What Kind of Morning Did You Come Here For?

A morning on the Grand Strand comes down to one question: are you here to linger, or are you here to launch? Blueberry's Grill answers that question one way — unhurried, scratch-kitchen builds where the plate arrives as something you sit with. The Smoked Salmon Benedict, the Bananas Foster & Walnuts French Toast, a bloody mary made from scratch — these are not things you eat quickly. They settle you into the morning and make the rest of the day feel optional. Then there's the other path, the one that's been feeding the Grand Strand since 2014. A family-run kitchen where Chef Jamie Daskalis's Red Velvet Waffle was named the best in South Carolina by Food Network Magazine, and locals still come back for it weekly. Johnny D's Waffles and Benedicts is a diner with a chef's ambition — where the menu runs wide, the coffee keeps coming, and the table turns over because you're ready to go somewhere.

Some days the whole point of breakfast is the breakfast. You sit down at Blueberry's Grill and the pace adjusts around you. The menu is built from scratch — no shortcuts, no assembly-line execution. What arrives at the table is the kind of thing that makes you put your phone face-down.

The Bananas Foster & Walnuts French Toast has the weight of a decision — challah soaked in vanilla custard, topped with caramelized banana in a flambéed rum sauce and candied walnuts. The Smoked Salmon Benedict arrives on a croissant: cold-smoked salmon, sliced red onion, tomatoes, cream cheese, two poached eggs, hollandaise on the side. The Charleston Shrimp & Grits runs on a bloody mary sauce, which makes a certain kind of sense at a table where cocktails are available from the moment the doors open.

The room has mimosas, handcrafted bloody marys, a full bar operating before noon without apology. Blueberry's Grill sits in the upscale-casual register — dressed up enough to feel intentional, relaxed enough that nobody rushes you. It's the breakfast where the waiter checks back twice and you haven't looked at your plans once.

This is what it means for breakfast to be the event.

Johnny D's operates on a different contract. The kitchen is still chef-driven — Chef Jamie Daskalis trained at the Culinary Institute of America, has a cookbook, her own retail line of sauces and spices, and a devoted following across three Grand Strand locations. But the philosophy is diner-hearted: creative builds, generous plates, a pace that respects your day.

The Red Velvet Waffle — red velvet cake batter, drizzled with cream cheese icing — was named the best waffle in South Carolina by Food Network Magazine. People who've had it describe it less like a waffle and more like something invented rather than assembled. The Crab Cake Benedict stacks two house-made crab cakes on an English muffin with grilled tomato, poached eggs, hollandaise, and a cajun remoulade — and makes the diner format feel like a deliberate choice, not a constraint. The menu runs deep: waffles, benedicts, skillets, french toast, omelets, platters. If you arrive before the main wave, the morning is yours to manage.

On a Saturday, regulars are already at the counter. The room fills fast, the coffee arrives fast, and the energy is forward-leaning. Johnny D's is the breakfast that sets up everything else.

The axis between these two places sharpens on weekends, and that's worth knowing before you go. Both draw lines. At Blueberry's Grill, the wait is part of the rhythm — guests arrive and settle in for the experience. At Johnny D's, the line moves because the tables turn, and the table turns because guests are ready for the rest of the day.

Larger groups feel this differently. A party of six or eight that wants to spread out, order slowly, and linger over a second round of drinks tends to find its natural home at Blueberry's Grill. A group that's hitting the beach by 9 AM finds its pace at Johnny D's.

Neither is a compromise. They're answers to different mornings.

Blueberry's Grill has two Grand Strand locations: the original Myrtle Beach spot at 7931 N Kings Hwy (near Grande Dunes), and a North Myrtle Beach location at 4856 Hwy 17 S (Barefoot Landing). Both are walk-in. Weekend mornings draw lines, particularly in peak season — a waitlist is available on their website. Verify current hours and seasonal adjustments at blueberrysgrill.com.

Johnny D's Waffles and Benedicts has three Grand Strand locations: Myrtle Beach at 3301 N Kings Hwy, North Myrtle Beach at 3900 Hwy 17 S, and Surfside Beach (the largest) at 1200 US-17 BUS. All locations are walk-in and have historically operated 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM daily. Arriving earlier in the morning is the lowest-friction entry point for groups with a full day ahead. Verify current hours at johnnydswaffles.com.

Guests staying in the surrounding communities who want their morning back have found the early window the cleanest solve: arrive before the crowd builds, eat well, and use the return as a wind-down before the day starts properly.

Two scratch kitchens, two different answers to the same question. The morning that lingers and becomes its own destination. The morning that fuels and frees. The Grand Strand has room for both — and so does a good week. The only real question is which version of the day you woke up wanting.