Irish breakfast

An Irish breakfast is real. It is legendary, but it is not mythical. The "full Irish," is an important part of any visit to Ireland. Maybe it's not quite as important as the cup of tea (essential,) but it's pretty important.

I've had an Irish breakfast, now and then. The frequency of the experience is somewhat self-limiting — the Irish fry-up will kill you.

My Dutch girlfriend thinks the Irish breakfast is disgusting. But she would — the only thing vegetarian about a full Irish is the tomato. There should be a half-tomato. (That's t'-MAH-to.) The rest is mostly pig. There's the egg, too.

Of course, there are different ways to do it. But, generally, the Irish breakfast goes like this:

• A tomato, sliced or sectioned.

• A fried egg, just right.

• A pair of sausage.

• A pair of bacon "rashers." These are back bacon, whatever that means. It would be like what Americans call Canadian bacon. It's cut in a thick slice.

— and —

• A slice or two of each black puddin' and white puddin'. These "puddings," of course, are made of pig. They come in long thick sausage-like shape, diameter two inches or a bit more, bent and crimped like sausage, tied at the ends, a closed horseshoe shape. Served, it's sliced about a finger thick, and fried. It's good. The black is made using pig's blood, and the white of a pig's god-knows-whats. The black is fairly dry, and mixes well with the egg yolk....

• One slice of "pan," or plain-white bread, toasted and cut in half. Butter, naturally.

• Tea. Irish tea is delicious and refreshing. It is normal to drink it with milk and sugar.

  — May 2004