CARVING A DELICIOUS BREAKFAST >>>

If you go rushing through life you're going to miss out on a lot of good things. Of course, the smell of roses is the classic example, but if you're always in a hurry you're also going to miss letting a piece of maple sugar candy dissolve slowly on your tongue, or the sight of the sun when it melts all the way into the ocean at sunset, or the great out-takes at the end of a Jackie Chan movie.

No, I haven't gone all maudlin and reflective like a movie on Lifetime. I just want to point out that if you're rushing around town, speeding up and down the main thoroughfares, you're missing out on some great little spots that deserve your attention.

One such spot is Babblin' Babs Bistro, wedged into a corner of an L-shaped building in Tacoma's Proctor District. It's a little place, with just eight to 10 tables, but serves the biggest, most complex flavors in town. I know, the Weekly Volcano has written about this treasure around 20 times or so, but I'm still shocked when I can walk in and grab a table without a wait.  Owners/chefs William and Shannon Mueller concoct gourmet delectable delights - the likes not found anywhere else in the area.

Saturday morning I discovered more Mueller magic - their "Pumpkin, Pumpkin Your Every Where" dish ($12.95). It's a freakin' pumpkin pie disguised as French toast. They baked French bread stuffed with mascarpone cheese with pumpkin purée and studded with rum soaked raisins. Then bathed it in a spiced egg custard with more pumpkin purée and grilled to a golden orange brown. Last, they drizzle with a dual syrup of pumpkin spice and hand spun apple jack brandy caramel and then top it with a big old heap of real whipped cream.

It's fabulous.

[Babblin' Babs Bistro, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, 2724 N. Proctor St., Tacoma, 253.761.9099]