Wake-Up-Worthy Breakfast Spots

All across the country these restaurants have mastered the first question of the day: What's for breakfast?

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Forget the snooze button because these restaurants will have you out from under your covers and running to the breakfast table. From the ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls at Chicago’s Ann Sather to the hefty egg-and-potatoes Garbage Plate at Franks Diner in Kenosha, Wisconsin, breakfast takes center stage with these wake-up worthy hotspots. We’ve compiled the ultimate Food Network fan restaurant guide with the help of the On the Road app and website.

Teresa's Mosaic Café
For die-hard savory-breakfast eaters, visit Teresa’s Mosaic Café for the flaming-hot huevos rancheros. For a more Southwestern flair, Harry’s Roadhouse serves iconic New Mexican plates like blue cornmeal waffles. But for the signature breakfast food item, pancakes, you have your pick from peanut butter to chocolate chip to pumpkin. Or, for the pancakes’ thinner counterpart, take a trip to Flip Happy Crepes in South Austin where they make blissfully sweet strawberry Nutella crepes.

HRD
San Francisco Giants fans have made HRD a pregame must. Located just around the corner from the AT&T Park Baseball Stadium, HRD has crafted a menu full of breakfast classics with a spicy Korean kick. HRD’s cozy diner setting speaks nothing of the huge spicy pork and kimchee breakfast burritos or the Korean loco moco made with kimchee fried rice and sunny side eggs.

Flip Happy Crepes
Flip Happy Crepes owners Nessa Higgins and Andrea Day Boykin met when their children attended the same kindergarten. Fate intervened and one renovated Airstream trailer later, Flip Happy Crepes has lines circling the trailer for the Parisian-inspired crepes made with such fillings as gruyere, toasted coconut, smoked salmon, roasted chicken and everybody’s favorite hazelnut chocolate spread, Nutella.

Franks Diner
In 1926, Franks Diner (the entire restaurant) was shipped via railroad flat car and hauled by six horses to its current spot. Nearly a century later, the diner still features its signature Garbage Plate with handfuls of potato hash browns, scrambled eggs, meats, fresh veggies and whatever else you’d like. Everything at Franks gets the handmade treatment, from cinnamon swirl French toasts to the homemade biscuits and gravy.

Ann Sather

Ann Sather is known as an institution on the North Side of Chicago. Instead of ordering donuts for breakfast, those familiar with Ann Sather start breakfast with Ann Sather cinnamon rolls. The recipe is simple but beyond comparison, as Jeff Mauro calls these rolls “insane.”

Five Points
When Chef Marc Meyer opened Five Points in NYC he featured “simple, rustic” dishes like Alex’s favorite, Yukon Gold Potato Pizza. His weekend menu, however, focuses on perfecting his popular brunch specialties like brioche French toast or the Angry Skillet, a frittata made with summer squash, goat cheese and hot-hot jam.

Squeeze Inn

Gary and Misty Young know omelets, and having served more than 300,000 of the signature Racy Tracy omelet, it’s no wonder The Squeeze In has become a favorite in Truckee, California, and its neighboring city, Reno, Nevada. In all of the Squeeze Ins, the atmosphere evokes a sunny seaside town with bright yellow walls, regional artwork and, sometimes, a suspended yellow bicycle.

Gaffey Street Diner
When it comes to diner food, the Gaffey Street Diner doesn’t cut corners in any of its dishes. The orange juice is squeezed by hand and even the chorizo comes from an in-house recipe. But the “what ails ya” John Wayne special is humongous on food and flavor. Take a tortilla and layer it with eggs and home fries. Then, add sausage wagons on the side, sprinkle cheese and finish with special Spanish sauce smothered on top.

Brownstone Diner & Pancake Factory

With 31 varieties of pancakes to choose from, the Brownstone Diner & Pancake Factory flips hundreds of pancakes each day, from the smaller silver dollars to the regular PB&J pancakes to the breakfast burrito pancakes, where an oversized pancake becomes the tortilla.

Teresa’s Mosaic Café
Teresa’s Mosaic Café starts its signature huevos rancheros with handmade tortillas and fresh green chiles. The recipe has been passed down through generations and remains one of Teresa’s most popular dishes with her margaritas and chilaquiles coming in at a close second.

Roscoe’s House of Chicken ’n Waffles

The iconic Harlem dish takes a trip to Los Angeles at Roscoe’s House of Chicken ’n Waffles. If you’ve never had breakfast with fried chicken, then Roscoe will educate you on this unassuming, yet entirely delicious, combo. You’ll find Southern favorites like mixed greens and grits too.

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