Hampton Inn, Princeton

For an illustration of the moral hazard of serving a free breakfast, look no further than the Hampton Inn, 4385 US Route 1 South, Princeton, New Jersey, Tel +1 (609) 951-0066. I don't know what scared me the most. Was it the yellow crumbles that may well have been powdered eggs? Or was it the collection of pale brown digits that looked like a crime scene from Law and Order: SVU? The hash browns also looked horrible. But at least I could tell they were hash browns.



Now, I'm not saying the eggs were powdered. Nor am I saying any sex crimes were committed during the preparation of the breakfast buffet. And I'm not even saying the food tasted bad. I didn't eat it. I'm just saying it looked a little scary to me. That's all. It may well have been delicious.

Hilton, Boston Logan Airport

It's always a nice surprise when a hotel breakfast isn't disgusting. Especially when there's lobster involved...

Glass at the Hilton, Sydney

As Matthew Evans would say, it's a swank venue. No, not Coco Roco. I'm talking about Glass Brasserie, Level 2, 488 George Street, Sydney. The swank and, dare I say, spiffing restaurant at the Hilton. But is it Sydney's finest breakfast? According to the propaganda floating around the hotel, yes. According to me, no. But that's just my opinion.



I wouldn't go so far as to call the scrambled eggs "outstandingly dull", but they were a little bit bland. Nothing a bit of salt and pepper couldn't fix (except that my pepper grinder was empty). Otherwise, my a la carte order of "fresh country eggs" looked like it had been freshly spooned off the buffet spread and onto a plate. A bucket-load of limp, greasy bacon; a few very nice little snags; good sauteed spinach; some soft tomato (which I didn't eat); and some dull mushrooms.

Technically I shouldn't have got the mushrooms, which were a feature of the $27 "plated breakfast", and I should have got "herb roasted potatoes" (part of my $17 breakfast). I asked were my spuds were and was quickly presented with a side of disc-shaped hash browns (with no obvious sign of herbs).

Apart from this plating mix-up, the service was attentive, swift and polite, as you'd expect in a swank, spiffing venue. Basically, it's a good spot for a power-breakfast, but there's nothing remarkable about the food. And let's not forget the warm and fuzzy feeling you'll get from supporting the Hilton family during this difficult time.

14/20 "swank"