Every once in a while, Mr. Mari and I go out for breakfast during the week. I know, totally decadent but since neither one of us has a traditional 9-5 office job, we treat ourselves from time to time. It's also a way for me to get my eating out fix and not spend a lot of money. We have our usual places in the neighborhood: Veselka, Café Orlin, The Coffee Shop, Gemma and The Smith but sometimes I'm just tired of meat pierogies, Middle Eastern eggs, breakfast burritos, granola with fruit and yogurt or oatmeal and bananas - I want something different! My most recent find is Piccolo Café on 3rd Avenue.
You'd miss the cafe if you were in a hurry. It's definitely piccolo in size but not in flavor or variety. They have a reasonably priced and extensive list of egg sandwiches, panini, salads and pastas.
Mr. Mari ordered The Works (pictured up top): an egg sandwich with prosciutto, lettuce, tomato, balsamic and truffle oil; I ordered the panino #3: tomato, basil, bufala mozzarella, Gaeta olives and extra virgin olive oil on griddle-pressed bread. We hung out long enough for Mr. Mari to work up an appetite for another sandwich: a ham and cheese with baby greens on a croissant. Definitely worth a repeat visit to try some of the other sammies on the menu.
By the time we were leaving, the group of moms we first encountered were replaced by individuals with laptops and iPads. White power bricks were plugged in and lattes were being sipped; clearly they were setting up their desks at their coffee shop office.