Dunno about you, Road Trips Foodies, but there’s something special about a regional breakfast on the road.

The Lake of the Ozarks region of Missouri has lots of choices. Highlighted below are just a few area eateries making a name for themselves and their breakfasts.

Diehard folks enamored with the first meal of the day will truly enjoy Tonka Hills Restaurant in Linn Creek. On Saturdays and Sundays, Tonka Hills Restaurant, 2598 United States Highway 54, Linn Creek, Missouri, has one of the best breakfast buffets around with fresh fruits, crispy bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy and many other options. On weekdays the buffet is gone, but the menu features “build-your-own” breakfast platters and over-sized omelets made to order for mom and dad, as well as French toast sticks for the kids. Tonka Hills Restaurant serves breakfast daily from 7 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. but selected breakfast menu items are available all day. The weekend breakfast buffet runs from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Skippers at the LakeSide Café can enjoy dining indoors, boat-side service and carry-out options.
Dine indoors or go outside to enjoy that lakeside meal in the morning. There is boat-side service, as well as a carry-out option for those skippers who might want to partake of the LakeSide Café’s spectacular breakfast on their boats. The Café has 12 breakfast plates on the menu, several with whimsical nautical-themed names. Put in a yeoman’s request for Swabbie Stack Pancackes, a Skipper’s Breakfast Sandwich or the Three Sheets to the Wind French Toast. Dive into the Crabby Onion Omelet – with crab meat, caramelized onions and cream cheese – or sink your teeth into The Pontoon – a pillow of hash browns stuffed with bacon, onions and cheese. The Café is open Wednesday throughy Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Get your fill of fresh, fluffy pancakes at Mitch & Duffs at Dogwood Hills Golf Resort. Golfers who want fuel for the long drives, but also don’t want to waste any time from the meal table to the first tee can get their pregame grub at Mitch and Duff’s Restaurant. Golfers and non-golfers both flock to the restaurant, famous for being the home of the 99-cents, all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. Another of the restaurant’s standards is the “country breakfast” special of eggs, bacon or sausage, a generous portion of hash browns and a choice of breakfast breads. Mitch and Duff’s is open for breakfast from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. seven days a week. The restaurant is open seasonally and is closed from November 1 through February, reopening March 1.

Tupelo Honey’s Bakery, Camdenton, is almost a required stop in the morning. Try specialty omelets made to order, pick some crab cakes benedict or eat a giant Machaca burrito. If you’re not feeling adventurous, there are plenty of traditional breakfast favorites on the menu, too. The restaurant’s homemade preserves and jellies are perfect for warm buttered breakfast breads and the Tupelo honey is made for an order of hot biscuits. Tupelo Honey’s dishes out a great breakfast each day from 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Cozy Café in Osage Beach has breakfasts that will make you swear your mother’s helping in the kitchen. The Cozy Café is the best place to find comfort food that tastes so home-cooked, it might make Mom a little jealous to see you eating it. Take your pick from golden-browned Belgian waffles, crispy bacon, juicy rib eyes, pan-fried eggs, savory sausage, smoked country ham, seared corned-beef hash and home-style biscuits and gravy. The Café is open daily from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more dining options at your fingertips, be they breakfast, lunch, dinner or otherwise, please check out the Lake of the Ozarks Dining Guide online or visit the dining section of FunLake.com for a full list of Lake-area restaurants.

(Photo courtesy of Cozy Café)