Breakfast & Brunch

It's high time we take a page from old folks and little kids; they never skip breakfast. What is it about the in-between years that makes us think we can? So what that we're not getting a senior discount and eight automatic refills on our decaf? And so what that w e don't have six action-packed hours of running around the sandbox screaming at the top of our lungs ahead of us. Big deal. We still need fuel for the day. We still need protein, energy, sustenance. We need eggs fried like twin suns, warm doughy things slathered with butter, crusty croissants with fruit filling. It's hard to be helpful, intelligent, or dexterous on an empty stomach, yet day after busy day, we say we don't have time to stop and eat. Well, it's high time to make time. With our list of favorites at your disposal, you might find yourself canceling a few morning meetings here and there in favor of a proper morning meal—and you might find yourself discovering new breakfast foods and eating breakfast foods at dinner. But if you find yourself running around the sandbox, please, don't blame us. LAURA CASSIDY

Burgermaster

The longtime drive-in chain has, in part, become a sit-in chain, and besides spaghetti and Husky Pups, yes, it serves up breakfast at this location. The Swedish pancakes with lingonberries are the best around, says an authority on the subject, Stan Boreson, the still-active former Seattle TV kids-show host and lyricist of the unforgettable "Who Hid the Halibut on the Poop Deck?" Until 11 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and till noon on Sundays, you can get links and potatoes with gravy, blueberry pancakes or the Boreson-preferred Swedish ones, and your standard ham and eggs with h-browns. The drive-in-turned-restaurant on the southern cusp of University Village has the ambience of Dick's in Lower Queen Anne, yet any shortcomings are made up for by the eatery's literary past. Like Hemingway at a cafe in Paris, Boreson reputedly wrote one of his tunes at a table in the corner here. He called it "Catch a Pickled Herring," and the rest, of course, is history. RICK ANDERSON

ALSO SERVES: lunch and dinner. 3040 N.E. 45th St., 206-525-7100. UNIVERSITY VILLAGE $

Cafe Besalu

When what you need for breakfast is just a well-pulled espresso and a pastry, you can do no better than Cafe Besalu—where "well-pulled" is an understatement and a pastry is never, ever "just" a pastry. Chef/owner James Miller's pain au chocolat is absolute perfection, especially when bites are alternated with sips of Americano, and his croissants seem to sing songs about sweet butter. Seriously. Listen carefully next time; you can almost hear the flaky exterior's melt-in-your-mouth music. Quiches are divine matter as well, especially if you catch one on its way out of the oven. As Miller and his mindful crew knead and fold and smile benevolently, dogs and owners and children in strollers luxuriate as if no one on earth (or at least in Ballard) has anywhere to be today nor a care in the world—aside from maybe getting their hands on an orange brioche. LAURA CASSIDY

ALSO SERVES: lunch. 5909 24th Ave. N.W., 206-789-1463. BALLARD $

Cafe Campagne

There is no better brunch downtown. Period. This calmly swank French restaurant has European warmth and Seattle cool. Order anything with oeufs on the menu and you'll have to resist licking the plate clean; the eggs in oeufs piperade come in a skillet with saucy red peppers, ham, onions, and garlic—and a demi-baguette to wipe up the extras. If you're thinking entrées, look for croque and you're set: The croque-madame is essentially a great piece of bread with Gruyère, ham, and a fried egg baked into it, accompanied by a small green salad. The lamb burger is nothing to sniff at, either. For smaller appetites, there are baguettes with butter and honey, yogurt with fruit, and "French French Toast," which is thick brioche fried in bourbon egg batter. Any questions? STEVE WIECKING

ALSO SERVES: lunch and dinner. 1600 Post Alley, 206-728-2233. PIKE PLACE MARKET $–$$ www.campagnerestaurant.com

Cafe Flora

It's funny the way some meat eaters' faces will start to twitch when you tell them that they won't be having sausage with their eggs. Sit them down in front of Cafe Flora's excellent rosemary biscuits and sage vegetable gravy or the sublimely textured polenta and black bean hash, however, and that nervous tick will slow to a stop. (A similar-looking yet much differently sourced twitch tickles the corners of vegetarians' mouths just walking in the door.) For over a decade, with a menu that puts the focus on what's there instead of what isn't, Cafe Flora has been an excellent bridge for mixed- company meals. And brunch—especially when taken in the garden courtyard—is the best way to experience it. After all, breezy crosswinds and beignets—theirs come with a tart raspberry sauce that's balanced by vanilla bean cream—are for everyone. LAURA CASSIDY

ALSO SERVES: lunch and dinner. 2901 E. Madison St., 206-325-9100. MADISON PARK $–$$ www.cafeflora.com