Stopping at the Purple Onion Cafe is a ritual for Megan Harrison’s family on their frequent trips to their beach house in Ocean Isle.

“Since we usually come through Shallotte in the afternoon, we make a stop at the cafe to pick up a few loaves of homemade bread for sandwiches and fresh-baked cookies for the kids,” she says. “The next morning, we head back into town to fill up on breakfast before hitting the beach.”

Harrison almost always orders the Purple Onion omelet. “I get a taste of all my favorite ingredients — ham, grilled peppers, onions, mushrooms, and, best of all, melted pepper jack cheese,” she says.

“My husband always splurges on the Big Onion Breakfast Special, which takes up half the table when it arrives.” It comes with two eggs, two pieces of sausage, two pieces of apple-wood-smoked bacon, grits, home fries, a pancake, and a choice of Purple Onion’s freshly baked bread — perfect for sharing.

Harrison says they always try to get to the restaurant by 8 a.m. for the daily debut of the blueberry biscuits: “You can catch them right after they’ve come out of the oven — warm, gooey, and covered with icing.”