Tom's Diner

782 Washington Avenue between St. Johns and Sterling Place, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (718) 636-9738. Subway: 2, 3 to Eastern Parkway - Brooklyn Museum. Monday - Saturday 6:00am - 4:00pm. Average main course $5.50. Cash only.

This popular soda shop has survived the Depression, civil unrest and - most devastating of all - changing tastes. In business since 1936, Tom's has flourished in a gradually rebounding neighborhood, mostly because owner Gus Vlahavas and his family treat every customer like a long-lost cousin. Cozy up to the well-worn black-marbled counter, or grab a booth and enjoy first-rate fountain service, all-day breakfasts and fairly ambitious luncheonette fare, such as baked short ribs, crab cakes and roasted turkey. But Gus's real specialties are sandwiches (particularly the beef brisket) and griddle items like lemon-ricotta pancakes and outrageously good waffle concoctions. Although the nostalgia is a bit overworked, Gus makes sure his menu is a mix of old and innovative. "With breakfasts, you've got to keep coming up with new items," he explains as he mixes a round of cherry-lime rickeys. "You've got to try my pumpkin pancakes in season!" Every Saturday sees a hopping, alcohol-free brunch scene - you won't even miss that mimosa with your eggs Benedict when you're slurping away at one of Gus's "black and white" sodas.


Cafe Lafayette

99 South Portland Avenue at Fulton Street, Fort Green, Brooklyn (718) 624-1605. Subway: C to Lafayette Avenue; G to Fulton Street. 10:00am - midnight. Average main course $13.00. AmEx, MC,V.

What Alan Harding (Patois, Uncle Pho, The Red Rail) has done for Carroll Gardens, French photographer-cum-restaurateur Charles Sorel is doing for Fort Green. A year after opening Chez Oskar in 1999, Sorel debuted Cafe Lafayette a few blocks away. It's France by way of her former colonies in this tiny tin-ceilinged dinning room, which has become ground zero for the local French-African population. Choose a bottle of wine or champagne from the well-edited list, and sit at one of the outdoor tables, crammed under a straw canopy. The brunch menu id truely delightful and the place is packed on the weekends so get there early. The small open kitchen veers from predictable appetizers like the goat cheese salad to the more equatorial, and wildly popular, shrimp-and-sweet-potato fritters. Entrees stick to international variations on the simple-and-hearty theme: pan-seared lamb chops in a reduction of red wine and shallots; caramelized salmon with ginger; and Senegalese mafe, (a sweet mix of chunky beef, peanuts and yams). Desserts are strictly Continental - the big winner is a Chocolate Volcano with strawberry sauce and ice cream.


Dino's Place (The Sandwich Cart on the corner)

Literally on the NW corner of Spring Street and 6th Avenue. Subway: C to Spring Street. Open Monday - Friday 7:30am - 1:00pm. Cash only.

If your in a rush, but still long for a hot breakfast or only want to spend a couple of dollars to fill your sleep emptied belly, this stop is definitely worth making. The guys preparing these satisfying fares know the value of your time, but still serve up a breakfast sandwich fit to delight even those who deem themselves connoisseurs of the food cart. For only $2.50 you can get one of the best bacon, egg and cheese on a roll sandwiches I've ever tasted. They also have a surprising array of choices for those of you who want something more out of the ordinary. To top it off, the fruit stand next to the sandwich cart helps to easy the guilt of clogging our arteries with American cheese. Pick up a banana for $0.25 and you have a balanced breakfast that is both tasty and inexpensive.