From Loreen's to Dexter Coney

continued

It was his own esthetic decision to take down the American flags on the walls, many of them quite large, put up by McCalla, a fervently patriotic woman. "I've got nothing against a flag, but she had them all around," he says. "How many times do you need to see a flag? I still have two." A small one flies by the cash register, and a large one hangs outside the building. Other than adding the standard signatures of a Coney Island--"the Coneys, the gyros, the Greek salads"--he says he hasn't changed the menu much. "What could we change? It's breakfast! OK, we give four slices [of bacon and sausage] instead of three."

Dexter's Coney Island, 8124 Main St., 426-2255. Daily 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. (No website.)

---