A meal at Rick and Ann's could help you embark on a journey back to childhood, and that's exactly why the Lauers decided to open this little restaurant way back in 1989. The focus is on comfort food, minus the frills, and now Berkeley's residents can relish those waffles and pancakes they grew up eating. The scarcity of tables and snaking queues underlines their popularity.

If cooking breakfast is the last thing on your mind at the weekend, then here's Rick and Ann's to your rescue, with buttermilk pancakes, red flannel hash and tofu scramble amongst others. For dinner start with a vegetarian chilli plate of cheese quesadilla, tossed green salad, sour cream and salsa or Maryland crab cakes with Tabasco butter. Mains include chicken pot pie with root vegetables and peas, and the classic meatloaf with mashed potatoes, gravy and sautéed broccoli with green beans.