Breakfast Across the States

Wandering Jew,
 
I think Rhode Island may be the toughest state to limit oneself to just one breakfast. So many really good diners.  Jiggers is a great choice - but I'd also throw OV's into the mix  Really liked OV's alot - both the cooking and the clientel. Maybe Modern too, for a history lesson, though Jiggers is a great historical diner too.  Did Jiggers, at some point, take a hiatus, or am I thinking of another diner?  If so, really glad they are back.
 
Mealot, I've had a couple of excellent breakfasts at Lee's on Main Street in Glouchester, MA  Omelet and a side Linguica (Portuguese Sausage). Struck me as a place for locals and those who work the fishing boats and processing plants - but they get their share of tourists too.

Holly Moore


Wandering Jew,

I think Rhode Island may be the toughest state to limit oneself to just one breakfast. So many really good diners.  Jiggers is a great choice - but I'd also throw OV's into the mix  Really liked OV's alot - both the cooking and the clientel. Maybe Modern too, for a history lesson, though Jiggers is a great historical diner too.  Did Jiggers, at some point, take a hiatus, or am I thinking of another diner?  If so, really glad they are back.

Mealot, I've had a couple of excellent breakfasts at Lee's on Main Street in Glouchester, MA  Omelet and a side Linguica (Portuguese Sausage). Struck me as a place for locals and those who work the fishing boats and processing plants - but they get their share of tourists too.

 
Holly,
 
I agree, there are lots of great breakfast joints here in Rhode Island. Unfortunately I just don't get to them as often as I like since I try to eat healthy when I'm home....
 
Modern Diner is probably my favorite, so many daily specials on the weekend, however as you know I'm all about regional food. So if there's only room for one - Jigger's Jonnycakes are not only the best but they're about as regional as you can get.

Well if you pass through Iowa City on I-80 on a Sunday.... Go to El Banditos on Market St, Their brunch is so delicious whether you want spicy eggs and chorizo, or the most delicious oatmeal pancakes with mango sauce.... yyyyyyuuuuuummmm! If it isn't Sunday, I would recommend The Wedge Pizzaria in the Pedestrian mall downtown, they have delicious french toast, add a side of sweet potato home fries and you are in heaven!

Holly Moore


Wandering Jew,

I think Rhode Island may be the toughest state to limit oneself to just one breakfast. So many really good diners.  Jiggers is a great choice - but I'd also throw OV's into the mix  Really liked OV's alot - both the cooking and the clientel. Maybe Modern too, for a history lesson, though Jiggers is a great historical diner too.  Did Jiggers, at some point, take a hiatus, or am I thinking of another diner?  If so, really glad they are back.

Mealot, I've had a couple of excellent breakfasts at Lee's on Main Street in Glouchester, MA  Omelet and a side Linguica (Portuguese Sausage). Struck me as a place for locals and those who work the fishing boats and processing plants - but they get their share of tourists too.

The historical Modern Diner? Great oxymoron! Glouchester is a wonderful food town. Have you ever been to The Causeway? One of my favorite places ever.

Hmm, my dream trip. I envy you. Have fun and, be careful.

 
I wopuld suggest Las Vegas.
 
I lived in Las Vegas almost 20 years ago and remember a casino on South Las Vegas Blvd. which has this huge breakfast special, somthing like 4 eggs, ham, bacon, biscuits and gravy and all that jazz for some ridiculously low price of like $2 bucks.
 
It's next to that famous above ground swimming pool with the windows. I think Vegas Vacation was also filmed in that casino. I have tried to find where it is with limited luck, but a lots of casinos do it well.

Tentative BATS: States 7-9

Maine:

Even though I’ll be driving through New Hampshire I’ll probably wait until after I finish with Maine before I eat breakfast in the Granite State. Besides, I’ve already been to the great Friendly Toast in Portsmouth. I don’t want to venture too far into Maine because I plan on driving through southern NH, southern VT, and then toward the Albany NY area. People will probably say that I must go to Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro and I must say that I have already had the pleasure of dining there. Besides, Waldoboro is too far north as is Portland. I have set my sights on the York Beach area. Why? Because, it is not too much extra mileage and my family use to go there when I was very young. So young in fact, that I have no recollection of the place. Anyways, I’m not going there to try and rediscover my lost memories but to eat breakfast. There were a handful of breakfast spots listed on the internet in the area including the Maine Diner in Wells but it was Congdon’s Donuts also in Wells that finally caught my eye. Anyone been? 

New Hampshire:
I would guess that New Hampshire is near the top of the list in terms of breakfast spots per capita. So much to choose from. If I polled the staffs of New Hampshire presidential primary candidates the Red Arrow would probably win in a landslide. I would like to check it out but I’m being pulled in other directions. There are two serious contenders in my mind presently. About 5 years ago I was driving from Concord to the Manchester airport and needed to make a pit stop. I ended up in Hooksett at Robie’s General Store. I regretted that I did not have enough time to stay and have some breakfast because from what I could see it looked fabulous. The dining room had great ambience as well. I vowed that someday I would be back and have some pancakes. The other place in southern NH that looks amazing is Parker’s Maple Barn in Mason. From what I’ve seen on the Web it reminds me of the infamous Polly’s Pancake Parlor where I ate about three decades ago. Has anyone been to both Robie’s and Parker’s and would recommend one over the other?

Vermont:

I plan on taking Route 9 from NH to NY. The Roadfood site lists a couple of possibilities: Dot’s in Wilmington and Blue Benn Diner in Bennington. The Washington Post just a couple of weeks ago had a real nice travel article on Wilmington and highlighted Dot’s. I think that will be my intended target.



 








 


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I had breakfast at the Maine Diner this summer, and it was excellent - I was very glad that I'd visited. My breakfast was a lobster roll, but my wife enjoyed her more traditional breakfast:
IMG_1142 by Ralph Melton, on Flickr
The Indian pudding we had to finish breakfast was excellent.
IMG_1143 by Ralph Melton, on Flickr
 
We also visited Dot's Diner for a late breakfast. I wasn't wild about my chili, but Lori enjoyed her berry pancakes. The most wonderful breakfast I had in Vermont (and indeed in New England), though, was at the Dorset Inn, where I had an out-of-this-world potato-bacon pancake:
IMG_1115 by Ralph Melton, on Flickr

The Maine Diner is good- the only problem is I'm convinced their Corn Beef Hash is from a can- at least it tasted that way- however when they offer their special, Red Flannel Hash (usually on  a weekend) then you must absolutely go for it- it's the real deal..
 
If you want a gen-u-wine downeast breakfast (porridge- baked beans and hash)
Check out- Hot Suppa in Portland
Baked beans aren't on the breakfast menu but it usually is available
and their Hash is the best I've ever had.
 
http://www.hotsuppa.com/
 

If you somehow end up in Cincinnati - there is a breakfast item you can really only find here: goetta
 
I recommend you get your goetta at Camp Washington Chili, for several reasons
 
1) they are a stone's throw off I-75, so you wont get lost
2) they are open virtually 24-7, with just a few hours closed overnight on Sunday
3) You can get a sampling of the other well known Cincinnati-only specialty - Cincinnati style chili, at the same sitting.  Camp Washington's version is one of the finest in the area.
4) very inexpensive, very low key, come as you are
 
http://www.roadfood.com/R...ashington-chili-parlor

If you make it down to New Mexico here are some interesting places. New Mexican style food is truly different and so appealing especially at Breakfast or Brunch. Along with the Owl Bar in San Anitiano,NM
Owl Bar BTW way this Blog is a great one for searching New Mexico Rest. Moms out in Salina ,Utah off I-70 might be worth a stop . Also I think that you might consider US-50 through Nevada rather than I-80 for a really western experience. In Reno, Archies  is a good choice www.archiesreno.com/ and Dish a interesting Breakfast.

I've been to both Parker's and Robie's.  I'd recommend Parker's over Robie's, although both are good.
 
My review of Robie's, if it helps: http://offbeateats.org/20...ral-store-hooksett-nh/
 
I haven't yet reviewed Parker's.

I fyou happen to make it up to the Sandpoint area in North Idaho, please do try the Hoot Owl Cafe just outside of town.
 
Excellent biscuits & gravy and hash browns supreme ( home fries with scrambled egg, onion, green pepper, ham and cheddar).  Don't forget a side order of bacon!  Come to think of it, they have a wonderful german sausage and eggs platter, and the sausage is made nearby!
 
http://www.urbanspoon.com...Hoot-Owl-Cafe-Ponderay
 
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hoot-owl-cafe-ponderay

Pittsburgh is a really good breakfast town, with Jo-Jo's, DeLuca's, Pamela's and the Gab 'n Eat all being worthwhile choices.  My personal favorite is Jo-Jo's. 
 
This old Roadfood thread may also be of some use.

Ralph Melton- Lobster roll for breakfast? I like your style.
Wandering Jew - Thanks for the Portland recommendation but I don't really want to drive that far north.
Penn German Chef- San Antonio NM is a little out of my way (I-40). Have you ever been to Earl's in Gallup?
kaszeta- Parker's it is. I like the fact that it looks a little out in the middle of nowhere.
drummagick- I'm afraid I won't be getting that far north up into Idaho. Beautiful section of the country. Have you ever read the book "Blue Heaven" by C.J. Box. It really captures the essence of Northern Idaho and is a can't put down read.
buffetbuster- I love Pittsburgh!  However, I've never been out to breakfast there. I've always tried to save my appetite for lunch at Fat Head's Saloon. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh will be well off my planned route (see below). One of these days I'll take a solo trip and try Jo-Jos.
 
 
Tentative BATS: States 10-13
YIKES!! I’ve been watching the price of gasoline with growing angst. For every  5 cent rise I figure it will cost me an additional $22 for the trip. Not a lot, but the price of gas has risen about a $0.75/gallon ($330 more) since I started thinking about this trip.
New York:   If everything goes okay, I’ll be eating breakfast at a restaurant a friend is planning to buy in the near future.  It will be in the Capital District region of NY and will have a full breakfast menu.  I’ll revise this post with the name of the restaurant as soon as the deal is done.
Pennsylvania:  I will probably take the NYS Thruway west from the Albany area so that I can visit some people in the Rochester. Going to Ohio will have me covering only about 45 miles of Pennsylvania.  Not much space to find a good breakfast.  The obvious place for me to look was Erie. The most interesting sounding spot I found on the internet is called the Sidewalk Café.  Any other ideas?
Ohio:  Since Michigan was to be after Ohio I wanted to find a place in Northwestern Ohio to stay and then have breakfast the following morning. I researched the Toledo-Sandusky area and found Lemmy’s Eatery in Huron. The alluring thing that attracts me to this place is that they have perch omelets. Sounds a little outside-the-box, but I’m willing to give it a try.
Michigan:  I don’t want to travel too far north into Michigan so I set my sights on Ann Arbor. I may be mistaken about this, but I assume University towns have some very good breakfast establishments along with their numerous greasy pizza joints.  At least, that was the case when I lived in Madison WI. There seemed to be a good number of places to choose from but Angelo’s got the best reviews. 
 

mealot-
I have never been here myself, but my niece who goes to school in Erie likes the Breakfast Place.

The best breakfast place in Delaware (and I've eaten all over the state) is Sinclair's Cafe on Main Street in Newark.  It is a tiny, funky cafe with outstanding pancakes, eggs, bacon, and even a pretty good veggie sausage.  Pancakes are a different variety each day, served with real maple syrup.  Tea (a particular interest of mine) comes in many varieties, loose leaf, in your own teapot.  I hear they have good Irish oatmeal, too, but I haven't managed to get past the other stuff yet and try it.  Everything is homemade, fresh, and from scratch.  It's a teeny little place, but has great charm -- and great food.
 
We also really enjoyed Mastoris Diner in New Jersey, which is worth it just for the hot loaves of cinnamon bread and cheese bread which arrive, gratis, when they take your order.
 
And since I'm originally from Pennsylvania, I should mention that scrapple is the unique breakfast food there that you really should try -- however, I don't know if you will find any up near Erie.  It's more of a Pennsylvania Dutch thing, common in the Eastern half of the state.

Consider Kate's Kitchen in Flat Rock MI - a bit SE of Ann Arbor.
 
http://www.hollyeats.com/KatesKitchen.htm

I agree with the comment about scrapple. It's a regional speciality you should definitely try. I also tend to doubt you will find it on the menu in Erie.
However, most places in Northern Delaware, South Jersey and even Northern Maryland (from Baltimore north) should have it on their menu, so maybe you could try it there.

In Ann Arbor, I'd recommend Frank's myself (334 Maynard).

Davyyd - I had to look up "Blue Highways" just to see what you meant. Now I am really interested! I remember looking at pictures of your Class B a while back in one of your old posts. A very nice looking camper. Sounds like you have a great way of visiting the country and getting to see and experience what is out there. Now I have to go read your website, lol.
 
Mealot - sound like it will be a fun adventure. And it sounds like planning is going to be a lot of fun as well!. Good luck!
 

callmebruce,
 
We head out again at the end of this month in our new just purchased Class B camper van. First trip is to Arizona for most of the month of April.
 
2011 Great West Van Legend

Buffetbuster-Thanks for the tip in Erie. It looks like a winner. But alas, no scrapple on their menu. That’s okay.  I have had scrapple before in the Reading Market Terminal and I feel there is no compelling reason to drive out of my way to have it again.
Emmymom- Looks like a great suggestion. I think I’ll stick with Helen’s for my Delaware breakfast but I do drive up and down I-95 a number of times a year and I will definitely check out Sinclair’s.
Thanks to Holly Moore and kaszeta for the additional Ann Arbor suggestions.  I have just read the article “What makes a Diner a Diner?” on this site. It profiled Angelo’s, my original choice for breakfast in Michigan.  It got me to thinking that I really don’t want to face the same menu of eggs, western omelets, potatoes, bacon, pancakes, and toast every morning of this trip. I would like to mix it up every once in a while with something maybe a little more upscale and “un-roadfood” like.  It looks like Ann Arbor provides that opportunity in the form of Café Zola.  Great reviews and the menu items look intriguing with various crepes and interesting omelet mixings. It’s a linen tablecloth kind of place but it does open at 7 AM and I think I would like to give it a try.
 
Tentative BATS: States 14-16
Indiana:  I have two options in Indiana. I’ve always wanted to visit and camp at Indiana Dunes State Park in the very NW of the state.  This would mean breakfast in the Michigan City/Chesterton area.  The only semi-interesting place I could find on the Web is the Third Coast Spice Café in Chesterton.  The other option is to head to the Amish country in LaGrange or Elkhart County.  If it’s anything like Pennsylvania Dutch country, there should be plenty of places to have a gluttonous breakfast.
Illinois:  I want to have my Illinois breakfast not far from the Wisconsin border because I would like to be in Madison later that morning.  I researched the Rockford area and found the Stockholm Inn.  It has been around since 1968. How can you go wrong with a place where Mickey Rooney ate? Swedish pancakes with lingonberries sounds especially appealing.
Wisconsin:  I attended the UW-Madison about 30 years ago. One weekend my girlfriend and I camped at Devils Lake State Park a little north of Madison with one motive being to check off from my first edition Roadfood book an eatery in nearby Baraboo called The Main Café.  All I can remember is that I had 3 slices of pie, each of a different variety.  Baraboo, thirty years ago, was a lovely little town typical of what you find in much of rural Wisconsin. I don’t know how much things have changed. I do know that The Main Café is long gone. I would like to again camp again at Devils Lake and then have breakfast in Baraboo. What I found on the Web is a place called Jen’s Alpine Café which has some decent reviews.
 

Al "The Mayor" visits family in Baraboo yearly and probably knows some good places. Maybe he will pipe in or you could PM him...

don't know what you're Oregon intentions are, but Morning Glory serves a mighty fine breakfast.
 morninggloryrestaurant.com

Davydd


callmebruce,

We head out again at the end of this month in our new just purchased Class B camper van. First trip is to Arizona for most of the month of April.

2011 Great West Van Legend

If you need any tips or help while here just PM contact me. I check-in every day. What places are you going to visit?
I live in the PHX area but my 1st love is Northern and Northeast AZ. Particularly the White Mountian Region.
There's plenty of nice camping areas up there although some of them have been closed due to budget cuts.
Check out:
http://azstateparks.com/index.html
http://www.pr.state.az.us/find/fees.html
The National Parks have cut back also.
The Southeast Quadrant can be interesting also.
Here's a great resource for information:
http://www.arizonahighways.com/
Welcome to a little slice of Heaven!

Your new Van looks FANTASTIC!! And a Mercedes Engine no less!

Foodbme,
 
Thanks for the references. Our plans are to first visit my wife's cousin in Sun City before they snowbird back to Minnesota in mid-April. Then we will have a couple of weeks to travel around before attending a "BEE Social" (an informal gathering of Class B RVs) at the Tombstone Territories RV Resort in Huachuca City. I have my list of breaded pork tenderloin sandwich restaurants though my wife says we are going to eat at restaurants less this trip. We've been to the Grand Canyon north and south rim, Hoover Dam, Flagstaff, Monument Valley, Petrified Forest, Four Corners and Sedona area in our recent travels. I've been to both Phoenix and Tucson, Taliesin and Arcosante in leisure offshoots of my business travels.
 
Our new camper van with two deep cycle auxiliary batteries totalling 210 amp hours is better set up for dry camping in the national forests and BLM lands. We will definitely get to most all the National Parks and Monuments.

I know Mealot isn't going to get to the far reaches of all the states especially not 45 miles up a deadend road across from the Canadian border at the arrowhead tip of Minnesota but I have to post my latest breakfast, one of the best omelets ever, a fully loaded omelet with two cheeses, sausage, ham and bacon from the Gunflint Lodge.
 

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