Whether you're a morning person who happily skips out of bed or the kind of person who takes on the zombie look for the first hours of the day, a great start can make the difference for the rest of the day. And what better way to start of the day than having a good breakfast.

This week I cruised around town during midmornings to checkout various breakfast places in search of the perfect French toast.

My first stop at our journey through the misty-grease and coffee-breeze settings was The Cookie Jar.

It may well be the fanciest place to go to thanks to a nice setting, not greasy air, and excellent food. The atmosphere makes it a perfect place to take your breakfast date, and the prices are affordable.

The service, however, is lousy.

Considering the number of waitresses working the floor, you would expect faster service and more attention.

You can be left waiting for your coffee refill until you've already finished the rest of your meal and are about ready to go.

The French toast here consists more of egg than bread and leaves you wondering what exactly you ate.

Not only that, the coffee tastes like tea and is not even warm when finally served.

The thing that still makes The Cookie Jar worth going to is the Nolan Breakfast. Two cinnamon rolls dipped in egg batter with hash browns and a slice of ham for $7.95 – nothing short of a strike of genius.

My second stop was Sourdough Sam's.

Located close to campus with reasonable prices and that friendly old-style dining touch to it, this is definitely the best place to go. You may have to wait a few minutes to get seated but the service is quick and the wait rarely exceeds five minutes.

The prices are just about the same as at The Cookie Jar ranging from $7.95 to $10.95 for a meal. But the portions are larger and you don't have to wait half an hour to get the food.

The restaurant's specialty is the sourdough pancakes and reindeer sausages with eggs. They both come highly recommended.

The French toast is excellent, though it could leave some wanting more of a cinnamon taste to it.

Unfortunately the drip coffee tastes like the usual watery-dribble found at diners. But at least it's hot, and the refills are quick and endless. You probably won't even have time to drink half a cup before it's filled up again.

The atmosphere is just what you would expect from a typical local diner -- greasy, friendly and joyful. You never leave this place without wanting to come back, the sooner the better.