THE DINER BREAKFAST >>>

Hey Mikey!

These days, diners are scarce, and therefore, ill defined. We're talking about a place where you can eat at the counter and josh with the waitresses or watch the choreographed artistry of a short-order cook at work. Here are

Alfred's Cafe & Bubble Room: When you drop in for the weekend breakfasts, the triple-decker Monte Cristo with ham, turkey, Swiss and cheddar cheeses is a stack of sandwich devilry - grilled on all six sides like a cubic block and served with requisite raspberry jam. Pancakes are huge, bacon is peppered and everything else good diner fare. 402 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.5491

Harvester Restaurant: The six cushy stools bolted in front of the Harvester's counter doesn't receive much breakfast action, but the booths and tables in the main dining room do - although mainly on the weekends. The bell dings, interrupting the soft pop music overhead, and most likely one of the 15 omelets will be rushed to patron, who has already been offered 15 cups of coffee. Pete Pilkey's Pick omelets arrive at our table most often. We dig the hard cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese shell loaded with green and red peppers, onions and diced sausage. However, all your favorite traditional morning starts are represented. 29 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.1193

Marcia's Silver Spoon Cafe: Tucked along the industrial warehouses, Marcia's Silver Spoon Café serves large platters of hot off the grill specialties such as hand rolled omelets, pancakes, patty melts, fish baskets and more. The country fried steak swims in gravy with two eggs, hash browns and toast - but mostly, it takes nearly two plates to hold up the goods. The omelets are equally large, and the ingredients inside are surprisingly fresh and crisp. The Denver omelet is one of the best we've tried.  Breakfast is served all day, except the pancakes as large as my head and the scrambles end at 11 a.m. on weekdays. 2601 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.472.0157

What is your favorite South Sound diner breakfast? We'll pop back on Spew with a few more of our favorite breakfast diners soon.