The Breakfast Club Post

This will be one of the less interesting posts, but possibly one of the most useful. Do you like to go out for breakfast? Do you ever get bothered by the time limits of when and where you can get breakfast? Ever confused as to when what restaurant stops serving breakfast?

Well this is going to be your one-stop-shop for all dine-out breakfast info in Tallahassee, from IHOP to McDonald's. I like to stay out late and sleep late, and I have a nasty habit of needing to eat breakfast as soon as I wake up, whether that's 8:00am or 2:00pm, and sometimes I try to get a head start and eat breakfast at 5:00am - right before I go to bed after a long night. So I am constantly having to ask myself, "Where can I get breakfast at this hour?" This is going to be my personal set of notes to answer that question, but I'm going to be awesome to all you readers out there and make it accessible for you too.

*NOTE: This post will likely need constant updating... feel free to comment to help out!

Big, Real, Dedicated, Dine-In Breakfast Restaurants

IHOP - Breakfast all day - 24 hours on Monroe!
Village Inn - Breakfast all day - 24 hours!

Breakfast Early/Sometimes

Jenny's Lunchbox - 7:00am to ...? Sundays 8:30am to ...?
McDonald's - Until 10:30am
Burger King - Until 10:30am
Whataburger - Until 11am
Steak 'n Shake - Until 11am
Ray's Steel City Saloon - Sundays 10:30am to 2:00pm
Jim & Milt's - 6:30am to 10:00am?
Chick-Fil-A - Until 10:30am, closed Sundays
Hardee's - Until ...?

Breakfast Late Night/24 Hours

Whataburger - After 11pm
Steak 'n Shake - After 11pm
Waffle House - 24 hours!
Sonic - 24 hours!
Pita Pit - 24 hours!
IHOP - Dunno how long it's open, but later than 2pm anyway
Village Inn - 24 hours!
Denny's - JUST KIDDING YOU WON'T FIND ONE HERE :( All 3 locations closed in 2000, go fig. - Update: Apparently there's one hiding on-campus somewhere.

You'd Probably Never Think of Lindy's for Wings

Lindy's Chicken is an old time Tallahassee restaurant chain specializing in - you guessed it - fried chicken. Their chicken is really good, in fact all their food is really good, and well priced too. It's all down home southern food, like black eyed peas, collared greens, as well as french fries and other standbys. You can get white meat, dark meat, and even weird stuff like gizzards and liver, which I personally would never try.

Today I decided to revisit Lindy's for chicken wings, which is not their specialty, but it's nearby work and I pass it almost every day, and suddenly had the urge to get some this week. Let me tell you, while they have great fried chicken and even a great fried chicken filet sandwich - and right next to Chick-Fil-A on North Monroe, how gutsy is that? - their wings are not to be dismissed.

Why? What makes them so special? Especially for a place that doesn't specialize in wings? Well... nothing, really, but that's the beauty of it. Like everything at Lindy's, the recipe is straight forward, no nonsense. Quite honestly, Lindy's chicken wings are the quinetessential buffalo wing to me. The sauce is smooth, and gravy like, almost ketchup consistency, but not syrupy, and they use unbreaded fried chicken. They don't have any fancy flavors there, your options are mild, hot, or barbeque, and the hot wings taste kinda like your basic, generic hot wing. Except it's the perfect example of what a basic hot wing should be. It's a bold buffalo flavor, with just enough sting to open your nostrils, but won't give you a runny nose (unless you're really sensitive to that kinda thing). Best of all, if you get the special, 10 hot wings and either veggies or fries, it's only $6.45 plus tax. Honestly, most wing places charge about that much for 10 wings by themselves, no sides, and when they throw in "a side", it's 4 tiny celery sticks, and a dip if you're lucky. Not here. Lindy's hooks you up with a heaping handful of carrots and celery sticks, AND a ranch or bleu cheese dip for that $6.45. In all honesty, this is a very solid deal for a very solid wing. Nothing fancy, but a standard setting meal.

If you're out for hot wings and don't feel like getting fancy, and still want to watch your wallet, find your nearest Lindy's and give these a try. There are five locations around Tallahassee, and one in Crawfordville and one in Quincy. The Crawfordville location has their own website, http://crawfordvillelindys.com/ which features the full menu that you'll get at all locations. And even if you're not looking for wings and just want some no-nonsense, good old southern fried chicken, pass on KFC, and even Publix Deli chicken (which is also good!), and give Lindy's a try. They're an old Tallahassee tradition for a reason.