Nostalgia on Grant. As Dad & I were driving off towards Novato to try a new breakfast place, the Grant Ave. Cafe, I called my friend Daniel to check in on his weekend. By the end of the call, he was speeding towards Novato from Berkeley to meet us. He likes non-corporate unique type places, and this one looked the part.

Stepping into the interior, we noticed it was family-friendly with cute cars lining the window sill and a stack of coloring books and a bowl of crayons on the counter. We also understood that a party of 12, including kids, just left prior to our arrival which is why we navigated around stray pieces of waffles thrown to the floor by the kids. Classic rock and pop was playing in the background, and the walls were covered with movie posters and photos of a bygone era. Angelica, our waitress, was perky and pleasant.

Meanwhile, Daniel had decided upon a steak omelet which had real cut pieces of steak, green peppers, onion and mushrooms in it. Since he's on a special diet too, the chef kindly substituted fruit for the hash browns and English Muffin. He said the omelet was very good, and he's careful about his food.

I couldn't resist ordering something titled "Danny's tantrum scramble". It was eggs with spinach, ground beef, onions and mushrooms sauteed in with it. It was delicious, and the tomato slices that they substituted for the normal carbs were not grocery store type, but nice ripe sweet ones! This was great.

Dad thought that really, 1:30 p.m. was indeed time for lunch, not breakfast, so he ordered the grilled turkey special sandwich. It had fresh, ripe avocado in with the turkey and swiss cheese, and he loved the steak cut fries that came with it as well. He said, "Let's come back!"

As we were leaving Angelica introduced us to the chef, Martin, her father, as well as her mother who was helping out in the back. Although this restaurant has been around Novato for a long time, it's been under new ownership (her family's) for the last couple years. They are doing a great job of a simple, family friendly and delicious breakfast and lunch spot. Grant Ave. Cafe is open every morning from 7 a.m. and closes every day at 2:30 p.m., except for Sunday when it closes at 2:00.