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BC-ALBOM-COLUMN:DE _ op-ed, xst, xtop (830 words)

Froot Loops, pancakes and caviar omelets?

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By Mitch Albom

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

This morning, I will do something I always swear I will never do again: eat brunch in New York.

What's that? Why? Sorry. I can't hear you. I'm in the back of a line that spills down Columbus Avenue. This is the line for people who have reservations. People who don't just get laughed at, then splashed by a bus.

But that is only one reason to avoid a Big Apple brunch. Here's another: the Sunday New York Times. Apparently, due to some federal mandate, all New Yorkers must read the entire Sunday Times while eating Sunday brunch, starting from the front page and finishing with the lingerie ads. This, of course, takes 22 hours. Which may explain the line.

But wait. We're only getting started. And speaking of started, how about those appetizers? Appetizers, you say? For brunch? Didn't ...