Where do you go out and eat breakfast?
Three years ago, I would have struggled to recommend a place, but these days, Burnaby is rocking a fine array of breakfast choices that go beyond what you would expect.
My girlfriend doesn’t really get the “whole breakfast thing” as she calls – even at home, let alone paying for breakfast. I just can’t get her interested in it so while she sleeps in on Sundays I go out to get my bacon fix.
That’s why I’m writing about this on a Sunday because breakfast is on my damn mind.
The Parkcrest Diner on Broadway near Holdom is a good old-school choice, especially for the atmosphere. And please don’t dismiss chain restaurants like Denny’s, Ricky’s and White Spot – they have all upped their breakfast game with changes to their menus to keep up with the independents that are radically changing breakfast menus. Cora on Kingsway also stuns with their huge plates.
But there are three that really stand above the rest.
First is Fraser Park Restaurant on Byrne Road in South Burnaby, a hidden gem that has a very loyal customer base who love their down-home cooking and huge helpings.
The place was started in 1997 by Anton and Sylvia Heggen, who clearly put a lot of love into their cooking.
Take, for example, the German breakfast, which is three eggs scrambled with sauteed peppers, onions and cheese. Comes with handmade hash browns, sausage, bacon, ham, potato pancake and your choice of toast. German Deluxe (add schnitzel and gravy).
Good lord this is a huge breakfast. Unlock your hollow leg to consume it all.
But the king of breakfasts in Burnaby – according to NOW readers – is OEB in 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.
I mean you just take a look at the OEB menu and there’s reason to be excited because of the amazing stuff they offer.
I tried the crepe made with butter-poached lobster and shrimp, with truffle pearls and a brown butter hollandaise sauce. I also added a big portion of organic Sturgeon caviar to it and had it with a delightful glass of organic apple juice. I finished things off with their chocolate milk, which was about the best chocolate milk I’ve ever had.
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 moved into the Amazing Brentwood.
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.
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.
So when you are craving breakfast, you now have so many ridiculously great options. All it takes is a decision that is becoming tougher than choosing a movie on Netflix.
- With files from Lindsay William-Ross, Vancouver is Awesome.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
