Pea Soup Andersen's (Rachel Getting Married, Part 5)

The day after the wedding was another beautiful central coast day. Despite the feast the day before, I woke up very hungry, and a breakfast at Pea Soup Andersen's sounded like the best meal in the world.

I have driven past Andersen's dozens of times, possibly more than one hundred. I remember stopping there with my parents when I was young and not liking it. (This means nothing, except that they must not have had fried cheese or pizza on the menu.) I do not remember anything about the restaurant, but, judging from the outside, I figured the inside would be a glorified truck stop, full of kitsch, hearty food, and a gift shop selling candy at a 300% markup. I was correct. And in no way is that depressing

I had made it a relatively early night the night before, but it was obvious upon entering the room that some of my friends had not. The buffet line was simple - exactly what I was looking for: scrambled eggs, bacon, turkey sausage patties, fresh fruit, and hash browns. I took some of everything except the fruit (that could be healthy,) poured myself a cup of coffee, and took a seat by the window. My good friends were at a table tucked in the corner, but I wanted a seat looking out on the gardens.

I doused my food liberally with hot sauce and a few slugs of ketchup. With the exception of the sausage patties, everything was straightforward: nothing bad, nothing great, just a classic breakfast. The sausage patties were fantastic, though. Elizabeth did not finish hers and I devoured it. I would have gone back to the buffet line and loaded up on more, but many of the late revelers from the night before had not shown up yet, and I didn't want to go for seconds before they could show up and get the food that they probably needed more than I.

We finished our breakfast, bid goodbye to the bride and groom, and then browsed the gift shop to see if their were any souvenirs we needed. We briefly flirted with a shot glass or Dr Pepper-flavored jelly beans, but in the end decided none of it was necessary. We took Highway 246 to 154, and then 101 back to L.A. It was one of the most enjoyable weekends I have had in years.