The Track Kitchen

Our favorite place to start the day just might be the Track Kitchen_._ This supremely casual breakfast club draws the equestrian set who winter in Aiken, South Carolina, home to the renowned Aiken Training Track. Sheiks, cowboys, jockeys, foxhunters, and grooms pour their own coffee and gossip about the huntsman who lost his hounds or an up-and-coming stallion's prepotency, all the while feasting on owner Carol Carter's scrupulously prepared pancakes, country ham, and Western omelettes. The beloved domain adjoins the training track on a soft dirt road that remains unpaved out of concern for the hooves of horses who—in this town at least—always have the right of way.