Utica, NYBrunch

Mohawk Valley Living's holiday brunch guide points to Knead to Eat in Franklin Square for breakfast burritos, loaded omelets and pancakes. The burritos and stacked omelets are the weekend order at this downtown bakery-cafe, where the from-scratch baking carries over into the brunch plates. It is an easy central Utica stop for a sit-down morning.

Mohawk Valley Living's brunch roundup flags the inventive omelets at Sheri's on Bleecker Street, including cheeseburger and reuben versions, plus banana bread French toast and a plate called 'The Davenport.' The novelty omelets and the banana-bread French toast are what set this East Utica diner apart from a standard breakfast counter.

Mohawk Valley Living's holiday brunch guide names Beeches Manor in Rome for a sit-down spread that runs to champagne chicken and pumpkin pancakes. It is a more formal manor setting than a diner, the kind of place for a special-occasion brunch, with the champagne chicken and pumpkin pancakes as the dishes the guide singles out.

Utica's farm-to-table flagship makes Mohawk Valley Living's brunch list for its breakfast smash burgers and a chocolate chip bread pudding. The smash burger at brunch and the bread pudding show the same seasonal, from-scratch approach the Main Street kitchen brings to dinner, making it the upscale end of the local brunch options.

Mohawk Valley Living's brunch guide highlights Babe's at Harbor Point for its Fruity Pebbles French toast and a 'bangin' shrimp' benedict, and Rome Sentinel's most-reviewed feature confirms the North Genesee Street spot is a local draw. The cereal-crusted French toast and the shrimp benedict are the signatures at this waterfront-adjacent brunch room.