The first meal of the day is the best meal of the day.
America knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Restaurants across the country are known to serve up some of the best pancakes, waffles, bagels, and omelets.
Traditional pancakes, bacon, and eggs fill our cravings in the morning. Add a side of coffee and I am ready to conquer the day.
When I go out of town, I search for the best breakfast places known to serve the best breakfast in the city.
Some restaurants have made it to fame with appearances on TV, others are small town gems, and all have customers lining up, waiting eagerly to chow down on their highly-anticipated breakfast goodies.
There is no better way to start your day than a visit to one of the best breakfast restaurants in America.
Here are the best spots America has to offer.
Russ & Daughters Cafe
127 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Phone: 212-475-4881
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New York is known for many things and its bagels are one of them. You can’t visit New York without trying their famous bagels.
Russ & Daughters Café has been around since 1914, with four generations running the business.
The fresh and high-quality smoked fish, caviar, baked goods, and specialty food are so good that they have grown and now have three locations in New York.
Many people rave about the Classic Bagel and Lox Sandwich. The sandwich includes Gaspe nova smoked salmon with your choice of bagel and cream cheese.
I gave it a try and understood why it is famous in New York. The fresh, buttery fish was a perfect combination with the cream cheese. The bagel was the best I ever had.
Hash House a Go Go
3628 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92103
Phone: 619-298-4646
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The famous home of Twisted Farm Food brings Midwestern-inspired foods to multiple locations throughout America.
Hash House a Go Go and its food have gained fame from television appearances.
Andy’s Sage Fried Chicken Benedict is the most popular breakfast dish that dazzles customers. The fried chicken benedict dish is massive enough to share with a friend.
Served on a fresh split biscuit, you can dive into a stack of griddled mashed potatoes, spinach, bacon, tomato, mozzarella, scrambled eggs, and fried chicken topped with a chipotle cream sauce.
Another signature dish – Andy’s World-Famous Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles. The waffle tower is piled with two sage fried chicken breasts, hickory-smoked bacon, and drips with hot syrup.
Marie Callender’s
3801 California Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93309
Phone: 661-863-0305
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Marie Callender’s began as a pie business in the 1940s.
The pies were loved and gave way for the small business to become a bakery, then a coffee shop, and eventually a restaurant. There are now over 27 restaurants across the states.
The restaurant serves a traditional American breakfast of eggs, omelets, and pancakes. The most delightful items on the menu are the pastries.
The Breakfast Croissant Sandwich is a flaky, buttery croissant served with eggs, smoked bacon, and cheese.
No one ever leaves Marie Callender’s without a slice of pie. There is a large selection to choose from including Apple, Cheesecake, Chocolate Satin, and Coconut Cream.
Pine State Biscuits
125 NE Schuyler St Portland, OR 97212
Phone: 503-719-5357
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Oregon is home to the best biscuits served at Pine State Biscuits.
Freshly baked buttermilk biscuits are the heart of Pine State Biscuits’ menu. The food served is inspired by southern roots.
Their specialty dishes are Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes, Shrimp-N-Grits, and Hash Ups. The breakfast meals are great, but it is the biscuits that keep the people coming.
The most popular Biscuits and Gravy are smothered in sausage or mushroom gravy that is perfectly seasoned and softly baked. Top it with an over-easy egg and you get another favorite – The Moneyball.
You can also build your biscuit. You can keep it basic and only add a cream topping or build your biscuit with a meat of your choice such as bacon, sausage, ham, brisket, or buttermilk fried chicken.
The very best biscuit is with a spread of your choice. You can choose from their local apple butter, marionberry or strawberry jam, whipped butter and honey, or house pimento cheese spread.
Eggslut
317 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone: 213-625-0292
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Egg-lovers should run over to Eggslut at the Grand Central Market.
The shop started as a food truck that roamed the streets of Los Angeles in 2011.
Popularity and love for the innovative comfort food grew and it found its first home at the Market in Downtown Los Angeles in 2013.
Eggslut is loved for its sandwiches served on a brioche bun. There were many tempting options to choose from and I decided to try The Fairfax.
The Fairfax sandwich has scrambled eggs, chives, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, and sriracha mayo with a warm brioche bun.
The flavor satisfied my tastebuds, the eggs were soft and fluffy, and the flaky, crispy bun melted in my mouth. The line was long, but it went quickly, and if it hadn’t, it still would have been worth the wait.
High Street on Market
101 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-625-0988
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High Street on Market is recognized for the best bread in Philly. The bakery and restaurant serve sandwiches, pasta, pizzas, and salads that can be ordered for take-out or delivery.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and baked goods are available to order. Of all meals, many agree breakfast is their specialty.
The Classic Egg and Cheese, Breakfast Reuben, Avocado Toast, and Salmon Toast are known to be favorites.
Short on time one day, I found the take-out and delivery option to be convenient.
I ordered the Breakfast Reuben – a fried egg with pastrami, Swiss, and caramelized onion, and it was scrumptious.
Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles
106 W Manchester Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90003
Phone: 323-752-6211
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Chicken and Waffles have been the latest craze, but Roscoe’s has been serving the best chicken and waffles in Los Angeles since 1975.
Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles is a soul food restaurant chain that has been labeled as a beloved soul food restaurant by the New York and LA Times.
The hot joint sees many celebrity diners who adore the food served at Roscoe’s.
Their signature dish comes in a variety of options. With two waffles, you can get the Southern Style – a chicken prepared Southern style, or the Herbs Special Smothered with Gravy Onions.
Trying out the chicken and waffle dish is a must when in LA. The chicken was juicy and well-seasoned, and the waffles were perfectly golden. I don’t know what it is about the pair, but it is the perfect combo.
Another Broken Egg Cafe
Multiple Locations
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Indulge in innovative, southern-inspired food at Another Broken Egg Café. The café is unlike any other typical breakfast restaurant and cafe.
The café puts a twist on traditional breakfast meals. They serve unique dishes such as the Hash Brown Benedict – a ham and cheese stuffed crispy hash brown croquette topped with poached eggs, mushroom-herbed hollandaise, and red peppers.
Other favorites include Mardi Gras Omelette, Crab Cake Benedict, and Cinnamon Roll French Toast.
The indulgent, flavorful, and sugar-filled pancakes take the medal for their innovativeness.
Bourbon Street Pancakes, Carrot ‘Pan’ Cake Stack, Lemon Blueberry Goat Cheese, and Strawberry Pound Cake are among the exceptional flavors of their light and fluffy pancakes.
Café Du Monde
500 Port of New Orleans Pl #27, New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504-218-7993
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Get the feel of New Orleans as you chow down on a beignet and sip on coffee at Café Du Monde.
The coffee shop has been around since 1862 and serves the best beignets and coffee at the New Orleans French Market.
The wildly popular beignets are French-style doughnuts covered with powdered sugar. Jazz music set the scene for me as I indulged in my order of sugary beignets.
The order comes with three French doughnuts and is paired perfectly with my iced coffee. It was everything everyone says it is – fresh, warm, and delicious.
Mother’s Bistro
121 SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503-464-1122
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Lox Platter, buttery biscuits, omelets, frittatas, pancakes, waffles, and French toast are all anyone can talk about after eating at Mother’s Bistro.
The bistro has been open for over 20 years and is recognized as one of the best brunch spots in Oregon.
The traditional breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and omelets is freshly made and gives it the vibrant taste of breakfast.
Two popular and loved dishes are the Breakfast Nachos and the Crunch Challah French Toast.
The nachos are roasted red potatoes, bacon, caramelized onions, cream, cheddar, sour cream, and green onions.
Unlike a typical French toast, the Crunchy Challah French Toast is dipped in corn-flake and grilled golden brown.
Clary’s Cafe
404 Abercorn St, Savannah, GA 31401
Phone: 912-233-0402
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Savannah is home to the greatest café for breakfast. Clary’s Café has been around for over
a hundred years. Tourists and residents join the waitlist and make special visits for their first meal of the day at the charming café.
There are many delicious meals to choose from but everyone agrees on two favorite dishes – the Eggs Benedict Florentine and the Stuffed French Toast.
The Benedict Florentine is poached eggs and Canadian bacon on toasted English muffin halves topped with fresh sauteed spinach and an amazing hollandaise sauce.
The stuffed French toast is a slice of thick bread delightfully stuffed with strawberries and cream cheese and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Pancake Pantry
1796 21st Ave S, Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-383-9333
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Pancake Pantry is a Nashville treasure for breakfast and brunch lovers. The restaurant has been serving the best scratch-made pancakes since 1961.
You can find staple breakfast meals such as eggs and avocado toast, but for anyone on the hunt for the perfect pancake in Tennessee, you do not need to look any further.
The pantry not only serves the traditional buttermilk pancake but also offers a variety of flavored pancakes.
Some distinct pancakes are Sweet Potato, Sugar & Spice, Banana Bread, Apple Walnut, Caribbean, and Pecan. No matter which you choose, each pancake is fluffy, flavorful, and satisfying.
Tartine Manufactory
595 Alabama St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: 415-757-0007
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Stop by Tartine Manufactory for a quick, tasty breakfast pastry.
The bakery is most popularly known for its morning bun. The cinnamon bun is made with sugar and orange zest.
The chocolate croissant and seasonal jam bun are also favorites. Tartine also serves avocado tartine, breakfast sandwiches, omelets, and loaves of bread.
The fresh smell of baked pastries invites everyone in, and the taste of the baked goods makes them stay.
Be sure to get there early for a pastry – they are only sold until they sell out.
Willa Jean
611 O’Keefe Ave, New Orleans, LA 70113
Phone: 504-509-7334
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Another NOLA hotspot for breakfast and brunch is Willa Jean.
The biscuit situation at this restaurant is one to never be forgotten. The biscuit with fried chicken and tabasco honey is a top contender.
You can also get a biscuit with bacon, sunny side up, and pimento cheese. A biscuit with grandma’s sausage gravy is also dearly loved.
If you’re roaming the New Orleans streets after a long night out, Willa Jean has the perfect plate for you.
Their hefty meal, the Hangover Bowl – brisket with cheesy grits, onion, garlic, potatoes, and eggs is the perfect cure to your morning after woes.
Grits, eggs, sausage, bacon, and biscuits – Willa Jean will fill any of your breakfast cravings.
Green Street Cafe
3468 Main Hwy, Miami, FL 33133
Phone: 305-444-0244
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Green Street Café is a hot spot for locals and tourists of Miami.
The café is known to serve some of the best French toast and pancakes. The Nutella Filled and Coconut Crusted French toast top the list of most-loved.
There are a variety of pancakes, but the Cinnamon Roll and Caramelized Banana pancakes are the most popular two.
The Coconut Crusted French Toast was impossible to pass up. One bite of the thick, soft, and fluffy French toast assured me it was worth the hype.
It was the perfect mix of coconut and sweetness that made my taste buds dance.
From New York bagels to southern grits, waffles, and biscuits – America knows how to do
breakfast. These breakfast restaurants are loved and celebrated for their unique, flavorful food that includes the taste and culture of their home state.
If you’re too late for breakfast or you’re craving mimosas, check out our favorite brunch spots in the counry!