Now we come to the most important meal of the day.

If you’ve been following along these past few weeks, we’ve been serving our readers some of our picks for the best barbecue, pizza, burgers, ice cream, hot dogs, meat-and-threes and doughnuts in Alabama.

But it all begins with breakfast.

Earlier this week, my AL.com colleagues Shauna Stuart, Matt Wake and Michelle Matthews gave you their picks for the Top 5 breakfast places in Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile, respectively. On Friday, we will announce some of our readers’ favorites that we may have missed.

MORE: Birmingham’s best breakfast: Our Top 5

Huntsville’s best breakfast: Our Top 5

Mobile’s best breakfast: Our Top 5

Today, we reveal our statewide list of the Top 10 breakfast restaurants in Alabama, including a few old favorites and maybe a couple of places you’ve never been to or heard of.

And while we know there are lots of chains out there that serve a great breakfast — Another Broken Egg, Frothy Monkey, Big Bad Breakfast and, of course, Waffle House — this list only includes small, independent breakfast joints that you can’t find everywhere else.

So, from 10th to first, here we go:

10. Hazel’s Nook, Gulf Shores

120 East Fort Morgan Road, Gulf Shores; hazelsnook.com.

Going to Hazel’s Nook rekindles childhood memories of family beach trips to Gulf Shores, when we would pile into my dad’s hulking Ford LTD and head to Hazel’s for pancakes and patty sausage, country ham and scrambled eggs, bottomless cups of coffee (for the grown-ups) and those tiny glasses of orange juice (for us kids). These days, I’m more inclined to skip the breakfast buffet and instead order the create-your-own cheese omelet or the BLT sandwich, but it’s that trip back in time that I’m really going for. Hazel’s has been serving hearty breakfasts to hungry beachcombers since 1957, which, coincidentally, is the year I was born. So, we go way back together.

Order this: To get the full Hazel’s Nook experience, go for the breakfast buffet and sample a little bit of everything – bacon, eggs, pancakes, grits, sausage, biscuits, plus the omelet bar and the fruit station.

RELATED: 5 venerable Gulf Shores restaurants that we go back to every summer

9. Spot of Tea, Mobile

310 Dauphin St., Mobile; spotoftea.com.

Spot of Tea, which is directly across from Cathedral Square in downtown Mobile, has evolved over the years since Tony Moore opened a quaint tea room in 1994, with his mother, Ruby Moore, as hostess. It’s become a booming spot for brunch, which is offered daily starting at 8 a.m. Expect a long line on weekends. The restaurant has a large dining room as well as tables on the sidewalk and even on the other side of Dauphin Street. Brunch specialties include Blackened Shrimp and Cheese Grits with Andouille, Seafood Eggs Benedict, Sunny Avocado Toast and a Monte Christo Sandwich; lunch offerings include a variety of sandwiches, salads and soups. If your server asks if you’d like strawberry sweet tea, yes, you would. — Michelle Matthews

Order this: Eggs Cathedral, named for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception just across the street, is the most popular item on the menu at Spot of Tea: grilled English muffins topped with crab cakes, scrambled eggs and a seafood sauce with blackened grouper, crawfish and jumbo shrimp, served with crispy cubed hashbrowns. — MM

8. D’Road Cafe, Montgomery

121 Montgomery St., Montgomery; droadcafe.com.

D’Road Cafe — which opened in 2011 and moved to its current location in downtown Montgomery five years later — is a Capitol City favorite that’s famous for its real-deal Venezuelan dishes, including a breakfast menu that features criollo (with two eggs, shredded brisket or chicken, black beans, rice and plantains) and cachapas (corn pancakes with brisket or chicken, eggs and cheese). If you’re feeling less adventurous, there’s also a three-egg omelet with ham, cheese and spinach.

Order this: New to the breakfast menu is the Crazy Benedict, a cast-iron skillet dish with chicken, peppers, onions, tomato, spinach and cheese topped with a crispy waffle, two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.

RELATED: 6 more Montgomery dishes to add to your Alabama bucket list

7. Satsuma Chevron Breakfast & BBQ, Satsuma

6105 U.S. 43, Satsuma; satsumabreakfastandbbq.com.

Just off I-65, north of Mobile but still in Mobile County, you’ll find a Chevron gas station that serves a delicious breakfast in a spotless setting. Starting at 2:30 a.m. daily, breakfast is displayed near the register – fluffy biscuits, strips of bacon, Conecuh sausage links, scrambled eggs, grits, hashbrown patties and much more. If you’re on the go, take it with you. If you have a few minutes, there are tables for you to sit down and eat. And if you can’t make up your mind about what to eat, just order the ever-popular breakfast gumbo (see below). — Michelle Matthews

Order this: The World Famous Breakfast Gumbo was created years ago by owner Bill Beasley, who grew up in Louisiana. It’s a bowl of cheese grits topped with scrambled eggs, Applewood-smoked bacon, Conecuh sausage, diced sausage patties and sliced green onions. — MM

RELATED: Customers are pumped about breakfast gumbo at this Alabama gas station

6. Demetri’s BBQ, Homewood

1901 28th Ave. South, Homewood; demetrisbbq.com.

As beloved for its breakfast as it is its barbecue, Demetri’s BBQ began as El Rancho BBQ in downtown Homewood in 1961. Twelve years later, when owner Demetri Nakos moved one block away to the restaurant’s current location on 28th Avenue South, he changed the name to Demetri’s BBQ. Nakos died in 2002, but his son, Sam Nakos, continues the legacy. It’s a testament to Demetri’s staying power — and its loyal customers — that despite newer, bigger, brand-name breakfast places popping up all around it (Big Bad Breakfast, Maple Street Biscuit Company), the 60-something-year-old eatery continues to pack ‘em in — especially on Saturday mornings, when, it appears, all of Homewood goes there for French toast, biscuit sandwiches, Greek omelets and huevos rancheros. And don’t sleep on Demetri’s Sunday brunch, which features an elevated menu that includes shrimp and grits, a brisket omelet, screwdrivers and Bloody Marys.

Order this: Get the best of both worlds — breakfast and barbecue — with Demetri’s barbecue omelet, which is filled with pulled pork and served with a side of sauce.

RELATED: Demetri’s BBQ makes Playboy’s list of the 101 Best Breakfasts in America

5. The Standard Social Market, Huntsville

127 Holmes Ave., Suite 102, Huntsville; thestandardhsv.com.

The parking isn’t great. The prices aren’t cheap. But there’s no denying the awesomeness of The Standard Social Market’s handcrafted breakfast offerings. If you’re looking for the very best Huntsville breakfast, in terms of quality and execution, welcome home. They also do la-di-da brunch stuff (avocado toast, blackened pork belly BLT,) and most-excellent lunch/dinner (a deft cheeseburger and possibly the city’s most bitchin’ shrimp and grits). Downtown Huntsville was sorely missing a local, must-do breakfast and, upon its 2021 opening, the Standard filled that void. Their coffee and service are on-point too. The Standard’s interior is sleek yet warm and devoid of riffraff. — Matt Wake

Order this: The Old School Breakfast. A pregnant, zesty, house-ground sausage patty. Bacon that tastes like a Southern-rock guitar-solo sounds. Fried potatoes like your grandma would make if she was as cool as Helen Mirren, and two eggs how you want them. Plus biscuit or toast — but don’t be lame, do the biscuit. — MW

RELATED: The new go-to breakfast in downtown Hunstville

4. Julwin’s Restaurant, Fairhope

411 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope.

Believed to be the oldest eating establishment in Baldwin County, Julwin’s Restaurant has been serving Fairhope’s finest breakfast since 1945. And we can’t pass through this charming coastal town without making a pilgrimage to Julwin’s Restaurant for an eye-opening ham-and-eggs breakfast with grits and a biscuit. (We also love-love-love Julwin’s western omelet, with ham, bell pepper, onions and cheddar cheese.) But don’t just take our word for it. Our old friend, fellow Southern food sleuth and part-time Fairhope resident Rick Bragg is a big Julwin’s fan, too.

Order this: For something you can’t find at just any ol’ breakfast spot in Alabama, branch out and try the corned beef and hash, with grilled corned beef, bell peppers, onions, hashbrowns, cheese and two eggs.

RELATED: Fairhope’s Julwin’s Restaurant in the Alabama Restaurant Hall of Fame

3. Homecoming and Company, Guntersville

3637 Lake Guntersville Park Drive, Guntersville. homecomingandco.com/cafecountrystore

After cooking in restaurants from Charleston to Atlanta to Portland, Ore., chef Jessica Hanners came home to the little community of South Sauty Creek, on Guntersville Lake in the northwest corner of Alabama, where, five years ago, she opened a little dining gem that she called the Homecoming Café & Country Store. Folks came by car and by boat to eat her food. Last fall, Hanners moved her restaurant to Guntersville and renamed it Homecoming and Company, but all of our morning favorites are still on the menu, including such elevated breakfast fare as Green Eggs & Ham (ham, eggs, collard greens and an onion ring over stoneground grits) and the Dirty Bird (chicken tenders with maple syrup and bacon jam served between two waffles). And who can resist a Warm Hug (a biscuit with chocolate gravy)?

Order this: Our go-to for breakfast is the Candied Bacon Stuffed French Toast, which is every bit as delicious as it sounds.

RELATED: This destination Alabama cafe is worth the trip

2. Salem’s Diner, Homewood

2913 18th St. South, Homewood; salemsdiner.com.

If we were making a Southern-fried sitcom about a hole-in-the-wall breakfast joint – think “Cheers” but with bacon and eggs and an Alabama accent – Salem’s Diner would be our place and Wayne Salem, its personable owner, would be our star. With only a half-dozen or so stools around the J-shaped counter and three booths along the wall, Salem’s is so teeny-tiny that you can’t help but make friends with the folks sitting next to you. And with Wayne holding court, in fact, it’s so easy to get caught up in the conversation that we have to remind ourselves that we came here to eat, not chat. Breakfast at Salem’s is hearty and reliable, with sausage-and-egg sandwiches, ham-and-cheese omelets, pancakes, French toast and, a personal favorite, the Trashcan, with crispy hashbrowns, onions, peppers, tomatoes, cheese and sausage all thrown together into a heap of happiness and topped with an optional “lid” of two eggs.

Order this: Thanks to late-night TV host and stand-up comic Craig Ferguson, Salem’s is famous for its Philly cheesesteak — which Ferguson called “the best Philly cheesesteak I’ve ever tasted” — and at breakfast, Salem’s offers a Philly omelet, which is essentially a cheesesteak wrapped in an egg blanket instead of served on a bun. Dare we call it the best omelet we’ve ever eaten? We’ll ask Craig Ferguson the next time he comes to town.

RELATED: Remembering “The Commish,” Mike Slive, at Salem’s Diner

1. The Historic Waysider, Tuscaloosa

1512 Greensboro Ave., Tuscaloosa; www.facebook.com/TheWaysider.

You don’t have to be a fan of the Crimson Tide to appreciate breakfast at The Historic Waysider Restaurant, but it doesn’t hurt. Even the exterior of the cozy, 52-seat café on Tuscaloosa’s Greensboro Avenue is painted what owner Linda Smelley affectionately calls “Mal Moore red,” a reference to the late Alabama player, coach and athletics director who ate at the Waysider so often that Smelley sometimes put him to work as a greeter. A T-Town tradition for more than 70 years, the Waysider is also home to one of the heartiest breakfasts in the South, with steak and eggs, country ham and red-eye gravy, bottomless cups of coffee, and, on game-day weekends, elephant-shaped pancakes for the kids.

Order this: Most orders come with the Waysider’s famous made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits, but they’re so addictive, that you may need to get an extra serving for the table.

RELATED: Taste a little Alabama football history at this iconic Tuscaloosa restaurant

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