Batter and Berries

Chef Derek Rylon tries to make the breakfast food at this simple, welcoming spot so flavorful you don’t need syrup. So he accompanies the French-toast flight (thin, eggy slices topped with the likes of caramel sauce and lemon zest) with a housemade maple butter you’ll want to spread on everything. And he created a dish called a “Cluk-N-Gaufre,” in which he stuffs pulled chicken into a cakey sweet-potato waffle and throws a fried chicken breast on top, dredged in vinegary hot sauce. Apparently Rylon also wants his restaurant to be so entertaining that you don’t have to bother with your own conversation: Servers occasionally interject with unprompted riddles.