Alabama has some of the best breakfast in the world.
Just ask us. The AL.com team went up and down the state this summer to find the best breakfast in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and the entire state. And readers pitched in their favorites, too.
Wake up, and try any and all of these amazing breakfasts that’ll change the way you start your day.
THE ALABAMA BISCUIT CO.
4133 White Oak Dr, Birmingham, www.alabamabiscuit.com
You can find Alabama Biscuit Company nestled into a brick building of shops on White Oak Road in Cahaba Heights behind Miss Myra’s Pit BBQ.
Biscuit recipes are precious to their owners. But for Jonathan Burch, the owner of Alabama Biscuit Company, the key to his biscuits is more about the grain than the recipe. Burch spent years testing ingredients in order to develop a more nourishing buttermilk biscuit, and he’s offered his twist on the staple at Alabama Biscuit Company since 2013. Instead of plain white flour, Burch uses sprouted whole-grain spelt which yields a heartier biscuit with a denser texture. In lieu of a soft, fluffy inside with a slightly crispy crust, the biscuits at Alabama Biscuit Company are thick, buttery, and slightly flakey.
The density of the biscuits mean they’ll hold up better under toppings. That’s a plus at the small batch biscuit eatery, which boasts a menu of biscuits served with sweet and savory options, from gravy and meats to cheeses and house-made preserves. So if you prefer your biscuits simple as opposed to being piled high with garnishes, you’ll be missing out on the full Alabama Biscuit Company experience.
The biscuit section of the menu starts with “Just a Biscuit” (a single biscuit with butter or jam). After that, the offerings get fancier. There’s the “Goat Cheese, Pecan, and Honey” (a biscuit topped with dollops of goat cheese spread, honey, and roasted and soaked pecans) and the “Ham and Cheese” (a biscuit topped with smoked ham and cheddar cheese). Then, there are the specials. The “Bacon du Jour” is a biscuit adorned with house-made peach preserves, sliced peaches, Conecuh bacon, an egg, cheddar cheese, grain mustard, and shaved fennel. The “Tomato Biscuit” is topped with an heirloom tomato, Conecuh bacon, and lemon aioli with herbs.
Fancy a biscuit, but with fixings of your own choice? You can customize your biscuit order. Start with “Just a Biscuit” and buy your toppings à la carte style.
Order this: Try the Tomato Biscuit and add an egg. -- Shauna Stuart
THE ANVIL PUB & GRILL
611 Doug Baker Blvd #103, Hoover, www.theanvilpub.com
Take a 20-minute drive outside of the Birmingham city limits to Hoover and you’ll find anchoring the corner of shops in The Village at Lee Branch. Helmed by Chef Boodram Wilkerson, the restaurant is an upscale British pub with a global twist.
Boodram Wilkerson, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, designed a menu that heavily features his interpretations of Southern, Indian, and Caribbean cuisine.
A good portion of the fare is a nod to Boodram Wilkerson’s Indo-Trinidadian heritage. Anvil is open for lunch and dinner on Tuesday through Saturday. But on Sunday, the pub opens at 9 a.m. to offer a special brunch menu featuring a rundown of British classics and twists on Southern favorites, including the fried okra (a dish of cornmeal-crusted fried okra served with harissa aioli) and the English sausage roll (breakfast sausage wrapped in pastry with maple mustard).
The menu’s standout dish is the Full English Breakfast: A plate of rashers (British bacon cut from the pig’s loin, where the meat is leaner), banger (the British word for sausage), baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, sunny side eggs, and sourdough toast. The dish’s centerpiece is the black pudding—a sausage made by creating a mixture of pork or beef, pig’s blood, and grains. The mixture is then stuffed into a casing and fried.
Here’s a quick history lesson. Trinidad was colonized by Spain in the 1500s. The island was formally ceded to the British in the 1800s. More than a century of British rule made English customs, including food, an enduring part of the island’s culture. Trinidad and Tobago gained their independence in 1962, but the islands are still part of the British Commonwealth.
“I grew up eating black pudding as well as beans and toast,” Broodram Wilkerson told us in an email. “A lot of their cuisine is a part of our food fabric. So it only made sense to have it on our brunch menu.”
Order this: Try the full English breakfast paired with the fried okra. -- Shauna Stuart
BISTRO SAINT EMANUEL
165 Saint Emanuel St., Mobile, fortcondeinn.com/bistrosaintemanuel
This elegant restaurant is in historic Fort Conde Village, which sat vacant and boarded up for decades. Now it’s a thriving community anchored by the Conde-Charlotte House museum and the Fort Conde Inn, which once offered its guests breakfast in the dining room. When the inn ran out of room, its owners opened Bistro Saint Emanuel, which serves brunch Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and Friday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The restaurant also serves dinner. Be sure to make a reservation, even for brunch, because seating is limited. The renovation is remarkable, with great attention to detail. It’s a lovely spot for savoring brunch and a co*cktail.
Order this: The cleverly named A la Bamian omelette is filled with jumbo lump crab, diced Conecuh sausage, bell pepper, onion and Cheddar cheese along with a side of breakfast potatoes. Pair it with a bloody Mary. -- Michelle Matthews
BLUE PLATE CAFÉ
3210 Governors Drive S.W., Huntsville, blueplatecafe.com
Blue Plate Café has been around for 20 years, but it seems longer, doesn’t it? Their South Parkway location didn’t pan out. Who cares? The Governors Drive mothership still prints its own money, packing ‘em in during their meat-and-three lunches and blue-collar breakfast. Every other local restauranteur would love to gaze into founder David Martin’s (other credits include Steak-Out, Rosie’s Cantina and Ted’s Bar-B-Q), culinary crystal ball.
What to order. Three words: Very Berry Pancakes. -- Matt Wake
BOB’S DOWNTOWN DINER
263 St. Francis St., Mobile, bobsdowntown.com
I love a funky diner, and that’s just what you’ll find at Bob’s, located “at the corner of Fat Street and Happy Avenue,” as chef/owner Tony Sawyer likes to say. Bob’s is actually at the corner of St. Francis and North Jackson streets, just slightly off the beaten path in downtown Mobile. Diners sit at the bar or around the walls of the restaurant, looking out the windows at the goings-on; when the weather is nice, there’s alfresco seating on the sidewalk out front. Bob’s offers breakfast and lunch only, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week. Open since 2014, Bob’s has a loyal following – so much so that many of the items on the menu are named for customers.
Order this: Mrs. Ann’s Breakfast, which is low on carbs and big on taste, comes with grilled fish, two eggs however you want them, bacon and sliced tomatoes and avocados. -- Michelle Matthews
BUBBY’S DINER
8412 Whitesburg Drive S.E., Hunstville, facebook.com/bubbysdiner
In previous weeks this summer, we’ve highlighted local barbecue, pizza, burgers, ice cream, hot dogs, meat-and-threes and doughnuts. Thus far, there hasn’t been overlap in our picks. However, from here on out, there will be. By their downhome-cuisines nature, places good at meat-and-threes often do breakfast right too. For example, Bubby’s Diner. Despite its retro-kitsch motif, this south Huntsville treasure is refreshingly hipster free. Lots of seniors and lower/middle class families. The prices are fair and the value’s high. There’s an endearing neighborly vibe among Bubby’s customers. Bubby’s does a solid biz with their meat-and-three lunches, but Saturday at breakfast it’s packed. This particular morning, my table’s napkin dispenser was empty and the sweet server waiting on me was in the weeds. A guy at the next table noticed this, tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a few napkins from his table’s dispenser. Nice.
Order this: Anything that involves: a.) Bubby’s woodsy country ham, and/or b.) their dense-sumptuous biscuits and Catherine-Bach-kissed gravy. -- Matt Wake
D’ROAD CAFE
121 Montgomery St., Montgomery; droadcafe.com.
D’Road Cafe -- which opened in 2011 and moved to its current location in downtown Montgomery five years later -- is a Capitol City favorite that’s famous for its real-deal Venezuelan dishes, including a breakfast menu that features criollo (with two eggs, shredded brisket or chicken, black beans, rice and plantains) and cachapas (corn pancakes with brisket or chicken, eggs and cheese). If you’re feeling less adventurous, there’s also a three-egg omelet with ham, cheese and spinach.
Order this: New to the breakfast menu is the Crazy Benedict, a cast-iron skillet dish with chicken, peppers, onions, tomato, spinach and cheese topped with a crispy waffle, two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. -- Bob Carlton
DEMETRI’S BBQ
1901 28th Ave. South, Homewood; demetrisbbq.com.
As beloved for its breakfast as it is its barbecue, Demetri’s BBQ began as El Rancho BBQ in downtown Homewood in 1961. Twelve years later, when owner Demetri Nakos moved one block away to the restaurant’s current location on 28th Avenue South, he changed the name to Demetri’s BBQ. Nakos died in 2002, but his son, Sam Nakos, continues the legacy. It’s a testament to Demetri’s staying power -- and its loyal customers -- that despite newer, bigger, brand-name breakfast places popping up all around it (Big Bad Breakfast, Maple Street Biscuit Company), the 60-something-year-old eatery continues to pack ‘em in -- especially on Saturday mornings, when, it appears, all of Homewood goes there for French toast, biscuit sandwiches, Greek omelets and huevos rancheros. And don’t sleep on Demetri’s Sunday brunch, which features an elevated menu that includes shrimp and grits, a brisket omelet, screwdrivers and Bloody Marys.
Order this: Get the best of both worlds -- breakfast and barbecue -- with Demetri’s barbecue omelet, which is filled with pulled pork and served with a side of sauce. -- Bob Carlton
EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI DINER
3103 Ensley 5 Points W Ave, Birmingham, mississippidiner.com
Ask Walter Thomas why he named his diner “East of the Mississippi” and he’ll smile. He and his chef are natives of the Magnolia State and the diner pays homage to their hometowns.
“We are East of Mississippi, right? Because if you go back that way, you go to I-20. You’re going west,” he said, pointing toward the highway. “So we’re East of the Mississippi Diner.”
After spending 27 years as a healthcare and food services director, Thomas opened East of the Mississippi in 2008. He initially considered opening an eatery in the former location of Tracy’s Cafeteria near UAB, until a mutual friend told him about a vacant restaurant space in Five Points West. So he went to survey the area. “I sort of fell in love with the demographic that I would be feeding,” says Thomas. “And I thought I would be a blessing to this community as well as give them good food products. That’s how I got to buying this diner.”
Walk through the front entrance and you’ll see a wall of photographs near the cash register. A large black frame holds black and white photos of players from the Negro Baseball Leagues, from Eugene Williams and Willie Mays of the Birmingham Black Barons to Sam Harrison of the Indianapolis Clowns.
Estelle Quake helms the kitchen at East of the Mississippi and the menu boasts all of the Southern breakfast classics. The Cowboy’s Special features two eggs and a choice of meat. There’s also pancakes, grits, hashbrowns, chicken wings, fried fish, and ribeye steak. In the mood for a breakfast sandwich? The diner offers a selection of sandwich options with meats (including turkey bacon, pork chops, and ham) and à la carte fixings.
But the customer favorite is the salmon patties, which patrons can order either grilled or fried. The diner started offering the dish after a suggestion from Earline Rogers, a close friend and customer.
“They have taken over,” Thomas said, laughing. “We have an original recipe. And with Estelle being from Cleveland, Mississippi and I’m from Greenwood, we sort of mended our minds together and we came up with this recipe. It is the number one seller for breakfast every day.”
On the go? No worries. East of the Mississippi Diner also has a drive-thru.
Order this: The salmon patties, with an egg with a side of hashbrowns. Add green peppers onions, and cheese to the hashbrowns. -- Shauna Stuart
FIFE’S
2321 4th Ave N, Birmingham, fifesbham.com
It’s easy to see why Fife’s is a Birmingham treasure. When we visited on a recent Thursday, the morning rush was over, but a sprinkle of customers sat in the dining area enjoying a late-morning meal. A table of women laughed and scrolled through their cell phones while they waited for their check. A television mounted on the wall played “The Price is Right” and two elderly men in baseball caps made their way to a booth near the front of the room to get a better view.”Come on!” said one of the men as he beckoned to his friend to follow him. “We can get up close to it.”
The diner has been serving Birmingham from its location on 4th Avenue North, in the corner lot across from the downtown post office, since 1959. Originally opened by Ernest and Margaret Fife, restaurateur John Kostakis has helmed Fife’s since he took over the eatery in 1989.
Fife’s is an institution and a long-time favorite in Birmingham. In 2002, audiences around the country got a look at the city’s beloved diner when the Blind Boys of Alabama had lunch with journalist Dan Rather during an interview for a segment on “60 Minutes II.” This past February, more than 20 years later, the diner received national attention again — this time for breakfast. Garden & Gun ranked Fife’s on its list of “7 of the South’s Tastiest Breakfast Joints.”
Fife’s, down to its red-topped tables and vintage letter menu board, is an Alabama classic— and so is its breakfast fare. On the rundown: Plates (a selection of bacon, sausage, ham or eggs served with a choice of grits, rice, hashbrowns, eggs, or toast), omelets (western, meat, or vegetable), sandwiches and biscuits with a choice of meat, and pancake plates (served with bacon, sausage, or egg). On Wednesday through Saturday, Fife’s offers its breakfast specials — salmon croquettes or fried wings with the choice of eggs and pancakes.
Order this: Build a platter with any choice of meat, the creamy scrambled eggs, biscuits, and hash browns. -- Shauna Stuart
GOOD COMPANY CAFÉ
7500 Memorial Pkwy. S.W., Huntsville, goodcompany-cafe.com
Nestled within the brick-laced Main Street South Shopping Village, Good Company Café has only been around for five years or so. But its interior’s already comfy and charming as a cool aunt’s windchime bungalow. Out front, the umbrella-dotted patio is ideal for daytime dates and bestie conversations. And attention late risers: Good Company does their breakfast all day (or at least from morning to late afternoon). The amiable staff knows their stuff and will get you to your apex order.
Order this: The signature hit is the Dad’s Egg Sandwich (fried eggs, cheddar, bacon, garlic aioli, sourdough). But don’t sleep on the Breakfast Panini (fried eggs, bacon, feta, pesto, tomato, focaccia). Good Company bakes their own bread, in a space across the back breezeway, so the flavors and textures are vivid from front to back. And biscuits and gravy enthusiasts, GCC makes their gravy from bacon not sausage. Oh la f--ing la. -- Matt Wake
HAZEL’S NOOK
120 East Fort Morgan Road, Gulf Shores; hazelsnook.com.
Going to Hazel’s Nook rekindles childhood memories of family beach trips to Gulf Shores, when we would pile into my dad’s hulking Ford LTD and head to Hazel’s for pancakes and patty sausage, country ham and scrambled eggs, bottomless cups of coffee (for the grown-ups) and those tiny glasses of orange juice (for us kids). These days, I’m more inclined to skip the breakfast buffet and instead order the create-your-own cheese omelet or the BLT sandwich, but it’s that trip back in time that I’m really going for. Hazel’s has been serving hearty breakfasts to hungry beachcombers since 1957, which, coincidentally, is the year I was born. So, we go way back together.
Order this: To get the full Hazel’s Nook experience, go for the breakfast buffet and sample a little bit of everything – bacon, eggs, pancakes, grits, sausage, biscuits, plus the omelet bar and the fruit station. -- Bob Carlton
THE HISTORIC WAYSIDER
1512 Greensboro Ave., Tuscaloosa; www.facebook.com/TheWaysider.
You don’t have to be a fan of the Crimson Tide to appreciate breakfast at The Historic Waysider Restaurant, but it doesn’t hurt. Even the exterior of the cozy, 52-seat café on Tuscaloosa’s Greensboro Avenue is painted what owner Linda Smelley affectionately calls “Mal Moore red,” a reference to the late Alabama player, coach and athletics director who ate at the Waysider so often that Smelley sometimes put him to work as a greeter. A T-Town tradition for more than 70 years, the Waysider is also home to one of the heartiest breakfasts in the South, with steak and eggs, country ham and red-eye gravy, bottomless cups of coffee, and, on game-day weekends, elephant-shaped pancakes for the kids.
Order this: Most orders come with the Waysider’s famous made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits, but they’re so addictive, that you may need to get an extra serving for the table. -- Bob Carlton
HOMECOMING AND COMPANY
3637 Lake Guntersville Park Drive, Guntersville. homecomingandco.com/cafecountrystore
After cooking in restaurants from Charleston to Atlanta to Portland, Ore., chef Jessica Hanners came home to the little community of South Sauty Creek, on Guntersville Lake in the northwest corner of Alabama, where, five years ago, she opened a little dining gem that she called the Homecoming Café & Country Store. Folks came by car and by boat to eat her food. Last fall, Hanners moved her restaurant to Guntersville and renamed it Homecoming and Company, but all of our morning favorites are still on the menu, including such elevated breakfast fare as Green Eggs & Ham (ham, eggs, collard greens and an onion ring over stoneground grits) and the Dirty Bird (chicken tenders with maple syrup and bacon jam served between two waffles). And who can resist a Warm Hug (a biscuit with chocolate gravy)?
Order this: Our go-to for breakfast is the Candied Bacon Stuffed French Toast, which is every bit as delicious as it sounds. -- Bob Carlton
HOUND AND HARVEST
2358 Whitesburg Drive, Huntsville, houndandharvest.com
Creative, healthy, progressive. Perhaps not the descriptors typically associated with a Southern breakfast, but Hound and Harvest flips that script. This new, dog-friendly and self-described “backyard bistro” has been killing it on lunch services with their fresh, flavorful tacos, bowls, salads and beyond. Housed in a former medical office (and more recently, original home of Mason Dixon Bakery & Bistro), Hound and Harvest is a collabo between Garrett Hardee, founder of mobile vegan eatery Hippea Camper, and Kennan Tipton, who started Northside Coffee. Downtown stuff. Their breakfast hasn’t caught on quite as quickly as lunch but it’s just as boss. Plus, the staff works their collective asses off, and once fall arrives and temperatures (hopefully) drop below microwavable, the side patio and back lawn will become Huntsville honey holes. The prices are midrange, the portions substantial.
Order this: Yes, H&H’s breakfast includes incisor-centric offerings like the Brekkie Bake bowl (egg, bread, potato, Conecuh sausage, smoked ham, spinach, mushrooms, scallions, red pepper, jalapenos). But there’s special sorcery in the Hot Tamale Supreme bowl (plant-based chorizo and sour cream, black beans house-made salsa, pickled red onions, avocado crème). To some Huntsville diners, vegetarian/vegan is a pejorative. Get over it, Jethro. This is one soulful bowl. The kind of big breakfast you want to savor not scarf. -- Matt Wake
JULWIN’S RESTAURANT
411 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope.
Believed to be the oldest eating establishment in Baldwin County, Julwin’s Restaurant has been serving Fairhope’s finest breakfast since 1945. And we can’t pass through this charming coastal town without making a pilgrimage to Julwin’s Restaurant for an eye-opening ham-and-eggs breakfast with grits and a biscuit. (We also love-love-love Julwin’s western omelet, with ham, bell pepper, onions and cheddar cheese.) But don’t just take our word for it. Our old friend, fellow Southern food sleuth and part-time Fairhope resident Rick Bragg is a big Julwin’s fan, too.
Order this: For something you can’t find at just any ol’ breakfast spot in Alabama, branch out and try the corned beef and hash, with grilled corned beef, bell peppers, onions, hashbrowns, cheese and two eggs. -- Bob Carlton
RISE BREAKFAST & BAKERY
10198 U.S. Hwy. 31, Spanish Fort, facebook.com/halfbaked251
When you enter this takeout-only establishment in an unlikely location on Highway 32 in Spanish Fort, just north of Highway 181 and just north of the Eastern Shore Centre, the affable owner, Tony Luna, also known as “Taco Tony,” will greet you from behind the cash register. If it’s your first visit, he’ll ask you to choose a sticker to place anywhere you want because it shows him how many people have walked in the door in the past year and two months since he opened. Also, after growing up too fast in northern California, he has now given himself permission to be a big kid. RISE serves breakfast and lunch daily. Breakfast favorites include burritos, bowls, quesadillas, Tony’s own variations of eggs Benedict, a decadent Bananas Foster French Toast and more.
Order this: Bubba Gump bowl, with scrambled eggs, shrimp and Conecuh sausage over Gouda grits topped with Creole cream sauce and green onions. -- Michelle Matthews
SALEM’S DINER
2913 18th St. South, Homewood; salemsdiner.com.
If we were making a Southern-fried sitcom about a hole-in-the-wall breakfast joint – think “Cheers” but with bacon and eggs and an Alabama accent – Salem’s Diner would be our place and Wayne Salem, its personable owner, would be our star. With only a half-dozen or so stools around the J-shaped counter and three booths along the wall, Salem’s is so teeny-tiny that you can’t help but make friends with the folks sitting next to you. And with Wayne holding court, in fact, it’s so easy to get caught up in the conversation that we have to remind ourselves that we came here to eat, not chat. Breakfast at Salem’s is hearty and reliable, with sausage-and-egg sandwiches, ham-and-cheese omelets, pancakes, French toast and, a personal favorite, the Trashcan, with crispy hashbrowns, onions, peppers, tomatoes, cheese and sausage all thrown together into a heap of happiness and topped with an optional “lid” of two eggs.
Order this: Thanks to late-night TV host and stand-up comic Craig Ferguson, Salem’s is famous for its Philly cheesesteak -- which Ferguson called “the best Philly cheesesteak I’ve ever tasted” -- and at breakfast, Salem’s offers a Philly omelet, which is essentially a cheesesteak wrapped in an egg blanket instead of served on a bun. Dare we call it the best omelet we’ve ever eaten? We’ll ask Craig Ferguson the next time he comes to town. -- Bob Carlton
SATSUMA CHEVRON BREAKFAST AND BBQ
6105 Hwy. 43, Satsuma, facebook.com/satsumachevron
Just off I-65, north of Mobile but still in Mobile County, you’ll find a Chevron gas station that serves a delicious breakfast in a spotless setting. Starting at 2:30 a.m. daily, breakfast is displayed near the register – fluffy biscuits, strips of bacon, Conecuh sausage links, scrambled eggs, grits, hashbrown patties and much more. If you’re on the go, take it with you. If you have a few minutes, there are tables for you to sit down and eat. And if you can’t make up your mind what to eat, just order the ever-popular breakfast gumbo).
Order this: World Famous Breakfast Gumbo was created years ago by owner Bill Beasley, who grew up in Louisiana. It’s a bowl of cheese grits topped with scrambled eggs, Applewood-smoked bacon, Conecuh sausage, diced sausage patties and sliced green onions. -- Michelle Matthews
SOL Y LUNA
920 Lane Parke Court, Mountain Brook, solylunabham.com
Sol Y Luna is in the midst of its third life. Guillermo Castro, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, opened Sol Y Luna in Lakeview in 1998. The restaurant applied the Spanish concept of tapas to Mexican cuisine. With Sol Y Luna’s small plates and extensive selection of tequilas, Castro quickly redefined and expanded Birmingham diners’ experience with Mexican food. When Guillermo died of a heart attack in 2011, his brothers Jorge and Alex renovated and rebranded the restaurant. But two years later, the pair decided to close the restaurant, marking the end of its nearly 16-year legacy.
The Sol Y Luna brunch menu is divided into six sections, including botanas (snacks), ensaladas (salads), tapas, and postres (desserts). The best way to dine at Sol Y Luna (and tapas restaurants, in general) is to order several small plates and experience multiple dishes at once. So when we visited on a recent Saturday, we selected four plates: two savory and two sweet.
The origins of chilaquiles, a Mexican breakfast and lunch staple, date back to the Aztec empire. Sol Y Luna crafts its dish using hand-shredded chicken with roasted serrano tomatillo, Chihuahua cheese, Crema Mexicana and avocado. Huevos rancheros dates back to 16th century Mexican farmhouses and ranches. The dish was created to be a second meal for farmers who started work in the wee hours of the morning. Sol Y Luna’s version of the dish features a lightly fried corn tortilla served with two fried eggs, refried beans, and a choice of guajillo red sauce or tomatillo green sauce.
For sweet dishes, we chose churros with cajeta (caramel sauce) and crepas de cajeta with plátanos ― crepes stuffed with plantain topped covered with cajeta and chocolate syrup.
Order this: Add two eggs to the chicken chilaquiles and complement it with a plate of crepas de cajeta with plátanos. -- Shauna Stuart
SPOT OF TEA
310 Dauphin St., Mobile. spotoftea.com
Spot of Tea, which is directly across from Cathedral Square in downtown Mobile, has evolved over the years since Tony Moore opened a quaint tea room in 1994, with his mother, Ruby Moore, as hostess. It’s become a booming spot for brunch, which is offered daily starting at 8 a.m. Expect a long line on weekends. The restaurant has a large dining room as well as tables on the sidewalk and even on the other side of Dauphin Street. Brunch specialties include Blackened Shrimp and Cheese Grits with Andouille, Seafood Eggs Benedict, Sunny Avocado Toast and a Monte Christo Sandwich; lunch offerings include a variety of sandwiches, salads and soups. If your server asks if you’d like strawberry sweet tea, yes, you would.
Order this: Eggs Cathedral, named for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception just across the street, is the most popular item on the menu at Spot of Tea: grilled English muffins topped with crab cakes, scrambled eggs and a seafood sauce with blackened grouper, crawfish and jumbo shrimp, served with crispy cubed hashbrowns. -- Michelle Matthews
THE STANDARD SOCIAL MARKET
127 Holmes Ave., Huntsville, thestandardhsv.com
The parking isn’t great. The prices aren’t cheap. But there’s no denying the awesomeness of Standard Social Market’s handcrafted breakfast offerings. If you’re looking for the very best Huntsville breakfast, in terms of quality and execution, welcome home. They also do la-di-da brunch stuff (avocado toast, blackened pork belly BLT,) and most-excellent lunch/dinner (a deft cheeseburger and possibly the city’s most bitchin’ shrimp and grits). Downtown Huntsville was sorely missing a local, must-do breakfast and, upon its 2021 opening, the Standard filled that void. Their coffee and service are on-point too. The Standard’s interior is sleek yet warm and devoid of riffraff.
Order this: The Old School Breakfast. A pregnant, zesty, house-ground sausage patty. Bacon that tastes like a Southern-rock guitar-solo sounds. Fried potatoes like your grandma would make if she was as cool as Helen Mirren, and two eggs how you want them. Plus biscuit or toast -- but don’t be lame, do the biscuit. -- Matt Wake
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