Years ago, I had a job interview over breakfast. I was young, naive, and, to be fair, kind of an idiot. (At least now, I'm not so young.) My interviewers ordered coffee and toast. I got a large omelet.

It was a good omelet, I remember. Good potatoes, toast, and coffee, too. I'm sure I ate it full-speed, Homer Simpson style. Between bites, I answered the usual questions, including what were my weak points, as if they couldn't tell.

About halfway through the meal, while I had a forkful of omelet in one hand and a piece of toast in the other, the light went on. I was sitting with two guys who had barely touched their coffee. I'm chomping like a piranha. "You know," my little brain said to me, "you're not getting this job."

Breakfast interviews aren't about the food, they're about being impressive. That's why I don't like them. I'm not particularly impressive, but I am a good eater.

I do, however, love breakfast. Especially going out to breakfast, and above all going out during the work week. That is always a treat.

Eating breakfast out is one of the simple, enduring joys of life. During the week, maybe on a day off, maybe because you're meeting a friend, or maybe just because you want to, is a special, happy affair.

It's a self-contained moment of promise with the day still in front of you, and there's that clear instant of contentment when the coffee gets poured and the meal arrives. Everything else – the to-do list, the deadlines, the phone calls, the soul- deadening job – is off the radar for a moment. It's just you and the food.

So, yeah, I'm a breakfast guy, and I'm arguing breakfast in Sacramento's central city is a particular joy. I say that, in part, because I live and work in the area, so it's mostly what I know. Before we're done today, I'm going to ask for your recommendations for around the region.

By the way, we're talking weekdays here, though I've got no complaints about weekend breakfasts, starting with the fact they occur on weekends. But midweek, the streets are full and you can feel the buzz of the town. You get the energy of neighborhoods in motion, of businesses opening, and of people engaging in life.

That's why I like breakfast in the central city. The town is filled with buses and cars and people hustling to work or school. (That also makes sitting in front of a stack of pancakes – even for just a few minutes – feel like a small holiday.)

That city texture is a piece of what makes Sacramento a unique place. Its core mixes modern steel and structure with trees and older, amiable little buildings. You get progress and charm, all on one block, and it doesn't leave you feeling disconnected the way so many cities can.

And for me, breakfast is a great way to breathe that in. The area has some classics that most people seem to know about – and if you don't, take this as advice to join the party.

They include the Cornerstone Restaurant at 24th and J streets, the Tower Cafe at Land Park Drive and Broadway, the Fox & Goose Pub and Restaurant at 10th and R, Cafe Bernardo at 28th Street and Capitol Avenue and also at 15th and R streets, and, of course, Pancake Circus at 21st and Broadway.

But here are couple others that may be a bit of a surprise.

• Lucky Cafe on 21st Street between L and K streets. This is no secret. It was a hot, hot spot for a long run, then lost some cachet. But it's still a cool place to eat. Better, it's a good place to eat, and it just screams midtown.

• Crepeville at 18th and L streets. Breakfast all day and not just crepes. This airy, urban corner feels both sophisticated and comfortably Sacramento.

• Uptown Cafe on lower Del Paso Boulevard between Barstow and Colfax streets. It's an institution in the community and besides good food, it's got the breezy, comfortable air of a neighborhood classic.

• Market Club. I love this place. It's inside the Sacramento Farmers Market, 2630 Fifth St., south of Broadway, and it's the essence of simplicity and old-school. It goes back to when the produce market opened in 1933. One wall is covered with a large photo of the market in 1937, and the rest of the place, as clean and neat as it may be, is equally throwback, and that includes food that's underpriced and hearty.

Now it's your turn. These, plus the list accompanying this column, are some of my picks. Tell me yours. E-mail me, or comment online with other breakfast spots you like.

They can be from anywhere in our region. The south area? Elk Grove? Roseville? What about other suburbs or the foothills?

Help me build a better list and I'll put that in another "Good Life" column soon.

And if you're going to be building a list, or anything, let me remind you that it's important to start with a good breakfast.

Call The Bee's Rick Kushman, (916) 321-1187. Listen to him Thursdays at 8:40 a.m. on NewsTalk 1530 (KFBK) and 8:50 a.m. on Armstrong & Getty, Talk 650 KSTE.