I find myself coming back to this place often, a gem on Madison. It's an old-school no nonsense breakfast spot. Let me explain...
It's a small neighborhood diner - a narrow space behind the counter so the servers had to maneuver their way around each other whenever there was more than one person at the aisle. I could see through to the kitchen with two people working diligently on the food orders and a child standing and watching in awe. Coffee grounds and toast crumbles speckled the cramped counter-top where the servers prepped food items and beverages.
The food: eggs and home fries usually slightly burnt, and a slightly over-diluted coffee of little else in notable quality. Substitutions are readily available (egg whites, turkey bacon).
The service: responsive and courteous, even at busier times. The servers and cooks work well together as a team, hustling to get orders out while still exchanging small pleasantries with the customers.
All of this works for me as a vision of the small, family-owned diner.
The biggest con for me is that parking may get a little tricky (street parking only), but I've always found a spot around the block that was reasonable.