Article originally appeared in the Macon Telegraph, By Eaton Wright, Telegraph correspondent.

I do love a good breakfast, and Local Yolkal Cafe in Milledgeville sure knows how to do it. They have a convivial atmosphere that feels almost like Athens, filled with students and locals alike. The waitstaff is knowledgeable and extremely friendly, but in a casual way like you're just over at a friend's house having breakfast.

The Southern Cheese Sticks for $6.79 are the perfect Southern amalgam of pimento cheese and grits, fried to a golden brown and served with bacon aioli sauce. The Chicken and Waffle Bites for $5.49, consisting of chicken dipped in waffle batter and fried, were not quite as successful but still not bad. “This Little Piggy Went to Breakfast,” which are sausage links dipped in pancake batter and fried, were similar.

Every breakfast place needs to have shrimp and grits, and indeed Local Yolkal does. Their version has gouda, sautéed onions and mushrooms, bacon and shrimp for $11.29 and there was not a smudge left. I had a Crab Cake Benedict and it was perfection. You can get a whole order for $11.29 or a half for $9.29. Next time, I'm getting the Hemingway Benedict, which has spinach and smoked salmon instead of the usual Canadian ham. Other Benedict choices include the Irish with corned beef hash, the Blackstone with bacon and tomato, and the Beauregard with a buttermilk biscuit, eggs to order, a sausage patty and sausage gravy all over it.

The omelets are available with one, two or three meats; with cream cheese and smoked salmon; shrimp and crabmeat; or with grilled chicken. They also have the usual Western, Veggie, Ham and Cheese, and Cheese.

We didn't have room for any pancakes or waffles, but judging from our neighbors' plates they look wonderful and very generous. A Belgian waffles order can come with peaches, strawberries, chocolate chips or pecans, and the buttermilk pancakes can be topped with any of those or banana. French toast or croissants are available, too.

Other breakfast choices include sausage and biscuits, steak and eggs, and a Capital Breakfast with three eggs, two pancakes, grits or hash browns, and choice of meat for $9.09. There are also egg plates with different arrangements of sides at various prices.

Local Yolkal also makes plenty of lunch choices like salads and sandwiches, but that's for your friends who just don't understand how you can eat breakfast all day. They can choose a chicken Caesar salad, or a turkey avocado wrap, or a turkey burger while you tuck into some pumpkin spice pancakes (the daily special when we visited) and a crabmeat omelet.

This is a great place to meet friends, laugh over a cup of coffee, and pig out on breakfast. Here, the question is not, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” but, “Can I get that chicken with a waffle and a pancake with that egg?”

LOCAL YOLKAL CAFE

☆☆☆

Address: 117 W. Hancock St., Milledgeville

Phone: 478-295-0098

Website: thelocalyolkal.com

Hours: 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday and 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday

Payment: Cash, credit

Smoking: No

Alcohol: Yes

Kids Menu: Yes

Noise Level: Low

Health Rating: 100

Price range: $7.09-$11.29

Restaurant reviewer dines anonymously at Telegraph expense. New restaurants must be open at least two months before a review. Reviews are not related to advertisements.