The Bagel Express opened in 1994, offering bagel breakfasts, soups and salads for lunch and espresso coffees.

With free wireless Internet seven days a week, Bagel Express is an ideal venue for a college student or busy professional looking to get some work done in a more comfortable environment than the office. (Updated 2.23.09)

Baker's Dozen, which began in 2004 as a mom-and-pop style doughnut store, is now a 24-hour-a-day operation. The S.W. 21st St. store recently moved a few blocks west into an 11,000-square-foot building that offers a 24-hour drive-through window seven days a week. The spacious dining room hours on 21st St., where all of the store's baking is done, are now 3 a.m. to 10 p.m. The S.E. 29th St. store, which used to be the baking site, remains open from 6 a.m. to noon daily.

Regulars will still find the popular Peanut Butter and Jelly Donut and the Chocolate and Peanut Butter Donut, with fresh batches now made twice a day. And you still get more for your money at Baker's Dozen, which stays true to its name by adding an extra doughnut to every dozen you purchase. Diabetic? No problem! Baker's Dozen offers several doughnuts made with Splenda. (Updated 9.15.09)

For a good time in a casual atmosphere, try Billard Airport Restaurant, which has been serving good ol' hot American food for more than half a century. Leased from Phillip Billard Airport, the restaurant welcomes all Topekans and visitors for breakfast and lunch daily, and dinner on Fridays and Saturdays. (Updated 2.20.09)

The Brickyard Barn Inn offers a romantic spot for a wedding, a cozy spot to get-away or a quiet space for a corporate lunch. This charming dairy barn was designed by Kansas State architecture students and built in 1927 with unusual large red, glazed brick on the exterior.

It has survived floods – in 1951 and again in 2005 when it came back from substantial damage. Efforts to remodel the barn into a home began in 1976, and it got its start as a bed and breakfast in the 1990s.

Owners Scott and Truanna Nickel will do what it takes to please guests and catering customers.

“Nobody in town is as full service as we are,” Scott says confidently. “If someone wants a mariachi band, we’ll find it.”