French Toast

Can't make it to France this summer for the bicentennial of the French Revolution? Then head for the Port of History Museum July 14 for a Bastille Day soiree sponsored by the Alliance Francaise de Philadelphie. From 6 until 9 that evening, you can dust off your irregular verbs and toast La Belle France with the likes of restaurateur Georges Perrier and furrier Andre Ferber. Dance under the stars to the jazzy sounds of Bunch Hammond. Nibble an hors d'oeuvre buffet, drink Louis Jadot beaujolais and Taittinger's champagne.

Ordering the sky-high funnel-cake French toast at Hawthornes Cafe is almost like accepting a Man v. Food challenge. The chef taps into his Lancaster roots and fries up a funnel cake, which is sandwiched by nutmeg-tinged French toast made from house-baked challah. The whole stack is powdered with sugar, draped with crème anglaise, and dotted with raspberries. You'll find the on-again off-again special running this weekend and next week - an order that's sort of perfect for a Monday morning, if you are up to the task.

Start with eggy French toast, waffles or pancakes; top with butter and maple syrup. It's a sweet and satisfying breakfast. But if you're like a lot of people, a rich, sugar-laden meal is too soporific first thing in the morning. That's why breakfast as dessert is a restaurant trend that makes sense. The foods are familiar, yet lighter and more sophisticated than what you'd eat in the morning. For example, restaurants are featuring petite pancakes layered with ice cream and hot fudge sauce, or waffles with tropical fruit and ginger sauce.

The plumes of mesquite smoke that curled out of the oil-drum barbecue were working slow magic on the meats inside - the Wagyu eyes of round, the mapled slabs of bacon, and the chile-rubbed shoulders of heritage pork, all destined for Cafe Estelle's tables. But smoke signals, puffing from that rusty rig in a side lot of an apartment building on North Fourth Street, were about all Cafe Estelle had to let the wider world know it exists. It's not easy to spot from passing traffic. And there's not much traffic anyway rumbling through this old industrial zone between Northern Liberties and Old City, just south of Spring Garden.

A gift of a home-cooked breakfast in bed tastes best when it's shared with the cook (and any young helpers). Whether the occasion is a birthday, anniversary, Mother's Day, or just for fun, a proper breakfast-in-bed menu combines something comforting with something luxurious - for example, French toast with fresh strawberries and Canadian-style bacon. As with other forms of entertaining, breakfast in bed is more fun for everyone when the preparation and service are well-planned.

January is the longest month of the year - or at least it feels that way. Though it's not the only 31-day month, January is the only one that seems twice the length, with each day more blustery than the one before. In fact, if I had my way I'd skip the month and burrow under the covers until February. Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury and I'll bet you don't, either. That's why I'm pampering myself with foods that give me some incentive to get out of bed. As much as I advocate cold, high-fiber breakfast cereals for their health value, I'll save those for later in the year.

Inspired by two parents who love to cook, it's not surprising that Amanda Lownes, at age 8, is ready to go solo in the kitchen. Come Sunday - Mother's Day - Amanda and her sister, Anna, 10, along with scores of other youngsters, will be padding into kitchens across America to make (or help Dad make) some treat to celebrate Mom's special day. Think of it as a dividend on many hours spent fixing family meals. The Mother's Day breakfast may be a light offering of toast or cereal and juice, or a hearty meal with recipes such as the fancy French toast and baked omelet that Amanda previewed for us. Take note: Both mother and daughter rated the recipes equally good for supper.

Sleepy-eyed Philly, its weekend belly growling after a night on the town, used to know exactly where to answer the call for brunch - the neon-lit beacons of diner goodness like the Melrose, Mayfair, and Country Club. With that diner culture sliding into an alarmingly steep decline over the last decade, however, an entirely new genre has stepped into the a.m. hunger void. The funky bruncherie - part hipster cafe, part laboratory to explore the creative limits of stuffed French toast - has become to the old-school diner what gastropubs have been to aging corner taverns.

LEMENU LIGHT STYLE FROZEN ENTREES. Lasagna, spaghetti, Swedish meatballs, empress chicken, garden vegetable lasagna, herb-roasted chicken breast, chicken 'a la king, chicken Dijon, glazed turkey, cheese tortellini, chicken enchiladas and traditional turkey. $1.99 per 8 1/4- to 10 1/2-ounce frozen entree. BONNIE: These new light style entrees are "light" in sodium, fat, cholesterol and calories. Each of them has less than 300 calories. Some are actually as low as 200. That's fine if you're trying to lose weight or want to eat less for one meal.

Is this a great city, or what? Striped Bass and Susanna Foo, two of the best restaurants in America, less than 100 yards apart on Walnut Street, both serve remarkable Sunday brunches. Yet they're as different as Granny Smith apples and mandarin oranges. If you want a memorable dining experience, order the French toast at Striped Bass, made with chocolate brioche and served with caramel pecan sauce. Or tip-toe into Susanna Foo and feast on the prawns with lobster sauce. Elegant, yes. Expensive, sure.

Ordering the sky-high funnel-cake French toast at Hawthornes Cafe is almost like accepting a Man v. Food challenge. The chef taps into his Lancaster roots and fries up a funnel cake, which is sandwiched by nutmeg-tinged French toast made from house-baked challah. The whole stack is powdered with sugar, draped with crème anglaise, and dotted with raspberries. You'll find the on-again off-again special running this weekend and next week - an order that's sort of perfect for a Monday morning, if you are up to the task.

In all of the excitement of planning for the Big Meal, it's easy to forget that there's a houseful of people - visiting relatives, home-from-college kids, and assorted other hangers-on - expecting to be fed on the days leading up to and after the holiday. Stocking the pantry and freezer with these guests in mind can avert those last-minute scrambles to get something on the table. One of the challenges of feeding family and friends during the holiday season is knowing how to walk the line between celebratory and indulgent.

I didn't want to leave. Walking out the door and onto 18th Street - where the morning rush was full on - meant starting my day. While here, inside a. kitchen, the sconces were dimmed. Trumpet-heavy jazz played softly. An oversize mug of Earl Grey had just been topped off. My breakfast sandwich had a fried egg and hand-formed sausage patties, and was hugged by a buoyant English muffin made from scratch in the open kitchen behind me. There were no lengthy menu descriptions from my server.

South Philly's brunch culture began to evolve in the 1990s with the arrival of the Big Three: Sam's Morning Glory Diner, Carman's Country Kitchen, and a bit later, Sabrina's Cafe. Each set new morning-meal standards, featuring the likes of homemade sausage, local preserves, and garden-fresh veggie burgers, making the local brunch outing less a morning-after necessity and more an epicurean experience in its own right. In the last couple of years, so many new spots have sprouted that South Philly has stepped up to take on yet another culinary identity: Brunchland.

Sleepy-eyed Philly, its weekend belly growling after a night on the town, used to know exactly where to answer the call for brunch - the neon-lit beacons of diner goodness like the Melrose, Mayfair, and Country Club. With that diner culture sliding into an alarmingly steep decline over the last decade, however, an entirely new genre has stepped into the a.m. hunger void. The funky bruncherie - part hipster cafe, part laboratory to explore the creative limits of stuffed French toast - has become to the old-school diner what gastropubs have been to aging corner taverns.

The plumes of mesquite smoke that curled out of the oil-drum barbecue were working slow magic on the meats inside - the Wagyu eyes of round, the mapled slabs of bacon, and the chile-rubbed shoulders of heritage pork, all destined for Cafe Estelle's tables. But smoke signals, puffing from that rusty rig in a side lot of an apartment building on North Fourth Street, were about all Cafe Estelle had to let the wider world know it exists. It's not easy to spot from passing traffic. And there's not much traffic anyway rumbling through this old industrial zone between Northern Liberties and Old City, just south of Spring Garden.

The Flyers have overcome obstacles, including themselves, in this postseason. They will need to show that resilience again after last night's 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Bell Centre. The Flyers blew another two-goal lead, albeit with ample help from the officials. Tom Kostopoulos won the game 48 seconds into overtime by knocking in the rebound of his own shot. Game 2 begins at 7 p.m. tomorrow. A high-stick goal by Montreal's Alex Kovalev in the second period and a dubious kneeing call on Mike Richards late in the game resulted in two Canadiens goals as the officials basically handed the game to Montreal.

Ever since Diner on the Square departed, the Rittenhouse neighborhood hasn't had a good option for simple fare at a decent price. And let's be real: Even a tony neighborhood needs a place where the waitress calls you "Hon," and you don't have to empty the ATM machine to pay the bill. Four months ago, Jack Palumbo took over the space recently occupied by Two Red Boots Pizzeria on Chestnut a few blocks off the square. I will say it's a work in progress, but it offers the possibility that students, senior citizens and working stiffs will have a place to hang out and get a free coffee refill.

What it is: A tiny restaurant in Morton that offers live music with Sunday breakfast. What we like about it: The Coffee Station is packed with local flavor, and breakfast and lunch favorites including sweet potato fries and the green sandwich, filled with spinach or broccoli rabe. Each Sunday, patrons crowd the eatery, where rows of mugs in various styles and logos take the place of crown molding and there are vintage signs such as a poster from a 1965 Beatles concert. Sunday diners chow down on omelettes, breakfast wraps and pancakes while listening to the music (from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.)

What are the boys on the tour bus drinking? If they're the boys of Fall Out Boy, who bring the Nintendo Fusion Tour to the sold-out Electric Factory tomorrow and Monday, the drink is probably root beer. Three of the Chicago band's four members, all in their 20s, are straight-edge. Pete Wentz, FOB's bassist and lyricist explains: "A lot of my friends were into punk- rock and drinking. At some point, I realized America is frat-boy culture. There's even one in the White House.