Bangin’ Filipino breakfast

Over the past couple years, I’ve begun to embrace the wonder that is breakfast. No mere scrambled eggs and toast for moi, either. My boyfriend chuckles at my decadent concoctions: an over-easy egg on top of a crab cake; a crostini topped with cream cheese, smoked salmon and scrambled egg sprinkled with paprika (I stole that one from B Street, though I can’t yet master the hollandaise like they do).

I’d heard that Inday’s Filipino Food had started serving breakfast (7-11 a.m. Mon.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Fri.-Sun.), so I headed over on a recent morning. Excellent choice. I took my time discussing menu items with the friendly John Geiger—formerly Mr. Crazy Dog, he closed his hot dog cart and now works full-time with his wife, Ethel “Inday” Geiger—and settled on the Filipino specialty known as bangus, aka fried milkfish with rice (I chose garlic-flavored) and eggs (over-easy).

If you haven’t tried breakfast at Inday’s (1043-B W. Eighth St.), do so. The bangus was bangin’. I plan to go back for one of their scrambles, with ingredients like wild salmon, prawns, chicken adobo and, yes, Spam. Oh, and the mango mimosas are amazing.

M’OROVILLE Last weekend, I stopped by The Galley in south Chico to get my regular cheese fix and got to chatting with owner Manny Muellenbach. Turns out, he’s ready to expand. He recently purchased the shop being vacated by Feather River Kitchen & Gifts, at the corner of Bird and Myers streets in downtown Oroville. He expects a grand opening at the end of August—stay tuned!

Muellenbach has good timing, I can just feel it. In May, the Oroville City Council agreed to set aside nearly $100,000 to help fix up the nearby historic Miners Alley. (Not to be confused with the brewing company with the same name. However, the Montgomery Street pub backs up to its namesake and owner Steve Vandervort is very much involved in the project.) A group of students from Chico State’s School of Engineering, Computer Science and Construction Management put together an impressive proposal and work is set to begin soon.

CHICKEN SOFT TACO, PLEASE One of my favorite fast-food menu items of all time is the chicken soft taco at Del Taco. It may have been that white sauce, some combo of mayo and sour cream, that eased me into Mexican food to begin with (I don’t like spicy). The good news (and the reason I bring this up): Pretty soon I might be able to get my fix without driving to Yuba City, as a Del Taco is being proposed for the corner of Forest Avenue and East 20th Street (now home to a vacant Valvoline Express Care).

Insider’s hint: Del Taco apparently has a secret menu phrase, à la In-N-Out’s “animal-style.” Simply say “go bold” and they’ll add the DT secret sauce and fries to your order. You’re welcome!

TSK, TSK Mary’s Gone Crackers, which recently announced its HQ will be moving from Gridley to Reno, has agreed to pay $1.5 million after being caught hiring—and rehiring—employees who were ineligible to work in the United States. D’oh!