You've gotta eat breakfast. On this topic, you mom, your nutritionist and I agree. Whether or not we all agree on what to eat and where to eat it is another story.

Due to some recent houseguests, I found myself breakfasting at restaurants more than normal and that led me to ruminate on some of my favorite places to eat breakfast in the Milwaukee area.

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Heinemann's -- This legendary place began Downtown on Milwaukee Street and has had locations come and go all over town. When the Mayfair Road location closed, we shifted to 76th and Bluemound, although historically, we visited the Downtown and Whitefish Bay locations, which are now gone. Kind of like an overgrown diner, Heinemann's has pretty quick turnover, but it's clean and friendly and thankfully they have some healthy options. Breakfast, after all, can be one of the deadliest meals with all that fried meat, eggs and sugary syrup. I also like that they're quite open to substitutions without quarrel.

Ted's -- Located on the eastern edge of Wauwatosa on 62nd and North, Ted's is what in New York would be called a diner. It's almost entirely counter seating (there's one booth and a couple odd-shaped tables) -- which encourages (nay, demands) socializing -- and the service is fast. The food is reliable and relatively cheap, but I don't think they have oatmeal pancakes or turkey sausage, like Heinemann's.

City Market -- Although we used to go mostly to the one in Shorewood, we now frequent the Tosa location on 87th and North (there is another one nearby at 81st and Watertown Plank, too). There is nice outdoor seating, which makes up for the fact that the options are somewhat limited. The best feature, however, is the menu that has numerous healthy options. It's the priciest option in the bunch, but probably the easiest of the places when it comes to eating smart.

Omega -- Located on 27th and Morgan, we don't get to Omega all that much, but it's a great place when you've got a big group. On weekend mornings there's often a wait, but the service and turnover are fast in this huge restaurant -- which serves a little of everything, but I tend to only choose breakfast there -- so you don't usually have to sit around very long. Longest wait times are Sunday mornings, when the churches finish up and the ladies with the big hats arrive! Another good place, was the recently-shuttered Riverbrook just outside Shorewood on Capitol Drive.

Cafes -- If I just want a muffin or croissant -- for example -- and coffee, I'm inclined to hit any area Alterra or La Reve in Tosa Village. But insert your favorite coffee shop here.

My patio -- I wish I took advantage of this option more often in season, but the morning routine is a fragile, beat the clock situation, so although I carry a picture of us breakfasting under the umbrella, it's more imagination than realty. But I have eaten breakfast out there occasionally and one of my minor goals in life is do it more often.