Zinc Café & Bar

Walk in around 9 a.m. and Zinc is all clinking cups, linen napkins and that impatient sparkle you get when a kitchen is firing for brunch. It sits on East Coast Highway, a narrow slab of glass, wood and a patio that soaks up sunlight and traffic noise in equal measure. Chilaquiles arrive with a bottom layer of tortilla that stays crunchy to the last forkful. Fish tacos are bright and a little charred. There are sliders and a burger that hold together, a stout breakfast burrito and a properly undone Benedict. Service is breezy, friendly and never theatrical. Locals come for coffee and meetings, visitors come for the patio and the salt air. Important: Zinc lives by daytime hours, and pastry luck varies, so order smart and seat yourself on the patio when the light is good.