Some mornings call for a long brunch. Others call for a mug of coffee, a plate of eggs and a seat where the neighbors already know your order. Simple Joe Cafe on Government Street has been built for the second kind of morning since it opened in Mid City in 2015.

The cafe takes its cue from the neighborhood diners that thrived in the 1970s and '80s, the kind of place where regulars run into each other over home-cooked food. Breakfast and lunch are both served any time the doors are open, and the cafe warns newcomers not to be scared off by a line.

Start with breakfast

Pancakes come as a single, double or triple stack, with add-ins like strawberries, blueberries, banana, pecans or chocolate chips. French toast fans can go for Aunt Marsha's version, a full order topped with sliced banana and caramel sauce.

Savory options include shrimp and grits in a New Orleans-style barbecue butter sauce, omelets with fillings that run from smoked sausage to pork chop, and the Big Joe Sandwich with two eggs, cheese and bacon or sausage. Lighter appetites can try the blueberry quinoa with homemade granola and Greek yogurt, or a smoked salmon bagel with herb cream cheese and fried capers.

Or stay for lunch

The lunch side leans on sandwiches: a blackened shrimp po-boy with spicy aioli, Mark's Club, a Philly cheesesteak on an Amoroso roll and a half-pound homemade burger. There's also a from-scratch chicken Alfredo and grilled veggie quesadillas.

Coffee and hours

Simple Joe pours Creole and Sumatra coffee from River Road Coffee, with free refills on dine-in mugs. The iced coffee is made with coffee ice cubes, so it doesn't water down as you linger.

Find the cafe at 3057 Government St. It's open 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, and closed Mondays. Call 225-478-2999 or order online through the cafe's website.

Pull up a chair, refill that mug and see why the regulars keep coming back.

Photo courtesy of Simple Joe Cafe.