Emily Saladino

While even the most fervent of foodies typically makes do with a purely utilitarian morning meal of cold cereal or toast, we’re here to argue for the expansive sit-down breakfast, a festival of fluffy pancakes, towering waffles, savory eggs and perennially flowing coffee. Whether you’re tucking into a plate at the best diners in America, the best coffee shops in America or the best donut shops in America, treat yourself to a proper start-of-day meal at these spots serving the best breakfast in America. Follow Time Out USA on Facebook; sign up for the Time Out USA newsletter

Few native food traditions are as robust as America’s obsession with barbecue: highly seasoned, long-smoked meats that arrive on the plate tender, juicy and irresistible. BBQ has its roots in the South, but luckily for meat lovers everywhere, authentic smokehouses have proliferated across the nation. While it’s possible to find barbecue-style dishes at the best diners in America, the best steakhouses in America and even at the best brunch restaurants in America, when the craving strikes we go straight to the source. From roadside shacks to sprawling eateries serving saucy smoked ribs, brisket and pulled pork, here are the best BBQ restaurants in America.  

Analysts bemoan how many hard-working Americans are forced to lunch deskside, but another unheralded victim of modern workaholism is the big, buttery, old-fashioned breakfast. On-the-go cereal bars and $12 juices may seem de rigueur, but they are not the only games in town. We think it’s time to make more room in your week for a Bloody Mary and eggs Benedict—like, on a Tuesday!—and reclaim the day’s most important—and most delicious—meal. Luckily, the breakfast restaurants of America are well equipped to help. You can get boozy with a brunch in NYC (and boozier at a brunch in LA), get greasy at a gut-busting counter joint in Texas, or go healthy with a mound of fresh fruit at Oahu’s top café. From coast to coast—and beyond—America’s best breakfast restaurants are making a strong case for kicking off your day with a killer meal.

Engulfing a cheeseburger between two grilled cheese sandwiches may sound overwhelming, but the signature sammie at this brick-and-mortar spinoff of a food cart in Southwest Portland is enormously popular. Called YouCanHasCheeseburger, after a distinctly goofy Internet meme, the hearty handful serves up a griddled beef patty with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions, plus ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. The already-indulgent patty is then sandwiched between two grilled cheeses on Texas toast. Day passes to the nearest gym are regrettably not included.

The world is divided between people who eat burgers in white-tablecloth restaurants, and fools who do not. Denver diners in the former category sing the praises of the Colorado lamb burger at this elegant Larimer Square spot from James Beard Award winner Jennifer Jasinski. Tender local lamb is topped with peppery arugula, spicy aioli and house-made mozzarella, bringing Rocky Mountain swagger to Jasinski’s thoughtfully sourced, Mediterranean-leaning menu.

The Lone Star State has an abundance of beef, but a perennial pick for homestyle cookin’ (final “g” optional) is Lankford Grocery, a Depression-era fruit stand turned classic diner in a residential stretch of the Fourth Ward. Simple, well-seasoned steak burgers headline the straightforward menu, which is served on casual four-tops in the no-frills dining room, or cherry-red picnic tables on the outdoor patio. Spice fiends favor the Firehouse burger, which combines beef patties with habanero sauce, cayenne butter and scattered jalapenos for good measure. Que caliente, y’all.

“If you haven’t had breakfast at Brennan’s, you haven’t really been to New Orleans at all,” wrote novelist Peter S. Feibleman in 1971. Since 1946, like-minded breakfasters have arrived at the pink-painted French Quarter institution from 8am for ageless indulgences like bourbon milk punch, crab omelettes, praline bread pudding and Creole crepes. The restaurant relaunched with chef Slade Rushing in November 2014, after which he was promptly nominated for a James Beard Award. In addition to its timeless a la carte, Brennan’s now serves a three-course breakfast prix fixe.