You know it's the most important meal of the day, but you just can't decide where to go. Let us help. The following breakfast meals were picked as the "best" by the Weekly Volcano staff in our Best of Tacoma issues dating back to 2008. Enjoy.
BEST OF TACOMA 2011: BEST GIANT PANCAKE
Old Milwaukee Cafe on Sixth Ave is unassuming, tucked into a corner building just daring you to drive on by. But don't do it! Go inside and get the Wild Huckleberry Pancake; get two if you're feeling crazy. Each pancake takes up an entire plate and is just as much huckleberry as it is pancake, which just about made me bow down to worship this breakfast concoction. Each bite will make you swear increasing loyalty to all huckleberry kind. The pancake pairs nicely with a side of chicken sausage. One bite of pancake + one bite of sausage = breakfast bliss. - Kristin Kendle
[Old Milwaukee Cafe, 3102 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.761.2602]
BEST OF TACOMA 2011: BEST EXERCISE IN GLUTTONY
If you haven't attended this feast, you are denying yourself one of Tacoma's most extravagant ordeals. Expect a epicurean journey including oyster bar, shrimp cocktail shooters, hunks of meat, omelets, regular breakfast fare and crab legs. Plus they serve specialties that change weekly with a new geographic theme. And let us not forget the impressive dessert tower. Oh, what about alcohol? How about four glasses of a Champagne offering for $3? After this smorgasbord you will require sweatpants and a nap. Reservations are a must. Brunch runs Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. - Joshua Swainston
[C.I. Shenanigan's, 3017 Ruston Way, Tacoma, 253.752.8811]
BEST OF TACOMA 2010: BEST BRUNCH WITHOUT MEAT
When I suggest people go to Quickie Too for brunch, they always whine: “But the service is slow-w-w-w-w.” Get over it. You’re not a king or a queen, and you haven’t earned the right to demand royal service. You probably haven’t earned the right to eat the best pancakes in the universe either. But you can get them at Quickie Too if you’re willing to slow down for a minute. You can get tempe and seitan that tastes 10 times better than any variety of fried pork. Bring a friend. Have a conversation. And eat the best damn brunch ever.— Paul Schrag
[Quickie Too, 1324 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253.572.4549]
BEST OF TACOMA 2009: BEST EGGS IN 30 SECONDS
Screw the whole chicken and egg debate. Wittgenstein dismissed that long ago. I want to know where I can get the fluffiest, purest, most delicious scrambled egg in the world in less than 30 seconds. There’s one place. Renaissance Café on Pacific Avenue, near the University Bookstore. Owner Keith Flowers has a technique that must have been inspired by some demiurge that really likes scrambled eggs. He whips them with an espresso steamer, and they come out perfect every time. It’s an innovative masterpiece. You’ll never want pan-scrambled eggs again. Go down and try some. — Paul Schrag
[Renaissance Café, 1502 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, 253.722.1490]
BEST OF TACOMA 2009: BEST BREAKFAST
This tiny Proctor District bistro owned by Chef William Mueller and wife, Shannon, is a perennial Best Of winner. Sure, you might have to wait for a table, but once inside, you’ll promise yourself to come back every Tuesday-Sunday for breakfast. Mueller incorporates intelligent portion control with nontraditional ingredients — no massive portions like Marcia’s Silver Spoon, but he’ll extract the juice out of a Chardonnay seed for a dish. Enjoy chorizo sausage with a custard egg, cranberry walnut cream cheese stuffed French toast, strawberry banana waffle with an Amaretto glaze — even a true Paris bistro breakfast. Top it off with an organic Bistro Blend (Indonesian and Ethiopian) lavender latte. — Jake De Paul
[Babblin’ Babs Bistro, 2724 N. Proctor St., Tacoma, 253.761.9099]
BEST OF TACOMA 2009: BEST COFFEE
This year’s Best of Tacoma issue is bittersweet – for, amidst the celebration of all the good things Tacoma has to offer, we can’t help but be forced to remember the good things Tacoma lost over the last year. The Helm. Little Holland. And, of course, Blackwater Café – which was pretty much thee place to get coffee for Tacoma’s emerging hip - and those just looking for a really satisfying cup of Joe. But don’t cry for me Argentinean coffee farmers getting raped by greedy, international coffee conglomerates, luckily in Tacoma there’s still Satellite Coffee. Whether above Supernova in its original, tiny, Stadium District outpost (that now has a deck, yo!), or now at Masa, Satellite’s shot pulling experts whip Portland’s Stumptown beans into pure coffee heaven. Seriously. If you haven’t experienced it yet you don’t know what you’re missing. – Matt Driscoll
[Satellite Coffee, 817 Division Ave, Tacoma, 206.953.7773]
BEST OF TACOMA 2008: BEST GREASY BREAKFAST
Marcia’s Silver Spoon Cafe is the epitome of the term “greasy spoon.” As long as you know what you are getting into, these kinds of breakfasts can be the ultimate cure for a quickly developing hangover. “More orange juice, please!” — this is how my east coast “aunties” cook on the weekends. Smattered among the typical American eggs, meat and pancake combos, the predictable array of omelet options are exactly what you would expect to eat farm-side on your way to the Kentucky Derby. The portions demand you have some for lunch at home, and the server is your mother, your grandmother and your best friend all wrapped into one smiling package. This is not gourmet or healthy food, and neither are the prices, sometimes it’s better to just take it one bite at a time and let the fat make you all better. Go ahead, get cheddar and gravy on your hash browns, I dare you. — Daniel Blue
[Marcia’s Silver Spoon Café, 2601 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.472.0157]