20 cent breakfast follow-up...

Casa Havana: A Breakfast Review

190 8th Ave (btw 19th/20th Sts) - A/C/E to 23rd

212-243-9421

Yes, that's right. I braved the possibility of 20 cent diarrhea for my readers to best determine the real value of such a deal. Here are my notes...

I made my way over to Chelsea on Sunday morning around 9am to confirm the edibility of this 20 cent breakfast. It was is eat-in only (of course), so I plopped myself down on a stool at the diner's bar. I noticed I was among about half a dozen other cheapskates there for a morning deal and they seemed to be quite content with their platefuls of aesthetically decent food so I grew a bit more confident. 

After I ordered the breakfast: two eggs (I like 'em scrambled), ham or bacon (the guy's ham next to me looked good so I thought it a safer bet), coffee or tea (they assumed corrected when a greek cup of caffeine sans tea bag was set in front of me), fries and toast. 

I sipped the cup of coffee (or actually half a cup but for 20 cents they can be a bit stingy) already creamed for me...as I searched for any nearby sugar with no luck. It was decently hot, however, and ultimately as drinkable as your morning bagel cart coffee. 

The bacon tasted like burnt plastic (and yah, I had ordered ham). The fries were soggy and cold and I'm about 99.2% sure they were last night's leftovers with no attempt at reheating to cover this up. It was the pre-buttered white toast and barely warm eggs that became the saving grace. They, along with the half cup of creamed coffee were worth the 50 cents I left at the counter. I walked away with a satisfied belly and am happy to say (24 hours later) that belly is still feeling good (ie. salmonella-free). 

If there is a next time, I would like to try that ham I had ordered but let's be honest, when a deal is this dirt cheap neither me or my waiter really cared too much about order accuracy. 

ON THE GO TIP: If you're on the go and don't have time to eat-in, try ordering this breakfast minus the hot plate (ie. only the toast and coffee). These were the two things they can bring you right away and you can scarf down the toast in a minute and grab your Greek coffee cup to go as you throw a quarter on the table. For 25 cents...yah, it's still worth it.