Breakfasts at the Hotel Ariosto were amazing and varied. There was a fruit plate with papaya, cantelope, extremely large banana slices and pineapple. There was also a cheese plate, and various breakfast foods: scrambled eggs; bacon; little bright red sausages made out of traffic cone plastic shavings, eggs benedict in perfect hockey-puck shapes; a greasy, colon-attacking food that was a crossbreed between tater tots and deep fried cheese fingers; dried pork nuggets; a large side of pork each day under a heat lamp; beans simmered in pork lard in a brown clay pot; and vegetable fried rice (with pork). Also available were several varieties of delicious bread; several cereals you could put rich milk or yogurt on top of; diced spicy pickled onions; and a curly pasta dish with peapods and button mushrooms (and, I bet, pork). It was extremely “delicios”, and even after a late jazz night, I always made it out of bed in time for breakfast.