Breakfast Special

This is one caramel apple that's OK to eat at 7 a.m. Smothered in house-made caramel sauce and a healthy dollop of whipped cinnamon butter, the Brasserie's whole wheat pancakes are seasonally prepared with mild gala apples. It'll remind you of the classic fall county fair treat, and it's one of the signature items on the Renaissance Hotel restaurant's updated menu. "Lots of indigenous ingredients — that's what we're trying to work into the menu," says executive chef Brett Montgomery, who recently moved to Cleveland from Texas. In the South that meant onions and peppers. Here, it's foods such as apples and tomatoes, including a version of eggs Benedict made with heirloom tomatoes instead of Canadian bacon.