Columbia, MOBreakfast

COMO Magazine places Big Mama’s Café on the north side of town, where it keeps making waves with Southern-style breakfasts and soul food flavors. Inside Columbia’s own breakfast guide describes a family-owned room that looks unremarkable from the street and turns friendly the moment you walk in. The plates to know are the Big Mama’s Fresh, a breaded tenderloin with two eggs, hash browns and gravy, and the Country-Fried Skillet, country-fried steak under cheese, two eggs and gravy with a biscuit alongside.

Ernie’s Café & Steak House has been a local institution since 1934, and COMO Magazine writes that it continues to deliver. The kitchen is known for hearty omelets and fluffy pancakes, served in a room where art and neon colors make for a cozy, vintage setting. The magazine groups it with Columbia’s classic diners rather than its newer cafes, a short walk east of the Ninth Street corner. Come for an omelet and a booth, and expect the room to be busy on a weekend morning.

COMO Magazine’s breakfast feature records the passionate fanfare Cafe Berlin draws in Columbia, and the plates it singles out are the Pulled Pork Hash, a savory, stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish, and the Anonymous Tacos, which balance spice, crunch and a sense of breakfast adventure. The room sits on North Tenth Street in the North Village Arts District, where it doubles as a music venue later in the day. Order the hash for the fuller plate or the tacos for more heat.