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For more than a decade, Teresa Brzozowska has dispensed blintzes, pierogis, eggs Benedict, and thick French toast made with challah or babka to a Brooklyn Heights clientele happy not to have to trek to Polish Greenpoint. The walls have the woodsy yet airy look of a well-run northern-European country place, but the clatter of dishes and shouted orders is the familiar morning cacophony of the New York coffee shop. But this is no generic greasy spoon. It was the blintzes that first won us—crisp, but smooth and crêpelike inside, with a semisweet farmer's cheese filling that is pure Eastern European grandma. And although pierogis don't sound like breakfast fare, steamed mushroom-and-sauerkraut with a dollop of sour cream has become our go-to order. The classics, of course, are executed flawlessly: eggs any style, crisp and salty home fries, sausage links, and spiced and garlicky kielbasa. If you are feeling really Slavic, or if a cold wind is blowing off the Promenade, begin with a belt of cognac from the bar. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Pierogis, $7

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Best of New York Awards

• Best Coffee Shop Breakfast (2002)