Eat Athens: Breakfast at the oldest restaurant in town is worth getting up early

If your idea of what constitutes a great breakfast falls somewhere outside of places like Waffle House or Chick-fil-A, locating early morning eats in Athens isn't the easiest thing to do, particularly in the post-Mayflower era. Fresh coffee, hot biscuits and a decent bowl of grits are basic needs that seem like they'd be easy to meet, but there are surprisingly few spots around town that can manage to keep it that uncomplicated.

Like anything worth having, Strickland's Restaurant & Catering isn't super convenient to drive to and its business hours are limited, but the peace of mind and happiness of belly that awaits you is worth it. Located at 4723 Atlanta Hwy. (past all the car dealerships), Strickland's is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 6 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and there's a reason it's been around for over six decades.

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Strickland's name comes from original owner Essie Strickland, who opened the restaurant in 1960 at its original Broad Street location before selling to her nephew Paul in 1975. After a couple of decades on East Broad, Strickland's moved to its current home on Atlanta Highway in 1995. The restaurant continues to be owned and operated by the Strickland family the entire time, and they're experts at making guests feel welcome.

The setup at Strickland's feels split almost equally between dining area and kitchen, and the process for ordering is cafeteria-inspired. When the Banner-Herald stopped in for breakfast, there was a vintage plastic menu on the wall behind the counter (always a good sign) and paper menus to look over before ordering. Guests pick up a tray, have their plate filled by the staff, and choose a table in the dining room.

The menu at Strickland's changes daily, and breakfast and lunch plates are available throughout business hours. Divided into such categories as breakfast plates, lunch plates, biscuits and sandwiches, Strickland's menu also has a section for made-to-order pancakes, which are delivered to the table in short order. Vegetable plates are also available, and the menu of side items is full of staples from country ham to sliced hoop cheese.

When the Banner-Herald visited, we ordered a single gravy biscuit for $2.76, two pancakes and hot links for $8.50 and $2.69 for a large cup of iced tea. Cut in half and served covered in sawmill gravy, the huge biscuit was a masterclass in southern simplicity, striking a satisfying balance of texture and taste. The hot links were truly hot, and the pancakes were made with a passion that is clearly absent at chains such as IHOP and Cracker Barrel, places where people wait longer and pay more for food that doesn't hold a candle to Strickland's.

To view the daily menu at Strickland's, visit stricklandsrestaurant.com.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Eat Athens: Breakfast at the city's oldest restaurant