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Irene’s was the "Local Corner" selection in the May LVA. It has a 24-hour kitchen that serves good food, especially an old-style bone-in ham & eggs that requires a second plate to accommodate the ham.
Sorry you missed this great breakfast, but you didn’t have to. Many bars violate the ill-conceived smoking/food law, as it’s almost never enforced and no one really seems to care (there’s talk of it being repealed soon). But that’s not relevant here, because Irene’s is not one of the violators.
Irene’s has a completely separate kitchen and dining area; it can be accessed from the outside without having to set foot in the bar area. You can eat in the bar if you want to, though, and legally. The law says that you can’t order and be served while in the bar. But you can go up to the sliding glass window, place your order, and pick it up when you get buzzed. At that point, you can take your meal wherever you want to eat it.
Now that you know the "trick," how about giving the great breakfast another shot?