Because it’s the most important meal of the day, why not make it the most delicious? These Sonoma County chefs put a lot love into their mornings, with temptations crafted from local ingredients. Be it duck confit or salmon burritos, here are some top picks to get your day off to great start:
Mark Dierkhising serving gourmet food diner style.
Santa Rosa: DIERK’S PARKSIDE CAFÉ – It’s easy to miss, tucked as it is next to a tattoo parlor in a tiny shop whose paint job has seen
better days. Yet once you discover chef-owner Mark Dierkhising’s magical mélange of French, Mexican and classic mid-West comfort food, you’ll battle bears to snag one of the highly coveted tables. These are white tablecloth-caliber breakfasts, featuring silky duck confit with eggs, hash and fragrant warm apples; or Gompa’s Sandwich in a hearty stack of bacon, turkey, tomatoes, cheddar, lettuce and fried egg with pesto mayonnaise on Full Circle Bakery bread. Odes have been written to Arturo’s chicken fried steak, a monster platter of crispy-battered beef rounded out with hash browns, eggs, and sumptuous, homemade gravy. No meal is complete, either, without fried cinnamon-sugar pull-apart bread from Dierk’s grandma’s secret recipe.
404 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-573-5955, dierksparkside.com.
Sonoma/Carneros: THE FREMONT DINER – The only interruption to one of your best breakfasts ever may be the screech of tires as other 
would-be diners skid across Hwy. 121/12 trying to navigate the vineyards for the tiny, kinda-hidden parking lot. Chef-owner Chad Harris puts together ridiculously good comfort food with down-home soul (mmm, collard greens in the morning!). Start with a fried fruit pie and chicory coffee, wolf down some fried chicken and waffles, or tuck into feather-light biscuits and rib-stickin’ gravy. Some new temptations include huevos rancheros with eggs from Harris’ backyard hens, apple donuts and zingy, moist ricotta pancakes. A salted caramel milkshake for breakfast? Oh yeah.
2660 Fremont Dr., Sonoma, 707-938-7370, Facebook wall
Sonoma: CREEKSIDE CAFÉ – It doesn’t look like much from the outside. Well, okay, not much on the hodgepodge home-style interior, either. But then, the best places never do. This is diner-style, dahling, from the satisfying coffee to the big omelets, and the friendly locals that love this little hideaway tucked off the main drag. Pork chops and eggs, check. Mealy-moist-crisp edged home fries, check. Daily specials, you betcha, and even some fancy stuff like eggs Benedict, sourdough French toast and mimosas. Bonus: Breakfast is served until 2 p.m., and Fido can enjoy a nosh with you on the little patio.
239 Boyes Blvd., Sonoma, 707-996-8062.
Petaluma: TEA ROOM CAFÉ – If you can get past the wow of the life-sized metal cow perched atop the kitchen area, you can focus on the 
giant raven sculptures, or the big words EAT and TEA used as décor accents. Oh, but focus on the food, which charms with fresh-baked pastries, French toast with real maple syrup, buckwheat pancakes smothered in warm banana and pecans, or the delightful, re-thought eggs Benedict on biscuits with bacon and tomato. Sit on the sidewalk or perch inside, but just be prepared to wait for a table on weekends.
316 Western Ave., Petaluma, 707-765-0199, tearoomcafe.com.
Forestville: OFF THE TRACK CAFÉ – This delicious gem opened last April from chef Ryan Schroeder, formerly of Willi’s Seafood & Raw Bar in Healdsburg, along with his wife, Alicia, and partners Nick and Natalie Griffith. The name and the décor is a salute to trains, since it’s near a railroad track, and the menu is tiny. But all you really need to know is piping hot Taylor Maid coffee, a full-service espresso bar, and Fiorello’s Gelato, alongside filling pleasures like a breakfast burrito that’s plump with coastal-fresh salmon or sausage and roasted chiles. Save room for the fresh-baked pastries.
6544 Front St., Forestville, 707-887-1400, offthetrackcafe.com.
Windsor: Omelette Express – How could it not be all about breakfast at this comfy shrine to all things egg? This legendary spot also has a location on Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square, and they’re both always busy, with the morning meal served all day. Basically, if you can dream up an omelette idea, they’ll do it, in giant portions and served with cottage fries and fresh baked white or wheat sourdough bread. Name your ingredients or choose from the lengthy list of combos, like shrimp, olives and tomato. Then add your choice of cheese – maybe Jack, Swiss, Cheddar, American, Fontina, feta, or cream cheese. There are un-omelettes, too, such as Eggs Ranchero of two eggs up, topped with fresh salsa, guacamole, Cheddar and sour cream. Next, plan for a nice mid-day nap; with your belly so full, you’ll need one.
150 Windsor River Rd., Windsor, 707-838-6920, omelette.com. Also 112 4th St., Santa Rosa, 707-525-1690.
Community Cafe at 875 West Napa Street in Sonoma is now open for breakfast and lunch as well!
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