Cafe At the Plaza   

Milwaukee's Plaza Hotel has a secret. The cafe located within doesn't advertise heavily, but loyal regulars pack the place every day. Weekends are busiest, when locals gobble up breakfast food fit for hungry farmers -- huge omelets, homestyle hash browns and fluffy hotcakes. The art deco architecture adds a classy air to the cafe, and the outdoor patio fills up at lunchtime with hotel residents, downtown businesspeople and East Side hipsters. Service can be pretty slow, as the kitchen seems understaffed at times. Taking a seat at the counter usually speeds things up. -- Jessica Zierten