The king of breakfasts in Burnaby – according to NOW readers – has a new challenger going after its crown.
And both restaurants are located just steps away from each other at the Amazing Brentwood.
NOW readers in 2021 voted OEB as the best breakfast in Burnaby for its amazing dishes that focus on fresh ingredients and plenty of them.
But one of this year's most anticipated arrivals on the Burnaby restaurant scene is the Japanese import Gram Cafe, home to globally-famous soufflé pancakes. The Osaka-based chain has four locations planned for Metro Vancouver, including one in Richmond at Aberdeen Centre and two in Vancouver proper.
The Brentwood location is now open seven days a week with some incredible dishes.
Soufflé pancakes are those impossibly thick and perfectly round fluffy and eggy pancakes that come stacked three high. At Gram, they call these their Premium Pancake, and they're served with an orb of butter, whipped cream, and syrup, but they limit how many they serve each day. Scroll throught the photos above and just try and tell me your aren't dying for them.
In addition to those "Premium Pancakes," Gram's extensive menu includes other pancake formats, like stuffed "Premium Smile" pancakes, classic pancakes, pancakes loaded with toppings or stuffed with fillings, breakfast plates, French Toasts, sandwiches, soups, ice creams and desserts, as well as tea and coffee drinks.
As promised, their Premium Pancakes are a showstopper. They melt in your mouth, and strike a nice balance of salty and sweet, and they are definitely a sight to behold when they land on your table, wiggling and jiggling and looking like they could topple at any moment.
Other offerings, like their traditional pancakes with toppings, make good use of fun flavour profiles, like baked apple with an Earl Grey tea cream and ice cream, or a more savoury set of pancakes with thick and juicy bacon strips and golden, creamy scrambled eggs.
“Our popular Premium Pancake quickly became a huge hit with our customers,” reads a short history bio. “Now we are ready to launch in Canada. The brand concept of gram is to create stores that can give customers ‘joy’ and ‘emotion’ to bring a unique and enjoyable experience for our guests.”
As for OEB, which stands for Over Easy Breakfast, it features some seriously over-the-top creations, too, including their signature "Soul in a Bowl." They've got potatoes fried in duck fat, breakfast poutine, all the epic pancakes and French toast you can imagine, as well as more traditional straightforward brekkie and lunch fare, too. My favourite is a divine lobster crepe. You can read more about it here, but safe to say that North Burnaby diners are now being spoiled with great breakfast places.
It’s breakfast wars and I’m all here for it.
- With files from Lindsay William-Ross, Vancouver is Awesome.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
