What about Denny's?

My kitchen -- of course, I'm not cooking!

Here's what was on my Sunday breakfast/brunch table this weekend: Mickey Mouse-shaped chocolate pecan waffles with two kinds of syrup options, scrambled eggs with chunks of ham and other stuff (not sure what all went into it; I just ate it), hash brown potatoes (again with unknown stuff added), sausage, ham, bacon, orange juice, grapefruit juice, coffee.

The only problem with the above-mentioned feast is that I am trying to control my portions (see my blog at http://www.shakopeenews.com/node/4631) so I didn't indulge in everything that was offered.

Mickey-Mouse shaped waffles? Ling would be down with that. Throw in some Care Bear shapes and perhaps Woodstock and Snoopy and you would have a regular customer.

On my latest quest to hit up every breakfast joint I can think of, I wound up at J.D. Hoyt's for Sunday brunch.
This is another meal I recommend to anyone who enjoys brunch. It costs $13.95 for all the eggs, cajun pork chops, ham, sausage, biscuits and gravy, cajun hashbrowns, beignets and coffee, oj and milk you can eat and drink.
The brunch is served family style which means you can have a buffet without getting out of your chair.
Check out the J.D. Hoyt's Web site at www.jdhoyts.com/.

There's a place in Uptown that has the best, albiet greasiest, breakfast (save my father's kitchen). It's called Uptown Diner. It's so good, and cheap and really unpretensious.
The servers wear brightly colored t-shirts and jeans with white aprons that are a bit ... dishevealed in perhaps the kindest term.
It's pretty cheap, too. Bring $9 and you've got yourself a fiest. It's pretty quick, on your way in you can grab a copy of the Onion and CityPages, you'll get through about two articles in the Onion and the food will be there.
It's right off Hennepin. Not to shabby.

If you're looking for good pancakes, you may venture out to Maria's Cafe in Minneapolis (Franklin and 11th). It's a Columbian cafe with a mix of North and South American foods. What stands out? The corn pancakes (cachapas venezolanas) are great. They also serve raisin walnut or plantain pancakes with homemade syrup, and a variety of egg-scramble dishes on the spicier side.

http://www.mariascafe.com/

I checked out Ideal Diner in Northeast Minneapolis a few weekends ago. This tiny hole-in-the-wall diner has about eight seats at a counter, and serves up traditional fare: steak & eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes.
It might not be worth a drive across town, but if you're in the area and want to feel at home in the "big city," this is a place I'd become a regular.