Des Moines' best breakfasts

Gateway Market's Challah French toast

Eat it: $7.95, Gateway Market (2002 Woodland Ave., and 520 Market St.,
West Des Moines).
Info: 243-1754

With a breakfast as inherently flawless as French toast, any embellishments must be balanced with a respect for the basics: slice of bread sopped in batter, cooked over flame. Butter, syrup, eat. Gateway’s version follows this maxim. Thoughtfully stacked thick slices of South Union challah are hearty and dense, firm but moist, crispy but chewy — no easy accomplishment. Then the appropriate toppings: powdered sugar, thinly sliced strawberries, toasted pecans for texture, warm syrup for perfection. 

— Tim Paluch