Doc Taylor’s

When it came time for breakfast in Hampton Roads, Patrick Evans-Hylton of Hampton Roads magazine and author of the book Popcorn, had one strong suggestion of where to go: Doc Taylor’s. We met him there for Ray-Ray sandwiches and sweet potato pecan pancakes and left fully satisfied and hungering for more on the menu: corned beef hash, granola pancakes, French toast, creamed chipped beef and scrapple, not to mention Key lime pie.

About that Ray-Ray: Ooo-eee is my best description. To think of it as a mere breakfast sandwich, which technically it is, would be like thinking of vintage Burgundy as grape juice. Built upon a good onion roll, it contains an egg, cheese and your meat of choice, and also a slice of tomato that has been encased in parmesan cheese and grilled so the cheese gets all crunchy-chewy at its edges. It no doubt would be good with the available bacon or andouille sausage, but Patrick clued us in to the chorizo. Made by chef Ray Labuen, this is one serious tube steak – rugged-textured, aggressively spiced, a sensational eye opener and, I suspect, a good hangover cure.

A beach house that really was a doctor’s office back in 1939 and is now surrounded by commerce, Doc Taylor’s is a fairly spacious place; but you likely will wait for a table to open up. If it’s a weekend or summertime, a long wait is guaranteed. Most folks don’t seem to mind. Cut-rate mimosas and bloody Marys go a long way to ease the pain.