AROUND HOME : Notes on Fireplace Equipment, Dhurrie Rugs and Mirrors : Power Marmalade

THERE ARE TWO kinds of power breakfasts in Los Angeles. One features movie deals and fancy food: Walk into the Polo Lounge and you’re likely to see moguls making multimillion dollar deals while munching on croissants and eggs Benedict. The other features political deals and down-to-earth eating: Walk into Pacific Dining Car downtown, and you’ll see rooms filled with operatives chowing down on huge portions of ham and eggs and plain old toast.

Croissants, of course, don’t need jam. Toast, on the other hand, does. And at Pacific Dining Car, you’ll find that the orange marmalade the powerful breakfasters are spreading on their toast is homemade.

It has a unique flavor, not quite like the other marmalades around. This one is not too tart; if you like your orange marmalade on the sour side, it’s not for you. It is, however, thick and chunky, and when you stick your spoon into the jar you get a good proportion of rind to fruit.

The restaurant has just started selling their orange marmalade for home consumption. Available only at the restaurant, it’s the perfect present for people who want to get up in the morning and eat a power breakfast without leaving home. Or, of course, for any faraway friend who yearns for a taste of the Big Orange.

Pacific Dining Car Orange Marmalade, $2.50 per 8-ounce jar. Available at Pacific Dining Car, 1310 W. 6th St., Los Angeles; telephone (213) 483-6000.