John O'Groats Restaurant   

The folksy Scottish name notwithstanding, O'Groats does gourmet breakfasts like nobody's business. Regular menu items include lemon, pumpkin or blueberry pancakes and crispy cilantro potato cakes over vegetarian hash. Specials run the gamut from smoked salmon creations to seasonally inspired griddle items. Both biscuits and bacon are rich, too. All things considered, it's no wonder that people flock here from the earliest hours till the close of business on weekends, regardless of the higher-than-average prices and lengthy wait times. Evening dining is usually a tad less hectic, though the fish-n-chips and other dinner specialties have earned a sizeable fan base of their own. Depending on when you visit, the atmosphere can be as comfy as your best friend's living room or as hectic as Grand Central Station. When things are calm, owner Paul Taylor and his crew provide some of the friendliest service this side of the Mississippi. When the restaurant is at its most crowded, though, it's a maze of quick-stepping servers, oversized baby strollers and bleary-eyed young yuppies vying for flyaway sections of the LA Times. Proceed with caution, and expect wait times of approximately an hour.