Okay, so I know I gave them flack for their Ironic Independence Day Celebration, but ever since I saw that brunch sign, I've been curious to learn what a fish & chips & beer joint like Shakespeare Pub & Grille would serve for breakfast. So I waited for an opportune Sunday and headed to Middletown (where Mission Hills meets I-5).

I'm happy I went after 11 a.m., because one glance at the menu and I knew that traditional English breakfast treats are not to my taste. The "Sunday Roast" is only available on Sundays. It's roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, and veggies, all topped with gravy. That one's on the main menu.

The "breakfast menu" had only three items -- a dish that comes with black-and-white pudding (a.k.a. blood sausage) and a simple standard make-your-own omelet, made British by its side of Heinz baked beans. David ordered the two-egg breakfast, which comes with a sausage and potato pancakes. The eggs and sausage were "eh," but those flavorful hashbrown discs were awesome.

I went straight for the lunch menu. I liked that the chicken pot pie was described as having "garden fresh vegetables," so I went for that one with "proper chips," or soggy french fries. Next time, I'm going with the frozen, skinnier, crispier kind. But the pot pie was NUMMY. A light wine sauce, giant chunks of white chicken breast, and the vegetables were definitely fresh -- some of the carrots still had a crunch to them, and the peas were not canned, but probably flash frozen, which is actually the freshest you can get 'em. So I'm more of an English lunch girl than and English brunch girl. Though I'm not into blood stuff or soggy fries with vinegar, I'm all about that chicken pot pie with the puff pastry toupée.