A daisy, as I am sure everyone knows, is a group of small composite plants, the flowers of which have a yellow disk and white rays. Lazy, of course, means averse or disinclined to work or partake in activity or exertion of any kind.
The latter of these definitions certainly applied to myself this past Sunday, as I enjoyed an indolent brunch at that very cutesy café, The Lazy Daisy, located on the corner of Pico Boulevard. and 23rd Street in Santa Monica, right across the street from the recently completed Virginia Avenue Park.
Like a daisy, this daytime bistro is small; in fact, if it wasn’t for the partially covered verdant façade, The Lazy Daisy would be impractically tiny, having only a trio of tables indoors. That being said, however, the simple joy of relaxing in a light mid-morning October breeze, sipping 100 percent organic coffee (yes, there is a difference!) reading a politically satirical journal and breaking my fast with an ambrosial blue plate was, for a moment, beyond compare.
Although The Daisy offers an adequate display of breakfast and lunch dishes, I was determined to enjoy eggs of some variety. Sometimes, that defined and specific desire for certain foods takes on a certain axiomatic quality, and neither hell nor high water was going to divert me from my quest!
So, with a subtle empathy with recent world events, I was drawn to a staple of international cuisine, Eggs Benedict.
Not being a great fan of bacon (it could be a religious thing, you know), I ordered the aforementioned Benedictine dish of poached eggs on English muffin (with the Canadian bacon kindly substituted with veggie patties), topped with hollandaise sauce, and accompanied by roasted potatoes and fresh fruit ($8.95) with a delightful, never empty cup of organic coffee ($1.95).
One refill later, and my exceedingly friendly server (all of the staff I encountered were noticeably polite, by the way) arrived and presented me with two poached eggs on two veggie patties on two English muffins with hollandaise sauce on top, chaperoned by a delicious scattering of seasoned potatoes and the daintiest bowl of fresh fruit ever.
The eggs were a delight, partially firm and partially soft, the patties were yummy, and the muffins good and slightly browned. That, along with the sauce, delicately seasoned spuds and the perky medley of cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapple and red grapes, completed a near perfect presentation of Eggs Benedict.
I was languorous and relaxed, satiated and serene, akin, if you will, to a French dauphin, being carefully attended to, on the patio of a Parisian café.
Yes, I confess to thoroughly enjoying my visit to The Lazy Daisy.
2300 Pico Blvd., 310.450.9011
