Breakfast Date on the First Day of School

As I write this, my 14-year-old daughter, McKenzie, is enjoying her first day of high school and my 6-year-old son, Logan, is sitting in his first day of first grade.

My 4-year-old daughter, Piper, and I decided to celebrate the first day of school by going out to breakfast after we dropped Logan off at school.

We stopped in at , 208 S. Main St., in downtown Algonquin. I had not had the opportunity to eat at Bella’s before today and was looking forward to trying it.

When we arrived at about 8:30 a.m., we spotted my longtime friend Karen and her husband, John. Karen and I have been friends since the late ’70s and met in school, so it seemed apropos to have breakfast with her and her hubby.

is a small restaurant with a great homey feel. The colors are muted and soft and the decorations are not overdone.

The adults ordered coffee and Piper ordered water.

The coffee came promptly and was hot and strong. John ordered eggs and bacon, Karen ordered a spinach and Feta cheese omelet, while I opted for a ham and cheese omelet.

All of our meals came with hash browns or breakfast potatoes and either pancakes or toast. We all chose hash browns and toast. Piper had the kids Short Stack pancakes. The grownups discussed how the kids did this morning while getting ready for school and before we knew it, our food had arrived.

My omelet was really delicious. The egg part of the omelet was fluffy and the cheese to ham ratio was absolutely perfect. The hash browns also were cooked just right — crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Karen’s omelet looked fantastic! The pieces of Feta cheese were huge! Both Karen and John said their meals were great. Piper enjoyed her pancakes. She ate about half and brought the other half home to eat for lunch.

At one point during breakfast, Piper tried my hash browns and could not stop eating them.  Piper had never wanted to eat hash browns before, which proves that hash browns are something special because Pi could not stop eating them.

Piper and I really enjoyed our breakfast with Karen and John at . The atmosphere is quiet and homey and the food is fantastic. I am sure Piper and I will visit again on another school day. Maybe one day we will invite my dad to breakfast with us. I really think he would enjoy breakfast at !

More of Annie's Algonquin restaurant reviews:

• (Algonquin Sub Shop)
• A Back-to-School Lunch (Sonic Drive-In and Cafe Firefly)
• Not Just Pancakes at Georgia's Pancake House
• (El Molino)
• (Biaggi's)
• (The Texan Barbeque)
• (Nero's Pizza and Pub)
• (Riverview Restaurant)
• (Reese's Restaurant)
• (Kobe Japanese Steakhouse)
• (Tacos El Norte)
• (Cheeseburgers in Paradise)