On the Side

Yum.

This is one of many meals I had a few weeks ago while in Key West. It’s a Lox Omelette from Sarabeth’s a breakfast/brunch type place that surprisingly enough started in and has many more outposts in New York.

Depending on where you live, you might notice something simplistic or minimal about the dish: it has no proper side. As in a side. As in that starchy side that you usually get, at least in Chicago. See, in the Midwest, you get a pretty complete meal. A main thing, surrounded by some auxiliary things. The Midwest likes their meat and they love their potatoes. In a dish like the Lox Omelette, you’d get some kind of hash browns or home-style potatoes. This was not the only place in Key West — in fact, all the restaurants we ate at, served a very small minimal side, like a bean/potato salad or coleslaw. However, sides were available: you just had to pay extra for them.

At first, this irked me. Looking at the prices and the amount of food, I had been conditioned to expect a rather large amount of food. Blame the Midwest, blame fast food, blame obesity issues in this country.

I remarkably never got any sides despite being tempted by the idea of a more “full” meal. In keeping with my healthy eating habits, I just didn’t. And after two meals, I really didn’t miss not having a side like fries or such. The small salad or coleslaw or cornbread was enough.

It dawned on me that Key West has it right. By making you pay extra for sides, it discourages you from getting extraneous food that you might not need, if at all. I found the food to be plentiful enough as it was and never lacking. Is this a conscious decision on their part or are they out for more money? I’d like to think it’s the former. And if so, I congratulate Key West for fighting the good fight.