For many, it’s the forgotten meal you grab on the run, make on weekends, look for on vacation or forget altogether. But many will tell you it’s the most important meal of the day.

Breakfasts charge your battery for whatever awaits you daily; at home, work or play!  It can be something as grand as an Easter brunch, taking mom out on her special day or just a leisurely cup of java with the boys. The variety of offerings in our area is enormous, ranging from McDonald’s and Denny’s to the Silo and the Sagamore.

Let’s begin by setting some standards.  We usually don’t want to wait to be seated.  Coffee or juice offered right away, and refills a must!  The table should be clean, ambiance relatively quiet and a great variety of choices.

Locals will steer you to the best places; don’t be turned off by the appearance. Sometimes the ‘greasy spoons’ deliver the best ingredients and values.  Remember sitting at a counter, the owner has his back to you on the grill, his wife is pouring coffee in those big mugs and if you miss a day they want to know where you were?  Bill Gate’s diner in Bolton, Potter’s in Warrensburg, Slim’s and Zeke’s in Lake George and the Palace in Glens Falls were those kinds of places. All great and all missed.

Today each town or village has remnants of those places like Bill’s in Warrensburg, Prospect Mt. Diner in Lake George, Poopie Di Manno’s in Glens Falls and Latham’s in Hudson Falls.  Good, long standing local establishments that you can always count on.

First, let’s throw out all the chains of the world; the places that put your breakfast in a bun, or wrap it in aluminum foil and the home fries resemble a fried hockey puck.  On the road I’ll give Denny’s and Friendly’s a shot. I truly miss Howard Johnson’s although the one in Lake Placid is still standing and great.  Stewart’s coffee is excellent and Nice ‘n Easy’s breakfast pizza is a real treat.

Some accommodations should give you free breakfast, lunch and dinner too!  Ordinarily, the tureens are filled with low-grade bacon, dime-sized pancakes, scrambled eggs that taste like rubber and a toaster that takes way too long. Some places though, like the Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn’s and Marriott Courtyard’s truly do breakfast justice.

For those special occasion breakfast days where they change the name to ‘brunch,’ like Easter Sunday, Mother’s Day or New Year’s Day, it’s hard to beat our local hotels.  The Queensbury, Holiday Inn, Fort William Henry and Sagamore really deliver.   A little further south The Gideon Putnam does it almost weekly. They have the room, staff and facilities to spread it out, provide live music and give you an enormous amount of choices. You’ll pay for it, but you’ll go home stuffed and happy! Right here in our own backyard, the East Cove’s Sunday brunch has been a long standing tradition and an excellent value.

Café Vero in Lake George Village is a great stop.  Sitting by the fireplace is a real treat and they have an excellent selection of pastries and omelets. Art Leonard’s Prospect Mountain Diner is a popular breakfast choice 24/7.  Their eggs Benedict are the “Filet Mignon” of the morning crowd. Sutton’s in Queensbury and Gamble’s Bakery are also great places that serve fresh, wholesome food and excellent service.  The Tamarack Inn on Canada Street in Lake George is a cozy, family run establishment that features stuffed French toast and a variety of pancakes during the season.

The owners of the Silo in Queensbury have just expanded their cozy, Adirondack themed dining area to accommodate the daily locals. Their breakfasts are fresh and offer everything from pancakes and waffles to eggs and homefries. One of the area’s best!

Lastly, a real enigma in our area for breakfast is the Lone Bull on Lakeshore Drive, Lake George.  Don’t let the aroma of the horse stables across the street turn you off.  Try to get there around 9am to beat the long lines that usually wind into the parking lot.   Inside, a veteran wait staff serves huge portions of everything imaginable.  You get a pot of coffee on your table, the eggs are extra large, the English muffins are sandwich size and platters are heaped to the rim. The homefries fresh, Canadian bacon sliced thick and corned beef hash is made daily.  A lot of food, but you can skip lunch!

So, roll out of bed, smell the coffee, call a friend and treat yourself to the most important meal of the day. In our area we are fortunate, as we have many options to satisfy!