The old-school breakfast joint sprang up in Route 66's heyday, and waitresses still deliver thick-cut French toast and plate-defying omelettes - along with free doughnut holes and Milk Duds - near the fabled road's starting point.

BBC: A perfect day in Chicago

It was always the same: a great wedge of papaya with limes, a crisp thin omelette with green chilis mixed in, two slices of inch-thick white-bread toast, a dollop of red jelly and of margarine, and a pot of coffee with milk.

CNN: From Our Correspondent: On a Magical Hill

The rillettes in a potted-duck appetizer were packed tightly into a small glass jar and sealed with a thick layer of creamy, peppered lard for spreading on toast triangles, while a mammoth pork chop, marbled with luscious fat, tasted of buttered popcorn.

NEWYORKER: Allswell