General manager Matt Busby prepares a Chemex coffee to go with a signature breakfast waffle at the Camp House. The waffle, topped with yogurt, house-made granola and strawberries and blueberries, is drizzled with date sauce.It's what nutritionists say is the most important meal of the day - breakfast.
With that in mind, many local restaurants have added a breakfast menu to help customers get their day off to a good start.
Camp House on Williams Street on the Southside has a reputation of having some of the best coffee in town, but its deli-style breakfast also is getting serious attention.
"When we opened in June 2010, we started out with just coffee and pastries," says Aaron Rauch, coffee program manager. "But because of customers' requests, we added a breakfast menu."
Today, Camp House offers an assortment of egg sandwiches including egg with cheese, egg with vegetables and, for the more adventurous customer, they offer a green egg sandwich prepared with pesto and a red egg sandwich served with a Thai sriracha chili sauce.
But good coffee is the key to a good start to a morning, Rauch says, explaining their coffee comes from Counter Culture Coffee out of Durham, N.C.
"Their coffee has consistently been rated on of the best micro-roasters not just in the United States but in the world," Rauch says. "They hold themselves to high standards of what coffee they roast."
Just blocks away from Camp House is Go Bagel, a restaurant that offers homemade bagels made fresh daily on site.
"We make New York-style bagels," says Tom Bleasdale, owner. "We also make custom in-house cream cheese."
Bagel sandwiches are offered on the breakfast and lunch menus, he says. Go Bagel also offers freshly-brewed gourmet coffee.
Both restaurants offer free Internet service to customers.
"Many of our customers grab a table, open their laptops, order breakfast, then do their work and come back up to the counter and order lunch," Rauch says. "We have no policy that you have to purchase anything. We welcome people to hang out."
Contact staff writer Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6396.