dineSarasota Pot Luck

I’m always on the lookout for a healthy meal that doesn’t taste like it.

Writing about Sarasota restaurants and food definitely has its upsides. But, there are a few downsides too, like a rising LDL and a potentially new record high on the bathroom scale. You’ve got to be careful, it’s dangerous out there.

Years ago I was diagnosed, like so many others have been, with a cholesterol problem. To be more specific, a high cholesterol problem. Since then, I’ve tried to be mostly on my best behavior. Breakfast is tough for me. I like bacon! But, every problem has potential solutions.

Enter the scrambled egg white.

This is probably not the dish the folks at Station 400 would have picked for me to tell you about. They do have a fantastic menu of much more interesting offerings than egg whites, but, it’s my breakfast.

Chef Eric Bein is known around town as someone who is creative and inventive in the kitchen. So how would a simple dish like a plate of scrambled egg whites test his culinary abilities? Probably not so much. But, egg whites are not as easy as they would seem. With the potential to be bland and nondescript or cooked in gobs of butter (thereby defeating the whole healthy thing), it can be a breakfast gamble. It’s a lot riskier than ordering a bowl of steel cut oatmeal or some dry rye.

You’re talking about someone who over the course of the past 10 years has eaten a mountain of egg whites. Am I a connoisseur of the half egg? Yes I am.

So how were the whites? In a word, excellent. Cooked to perfection. Nice and fluffy, not at all dried out. They were not cooked in a pool of butter or some other cooking fat, so they maintained their healthy status. But, they still had great mouth feel and flavor. An accomplishment.

Egg whites are one thing. Hash brown potatoes are quite another. It’s safe to say they’re not health food, but they’re not as bad for you as you might think. That is provided you don’t consume an entire trough of them. The hash browns pictured above were an unexpected surprise. Nice and lightly fried with an accent of thyme. Fantastic. I didn’t eat them all I swear. And, that was tough.

The bottom line: If you’re looking for something a little lighter to start you day, Station 400 delivers with a plate of scrambled egg whites and thyme hash browns that you will love and will do your heart and waistline proud. Sure, you’re not going to mistake this breakfast for an order of eggs Benedict with a side of bacon, but, you may not wear out your bathroom scale so quickly either.

If you know of a place that serves a great healthy breakfast dish, leave a comment and let all of us know about it.