By Fred Steiner
Icon restaurant viewer

As I see it there are two kinds of people in the world: 1 - Oatmeal lovers, 2 - The rest of the thundering herd.

As a member of group number one, it was with great pleasure that I learned Common Grounds is now serving the legendary grain.This means that after a very long hiatus you may once again eat breakfast in a downtown eatery in 45817.

So, this morning (Jan. 31), I stopped in at the corner of Main and Cherry to get it while it's hot. Actually, it's always hot. I've always wanted to work that tired phrase into a column somewhere.

I can tell you several things that Common Grounds oatmeal is not:
1 - It's not instant
2 - It doesn't have sugar in it
3 - It's not cold and lumpy
4 - It's not out of a microwave

I can also tell you several things that Common Grounds oatmeal is:

1 - It's five-minute oatmeal. To the oatmeal connoisseur that's the difference between a mass-produced cigar and a hand-rolled one. Well, there might be better analogies. How about, the difference between homemade smoked sausage and store-bought. Or, the difference between a Hallmark Valentine's card and an off-brand card.

2 - It's also created from fair trade oats, from the store next door - The Food Store.

3 - You may choose your own topping. These are available in containers right next to the oatmeal - apple slices, cranberries, brown sugar, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon and syrup. Milk or half-and-half are also options. (For the thundering herd of the world, oatmeal lovers are choosy. They like their own options.)

4 - The price is right. $2.49 a bowl. And you don't have to do the dishes - neither the pan nor the bowl - which is probably the worst part of making oatmeal at home.

So, there you have it. We can't all have Breakfast at Tiffany's, but we can each have real oatmeal at Common Grounds. And it's pretty good.

"Hey, Phil, where do you want to me place this empty bowl?"

Note: The Icon restaurant viewer does not receive free bowls of oatmeal. He pays his own way. Nor does he own stock in of the above-mentioned Bluffton eateries.