Breakfast

Ah, the bumpy flight of the Flying Biscuit. In 2007 owner Delia Champion partnered with local franchise operator Raving Brands to expand beyond the Candler Park original and its Midtown offshoot. The quality at the franchised branches (there are now nine in Georgia) falters. The flagship, launched in 1993, has experienced its own ups and downs over the years, though recently we returned to find the cooking improved.

This newcomer launched outposts in Marietta and Acworth last year, bringing fresh energy to breakfast in the northern burbs. Southwestern influences rev many of the egg dishes,

The restaurant prides itself on using local vegetables (some from its own garden), but you’ll find more evidence of such efforts on the lunch menu; breakfast is mostly a straightforward montage of egg dishes, pancakes, and biscuit sandwiches.

A wonderfully eccentric Poncey-Highland stalwart since 1994, Java Jive serves a side of droll irony with its eggs and coffee.

It may be discreetly tucked into a nondescript strip mall on Peachtree Road, but it is well known to the local elites, who keep the restaurant busy until it stops serving breakfast at 2:30 p.m. Look to the dishes with Greek influences to give your morning a little opa.

The eclectic decor looks like the handiwork of your artiest friend. The kitchen is still finding its footing, but count on the flaky, fluffy biscuits and a couple of Vize­thann’s more inventive plates to please.

Since 1989 the restaurant has served reassuring scrambles and flapjacks to generations of recent college grads and young families—and to ageless partiers grateful for the bottomless cup of coffee.

Ria Pell’s breakfast diner has been a Grant Park draw since 2000, a bastion of tattooed waitresses and diverse crowds that mill in the small front parking lot while waiting for a table. Beyond the sense of community, though, the appeal can sometimes waver.

The business has expanded to outposts in Midtown and Buckhead, but we remain loyal to the bustling original. Grab a signature cinnamon roll if you’re in a hurry, but it’s worth sticking around for a sit-down meal.