Max's Cafe in Corte Madera has recently rolled back breakfast time to an hour earlier, so you can enjoy a big Max's breakfast 7 days a week from 7 a.m.

There are encouragements to eat all around, so if you're dieting - beware!

Dad's fancy was the Ham and Four Cheese Omelet with Hash Browns. There was nothing skimpy about this huge fluffy omelet with chunky slices of ham tucked throughout the center.

Marine theme for Marin. I always enjoy stopping by Anchorage 5 Restaurant for the friendly service and cozy interior that has a marine theme that reminds me of home (Seattle). I've been wanting to try out their breakfast, and was given a nice opportunity a couple days ago.

Dad and I went to Toast the other morning, ok late morning for a meal. I say a meal since I was in the mood for breakfast, and Dad for lunch. Luckily, Toast is easily able to allow for such meal splitting!

Of course we checked the signboard for specials before entering. And lucky for us, since this is a very popular Mill Valley place, we were cheerfully seated right away.

Perkin' at Perko. Being in Delano, CA in the early morning Friday, my traveling companion suggested a quick breakfast at Perko's Cafe. It was a much more inspiring sight than the Denny's across the street or numerous fast food joints we passed earlier. I'm always game to try something new!

After a false start with a dirty coffee cum tea cup, replaced quickly, the Garden Omelet, although in need of some perking up on the plate styling side, was nonetheless genuine. Genuine and made to order were enough for this stretch of the road, although I might be a bit more strict on the place if it were in my neck of the woods or there were lots of other choices. A fine choice if you are in Delano and hungry!

Don't judge a book. Hidden away in a strip mall in Larkspur near Fukuzuke is a new casual Italian eatery that opens early for breakfast every day! Cafe Lucano is so unassuming, but when you step inside the staff is friendly and the place is well cared for and you can just tell...

I was tempted by a watermelon Italian Soda. Each table had a clean, folded and squared up Examiner for your reading enjoyment. Everything was so orderly and inviting!

Day-After Brunch. After Thanksgiving that is. Paul suggested we have brunch and after numerous phone calls finding most of our favorite spots and new ones closed due to the holiday weekend, Paul suggested we try Comforts Cafe. Bingo! I reviewed Comforts for the first time October 2006 on a visit with Paul as well. It's easy to go back to the tried and true.

Bon voyage breakfast. My frequent dining partner, and friend for more than ten years, Paul, is moving to Portland (this morning) so yesterday we had a little bon voyage breakfast in the city at the Curbside Cafe near on California near Fillmore in San Francisco. It was definitely a case of braving the elements as you can see from the photo, the storm had come back with some heavy rain.

Arty breakfast. Caffe DiVino on Caledonia in Sausalito is a very colorful place where you are surrounded by color and light, and in the evening, every evening music, usually jazz.

Despite having a car run into the front of the building and breaking the glass, Corte Madera Cafe is still open and serving its great food with charm. Coincidentally, Dad & I had breakfast their just a few days before the unfortunate incident. The above is necessarily the 'before' photo.

I delayed this post a bit until I could go and check out the damage myself. As you can see, the window is boarded up and there was some damage to the side wall.

Sunny Spot. No matter what's going on elsewhere, it always seems to me that Hamilton field is warm and sunny. I was reminded of that again when Dad and I stopped by the Hamilton Cafe for brunch last weekend. The interior of this cafe is warm, with paintings adorning every wall. There was Italian opera playing in the background, and it looked like local folk enjoy hanging out here. We did too.

Bright corner of San Rafael. Yesterday for lunch Dad & I stopped at Arrivederci Cafe in San Rafael. Housed in a brick building that looks like it has a delightful warm weather patio, the interior is light and bright and hosts a variety of art.

We opted to try some calamari fritti to start. Dad keeps forgetting that calamari is actually squid, and loves it until someone mentions the English translation, every time. Luckily, no one reminded him today and he liked Arrivederci's crisp version.

Bringing more sun in. I stopped by Willie's Cafe the other day for lunch, and found them in the midst of a reconstruction project. They are remodeling their deck area to be more enclosed, with sliding windows which will open up in the sunny weather, and can be closed and the spaced warmed more effectively for those colder days. That's the area I chose to eat in, and it was light and bright and I'm sure this place will be even more packed on weekends for a sunny breakfast. Willie's serves breakfast every day.

Daniel and I went out for a late dinner the other evening, and made it even later by traveling to Fairfax, a very relaxing town with lots of options for the veggie lover. We smelled the wonderful aromas coming from Cafe Lotus and made it our destination.

Daniel was quite exuberant about the smoke arising off of the Seekh Kabab, minced natural lamb kabab with crushed onions, cilantro, and roasted cumin seed. From experience, I knew that it could be difficult to capture the moment of billowing smoke well, but I think it actually photographed pretty dramatically. He was quite loquacious about the flavorful lamb.

The rain was with me. Usually Marvin's Breakfast Club is so packed even the outside tables have a line waiting for them. Now that I've gone, I can see why. I didn't have breakfast, but the breakfast plate that whizzed past me were a sight to behold. Golden potatoes, perfectly shaped eggs... it smelled delicious also.

Friday was my six month dental exam. Like many who are reading this, I chose my dentist to be near my work so I could efficiently take care of teeth on the lunch hour. That worked for about 10 years, then I changed work locales, but I love my dentist! So I'm guaranteed a visit to San Francisco twice a year.

Now I have butterflies... in the stomach. Imagine catching up on your Marin IJ reading to find the restaurant you just reviewed (Cafe Papillon) had closed! The story is wrong in one respect -- it did not close in 2007 since I was there for breakfast a few days ago... but I did a drive-by at lunch yesterday, and found, indeed it is very closed. The story reported that a new place will open there in spring, World Coffee Cafe.

Fresh leftovers. The day after I made the fresh tofu and tatsoi treat, I woke up and made small iron skillets of less than 24 hr old tofu with mushrooms and tatsoi saute with egg. I enjoy making these individual egg treats and putting the hot fry pan on a wooden trivet for a nice breakfast presentation. I just started the leftovers frying then poured two beaten eggs on top. I finished these in the oven.

I stopped in for breakfast at the Koffee Klatch the other day after being absent for a number of years. This place has a little history for me. My first visit was a few years ago when I met a man who I originally met via Match.com here, who did some research to find a fun place to meet before enjoying an annual fair in the nearby park. Although the meeting didn't blossom into a romance, I still have fond memories of the place and the day as he was a really nice man, just not enough chemistry. This time, rather than gazing into the eyes of a red-headed Celtic type, I observed the people around me and noticed that everyone was quite comfortable, whether the women with children, or the older folk. There were no generational conflicts here! Everyone was just made to feel at home by the busy waitress with a ready smile.

Quick breakfast at Chicago's Midway. On my way to Louisville, I picked up a great breakfast at Harry Caray's at Midway airport. I had the most cheerful waitress, and she told me there were two other restaurants in the Chicago area.

Breakfast at home. I just didn't feel like the traditional. Our typical American breakfasts are pretty staid and 'set'. How much more fun to realize you can eat anything at breakfast that your imagination can conjure. Breakfasts have quite a range around the world, and I first had my declaration of breakfast independence in Japan. How could your world not shift if you wake up to grilled fish, rice, pickles and green tea in the morning, with nary a piece of toast in sight? Some of my roommates long ago had declared a different kind of breakfast independence -- cold pizza leftovers. I never quite took to that although I appreciated their freedom from convention!

More of Sunday's outing to West Marin. So yesterday we left off with a couple of hungry kids, and a closed Drake's Beach Cafe. It seemed apropos to stop at the first restaurant we came across on our way back, which luckily happened to be open!

Smooth experience. No wonder LoCoco's Italian Pizzeria has been around so long. This family-run restaurant has it down. From the moment you walk in the door, you are immersed in a friendly yet not too tightly cozy atmosphere with a menu that's been honed from experience to local favorites.

I enjoyed the inventiveness of their House Special Salad, which included romaine lettuce with bleu cheese, pecans and currants. Doesn't health, taste and good looks fairly scream out of that photo?

What's that on my pancake? Wood shavings? I promise, it tasted better than that. I was just very intrigued when I saw this jam in my local Persian market.

This orange blossom jam runs like honey and the blossoms are tender-waxy. It was a lovely topping for some freshly made buttermilk pancakes.

Nice Touches. I stopped by Caffe DiVino for lunch last week; the last time I was there was for a very nice breakfast with Dad back in 2005. This Italian-inspired cafe bakes its focaccia fresh every day, along with its soup of the day.

Staying power with good food fresh and fast. My friend Jo-Ann introduced me a year or so ago to a good Chinese place in San Rafael, Ping's Mandarin Restaurant which as been around since 1993. Since we were in the neighborhood, Dad and I stopped in for lunch the other day.

Breakfast with Al Bano. Actually I was planning to go somewhere else for breakfast, but the place was closed and there I was in Larkspur. So I decided to try Cafe Lucano's breakfast offerings. I asked what the smooth Italian music was and I was shown an album of the popular singer "Al Bano". Giuseppe was serving this morning, one of the family who make your visit so friendly with his ready smile.

Dad and I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at a restaurant we stumbled upon in the Castro, Tangerine. It is popular in the neighborhood, we had a short wait in the foyer.

Dad wanted some simple Oatmeal. Simple yes, but beautiful and generously portioned with an add of fruit. Dad said every bite was delicious.