Jay’s Café of St. Paul, MN (blissful altar of breakfast #1)

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jay's cafe business card

I happen to adore breakfast. There are several places in the U.S. that deserve identification as blissful altars of breakfast. And Jay’s Cafe is one of them. Yes, they serve lunch and dinner, and I’m sure they are fabulous, but, breakfast is a special treat. This restaurant, situated on a street distinguished by a low-rent liquor store on the corner (and thriving in the shadow of the Twin Cities breakfast behemoth, Keys), is a suprising gem.

It’s a teeny, tiny and pretty restaurant. The proprietors hang art on the walls. Reddish wood provides sweet color up to the chair rail height, setting off the green paint that goes to the ceiling. Oh, but you are not there to stare and twiddle your thumbs. Everytime I go there, I am struck by how well these people understand their ingredients. If you get home-fried potatoes, they are perfectly spiced. If you get eggs, they are perfectly tender. What else can you ask for?

This is definitely the breakfast for the educated tongue. Elements such as sofrito, ciabatta, artichoke, and gruyere pepper the brief menu. I usually get the Surfer Burrito, packed with egg, chorizo, potatoes, avocado, tomato, veggies, and garnished with their very own salsa. Oh, see, they could be totally cavalier with the salsa, but they are NOT. This is the type of obsession I condone wholeheartedly!

(part 1 of a series of posts about breakfast joints.)

Jay’s Café
791 Raymond Ave.
St. Paul, Minnesota 55114
Phone: (651) 641-1446

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Filed under St. Paul, breakfast, foodie, minnesota, twin cities

Tags: breakfast, foodie, minnesota, restaurant, review, Saint Paul, St. Paul, tourist, twin cities