For every time I’ve heard “breakfast is the most important meal

of the day” I think I’ve met ten people who say “I don’t really eat breakfast.” It makes no sense to me! If I could only have one meal per day, breakfast would be my choice. I mean, I subsist on cereal and milk to the point that some might question if I’m getting kickbacks from Big Cereal. So why then are there so few places to get great breakfast? Enter: Proper Breakfast.

Parked literally 0.3 miles from my house, this blue trailer popped up one day and slowly came to life. Finally, weeks after first appearing, I noticed the window was open and made a quick change of plans from going to get a post-breakfast doughnut (don’t judge me) to check out what the deal was. Turned out they were in a soft-opening phase, working out the kinks and giving away food for free!

The menu is artfully painted on the side and very straightforward. Considering it was second breakfast, I showed great restraint and only ordered pancakes and bacon. I chatted with Justin, one of the two guys behind the operation, about how it came about. They’re here by way of other culinary jobs and hipster cities (read: Portland, and Nashville before that). I grabbed a seat at the picnic table and waited for my food.

In my cardboard box came a stack of two THICK pancakes with a side of THICK bacon. The pancakes were easily 1/2 inch tall each, light and fluffy (cliche? Perhaps, but true nonetheless), with just the right amount of “authentic diner” flavor. Served with maple syrup and whipped butter, these rank in the elite category for pancakes in Austin. The bacon, lacking that crispness I crave, packed a lot of smoky flavor. It was more meaty than I expected, and certainly delicious, but I’ll have to go back to try it again and ask for it more well done.

Before leaving, I somewhat guiltily asked for a cup of coffee (feeling bad about asking for more free food), to which Tim happily got to work weighing, grinding, and brewing. Each cup is brewed to order using Flat Track beans in a pour over process. It takes a few minutes, but you know it’s fresh.

A few weeks later (when things were much less free-of-charge) Ev and I took advantage of a lazy Saturday and walked over to see what she thought of PRBF. We decided to try the gluten free pancakes, eggs, and scrapple. Again we grabbed a seat on the picnic bench. Everything came out a few minutes later and we dug in.

You would never know that the gluten free pancakes were any different than the regular ones. Equally tall and fluffy, they had a slightly different flavor from what I remember, but just as tasty. One of them as you can see was a little overcooked on one side, but it didn’t taste burnt. The fried eggs had a perfect runny center that you hope for in over-medium eggs.

Last to try was the scrapple. Now, to be honest I thought scrapple was some sort of a Spam alternative or something weird. Instead it’s a classic Northeast recipe made primarily of cornmeal and sausage, baked into a loaf shape, and sliced thin. It’s then fried to order on the flattop and immediately you wonder how you’ve never heard of such a thing. Needless to say, include the scrapple in your next visit to Proper Breakfast.

How awesome is that guy?

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p>These guys are making breakfast worth waking up for. They’re open Monday thru Saturday from 7am til 2pm”ish”, which means no excuses for not going. Follow them on Twitter and ogle their food on Instagram if you need more motivation to go. But definitely go have a Proper Breakfast. It’s important.