Best cheap breakfast

The waitresses wear Sturgis T-shirts, the customers are gossiping about who owes whom money at Broadway's dirtier businesses, and no one takes any crap. We'd be willing to pay extra for such atmosphere, but Breakfast Palace serves it up free, along with the cheapest, heartiest breakfasts in town. For a measly $2.99, you get gritty realism as well as two eggs your way, tasty hash browns, toast and your choice of ham (thick slab), bacon or sausage (three each). The meaty items are quality, maple-cured pig; the eggs are perfectly prepared (they'll even poach them for you); and the hash browns are the fluffy, half-mashed, half-hashed kind that wear a crunchy, fat-flavored crust courtesy of their time on the grill. Ante up a little extra for a glass of O.J. that tastes like the actual fruit, and know that it doesn't get any cheaper -- or better -- than this.

Readers' choice: Pete's Kitchen