Billy's Downtown Deli

At Billy's Downtown Deli, one griddle handles two jobs. The morning side poaches eggs for a benedict and crisps potato latkes; the lunch side stacks smoked meat and corned beef by the quarter- and half-pound. Both run off a single counter on Dundas Street in downtown London, and both are daytime work — Billy's serves breakfast and lunch and closes by mid-afternoon, with no dinner service to speak of. The deli on the sign and the diner on the plate are one operation, run off one short shift.

Breakfast carries real menu weight here rather than a token short stack. The Skillet piles hash browns and diced corned beef under ham, hot peppers, cheese, two eggs, bacon, and a shake of Cajun spice, with toast to catch the overflow. Eggs Benedict comes in a half-dozen builds — peameal, ham, bacon, smoked meat, or spinach and tomato — and it runs all day rather than through a narrow brunch window. The Potato Latke Breakfast sets crisp potato pancakes beside two eggs and a choice of ham, bacon, or Oktoberfest sausage, with smoked meat available as a swap. French toast arrives as four thick slices dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar, and most plates are built to send a diner back to work full.