Unexpectedly Eggcellent Places for Breakfast in Punta Gorda

On a hidden street off Cooper across the railroad tracks from 41S, there is a bakery that not everyone knows about or may only know about because of their  karokee or drag queen bingo nights.  Doesn't look much like anything but a bakery in the front, a very good Italian one at that, but in the back there is a fairly substantial restaurant that serves fabulous breakfasts starting at around 7 a.m. until closing.  

Nino's Bakery, in addition to enormous omelets stuffed with your choosings, serves up the best french toast in town.  No surprise here. They use their own baked-fresh doughy, eggy bread which they soak in more eggs, sugar and spices to creat this hedonistic delight.  The parade of breakfast choices also includes breakfast sandwiches on a variety of bagels and eggs your way with breakfast meats and potatoes.

Closer into town, catecorner from the Ice House, the building with the big cow painted on the side is hard to miss.  While breakfast is not what you would expect here at a burger joint, the Burg'r Bar does more with eggs and pancakes than most other restaurants.  Capitalizing on the ingredients they already had on hand for burger enhancement, the Lynches have created a unique breakfast experience that's available from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m.  Their breakfast sandwich option pretty much follows the self-creation burger pattern, you choose the bread, cheese type and toppings.  I created the concoction below using avocado, bacon and swiss on a ciabatta roll.

At some point, you'll want to switch to sweet and order the pancakes or french toast, perhaps with walnuts and banannas or whatever the special is of the day.

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The Burg'r Bar's breakfast menu runs for three pages and includes biscuits and gravy, a full page of omelet choices including ones you can design yourself adding veggies, meat, and cheese selections, eggs benedit, house skillet, and a wide variety of sides.

In a spot known more for late night entertainment and its tex-mex cuisine, Deans South of the Border is another unexpected choice for an excellent breakfast.  While for a time it was undiscovered for an early meal, more locals and visitors have found their way here in the wee hours of the morning with an early 6:30 a.m.opening (until 11) .  Keeping with the Tex-Mex theme, in addition to typical desayuno fare, you can order up breakfast tacos, burritos with your choice of fillings to compliment your eggs and huevos rancheros.  Dean's omelets are some of best eaten with a fork, and the pancakes rank up there as well.  Other breakfast standards including southern specialties like biscuits and gravy are also served up in generous sizes.