When you walk through the doors of Stadium District's Shake Shake Shake it's like walking through a time warp portal delivering you smack dab into a rad, vintage burger joint: think soda machine, clean cut, bee bopping bunny hoppin', McFly fun with creamy delectable shakes and damn tasty burgers. The vibe is rad and the grub is good.

Just when I thought it couldn't get much better Shake Shake Shake rolls out of bed earlier with breakfast on the weekends. Oh yes, and it has just gotten better.

Large perfectly prepared waffles with golden brown edges and fluffy interiors are adorned with strawberries, caramel, whipped topping and even Nutella. Le sigh. Also on the morning menu are Pig-sicles, Scramble Scramble Scramble, Stadium Bowl Breakfast, Shakin' Egg Sandwich and several dishes paired with Bloody Marys or Mimosas.

There was one Shake Shake Shake breakfast dish that stood out: Bertha's Big ol' Biscuits ($5.99/$7.99). The biscuits are the proper fluffy consistency - not too dense - while the housemade sausage gravy highlights loads of tasty meaty bites and a nice creamy pepperiness you expect from your breakfast gravy.

I'm fairly certain the "hash browns" are really tater tot crumbles. I'm not complaining; I believe tots are the best manifestation of the potato.

Bottom line, check out Shake Shake Shake for breakfast before the masses catch on and the wait times are as severe as the rest in town. This menu is the bee's knees and will have you saying, "yum yum yum."

SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE, 8-11:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, 124 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, 253.507.4060

>>> This is one spicy Bloody Mary!

There are so many breakfast options I think we ought to rename the strip. Maybe "Sausage Street" is more appropriate, or "Rise and Shine Road." Seriously, think about it: chilaquilles from Masa, Shakabrah's magic potatoes, elk hash from Dirty Oscar's Annex, Old Milwaukee Café's huckleberry hotcakes or Engine House 9's California Benedict. The culinary options available on the Ave first thing in the AM (particularly on the weekends) are mighty and diverse. And now, The Boulevard of Breakfast has welcomed a new morning dining staple in The Original Pancake House.

As of Dec. 23, OPH, which serves up breakfast only morning, noon and night in the space that Primo Grill used to call home, has joined the ranks of Sixth Ave. breakfast establishments.

Read Jackie Fender's full review of The Original Pancake House in the Restaurant section.

Sometimes I wonder why on earth people insist on trying to improve upon a classic. I mean, really? Red Dawn? Total Recall? We did NOT need remakes featuring slightly different plot twists and subpar acting. It wasn't necessary. This happens in the culinary world. Too. Time after time I see folks trying to take grandma's classic dishes and make them more compelling and unique. Sure, the result is often foodie success. Many times, it's a total miss.

Sasquatch Cinnamon Rolls, located in Freighthouse Square, is a prime example of taking a classic and hitting it out of the park with a flavor revamp. Now, don't get me wrong, Sasquatch's classic roll is divine with its ooey-gooey frosting and warm cinnamon-y flavor but my Eat This Now recommendation is their E.T. Roll. Yes, it's named after the movie (let's pray they don't remake that one too!). For anyone who has seen the flick, you can probably guess the secret ingredient of this dessert-y breakfast roll - Reese's Pieces. Uh, yea.

Sasquatch bakes every roll from scratch with the best ingredients. The E.T. Roll is no exception. Sasquatch swirls in creamy peanut butter and Reese's Pieces throughout then tops this behemoth with tasty frosting.

The E.T. Roll is available in different sizes - from the minis or a one-pound beast. I recommend sharing; this rich sweet treat is filling and a hard one to conquer.

Sasquatch also serves coffee, tea and cocoa and other baked goods on site, plus owners Dagmar Solveig Simard and Damien Simard are always there to provide dazzling service and guaranteed giggles.

SASQUATCH CINNAMON ROLLS, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Freighthouse Square, 2501 E. D St., Tacoma, phone home at 253.398.4301

Like the Roman cornetto, New York bagel or San Francisco sourdough, the croissant is a baked good linked inseparably with a city. That magical place, of course, is Paris, the City of Lights and walking off calories, and that's strange because croissants are in fact Viennese. They can also be called viennoisseries, and their arrival in France dates within the last 200 years. You can bake them at home, except you won't because, although they require just half a dozen ingredients and water, you're obliged to start making them two days in advance.

I'm no professional baker. I admit that up front. But I fell profoundly in amour with croissants in Paris, so much so that I breakfasted on impeccable crescents from the brasserie La Renaissance on Rue Ordener in the 18th for a week straight. Since I got back, I've been on the hunt for the perfect croissant, or at least as close as I can get to it in Olympia. Let me also state for the record that, as with pizza, sex or Paul Thomas Anderson movies, an imperfect croissant is still pretty freakin' amazing.

I started at Wagner's European Bakery and Café, because although owner Rudy Wagner was born and trained in Bavaria, his restaurant smells so fantastic it lured me like a siren. Wagner's croissants are crispy and fluffy, with a taste balance shifted more toward the salty than the buttery. The interior is cool, unlike the slightly-warm versions preferred in Paris, with a flavor of chewy white bread. Bonus points for the Charlie Brown Christmas special music and inviting holiday directions, serious European points deducted for the server who thought I'd ordered something called a "café ¡ole!" No, server. No.

>>> Rhone Geha enjoys his croissant at The Bread Peddler in downtown Olympia, Dec. 19. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson

Then it was off to The Bread Peddler, which offers not only standard butter croissants but also varieties including vanilla bean sugar croissants - very tempting, but I stayed on target - and what Americans might call croissandwiches. The standard croissants here are small, about half the size of other specimens, and their crusts have a sugar-crystal crackle. That said, the pastries are delicious, with fluffy room-temperature interiors and welcome buttery aftertaste. The product's egg wash also leaves a noticeable flavor of yolk. Just remember to order two.

>>> Bonnie Elsey offers a bowl of fresh baked croissants at Mom's Baked Goods in Olympia, Dec. 19. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson

I'd heard promising reports about the croissants at Mom's Baked Goods, a carryout establishment with cinnamon rolls the size of grand pianos. Their croissant is also a monster, more loaf than roll. That heft means its crust has little crispiness, so the product is more of a sweet, buttery bread with an aftertaste of sugar. It's the least similar to a Parisian croissant of the pastries I sampled, but it does have the makings of an absolutely unbeatable ham and Swiss croissandwich. Also, the bill came in at just two dollars flat for a tasty 500 calories of food. I guess Mom expresses caring through baking.

My quest met its satisfying end at San Francisco Street Bakery, whose croissant had exactly the right crispiness and size. Its interior was so airy you could almost fly a drone through it. To my palate, the pastry had the most balanced flavor of the four, especially its just-slightly-salty aftertaste. I do wish the product were nuked a few seconds, but again, I'm expressing minor quibbles. You won't go too far south with any of these products. Some sell out early, though, so arrive as close to opening as you can. It'll also improve the interior temperature of the pastry.

All in all, San Francisco Street's croissant was the most comparable to those I had in Paris. It was also served with a disdain bordering on disgust, a quality many Americans say reminds them of France. Bon appétit, mes amis!

WAGNER'S EUROPEAN BAKERY AND CAFE, open 7 a.m. weekdays, 7:30 a.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. Sunday, 1013 Capitol Way S, Olympia, 360.357.7268

THE BREAD PEDDLER, open 7 a.m., 222 N Capitol Way, Olympia, 360.352.1175

MOM'S BAKED GOODS, open 7 a.m. Monday - Saturday, 916 4th Ave. E, Olympia, 360.943.0993

SAN FRANCISCO STREET BAKERY, open 6:30 a.m., 1320 San Francisco Ave. NE, Olympia, 360.753.8553