanut oil

1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

One or more of these garnishes:

thinly cut green and white green onion rings

finely diced red bell peppers

finely julienned carrot

finely julienned snow peas

shredded Chinese cabbage

Wash rice repeatedly in several rinsings of cold water until the water runs clear. Drain well.

Put the bacon in a small skillet, add -inch water, then bring to a simmer and cook until the cubes render some fat, about 2 minutes. Drain the liquid into a cup measure and add enough hot water to equal 1 cups. Add the salt and stir to dissolve.

Heat a heavy 2- to 2 -quart saucepan over moderate heat until hot. Glaze the bottom with oil, add the shallots and bacon, then stir gently until shallots are golden and very fragrant, adjusting the heat so that they sizzle without scorching. Add the wine, stir about 10 seconds to burn off the alcohol, then add the rice and stir to mix.

Add the salted bacon water to the pan, stir well to combine, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to the lowest possible setting (if using an electric stove, transfer the pot to a preheated low burner) and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid. Remove the pot from the stove and let it sit undisturbed about 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, fluff the rice gently with spatula to loosen it, then stir in the scallion and peppers or other garnishes, reserving some to sit prettily on top.

ILLUSTRATION: Two Color Photos