OverEasy Breakfast Calgary, AB - Trendy brekkie place that takes breakfast to the next level

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Rating Service 7.5/10 Food 7.5/10
With tummies a grumbling, we head out to "breakfast lane" - a revitalized strip down Edmonton Trail NE. We stroll by Urban Baker and its campy kitschy diner attached to it (under new management), but with about 20 diners ahead of us, we make our way down to Over Easy Breakfast just up the block. Its unassuming exterior hides a fun light-hearted decor inside. Bright color accents, warm golden woods with plenty of sun streaming in from the large windows gives a welcoming feel. 

A blackboard on the ceiling has fun doodles and punny breakfast related phrases. The atmosphere is bright, bustling and the scent of salty bacon, eggs and pancakes fill the air. Service is friendly and efficient despite what seemed like a never diminishing lineup at the door.  We felt like little kids gawking at the decor - reading, laughing and groaning at the puns on the ceiling blackboard and within their menu.  

The menu had a great selection of down to earth breakfasts as well as a sprinkling of breakfast items you're more likely to see at an ethnic joint. Young families and friends rub elbows and the air is filled with good natured chatter in the long counter/table that spans the center of the restuarant.  The lights even have and "Over Easy" glow.  And a nice touch - Over Easy Breakfast raises their own free range chickens and feed them plenty of flax for eggs that are packed with omega-3's. According to thier website, they've cracked over 158,389 eggs at the time of this post.. thats a lot of brekkies!

the DRINKS
Rounding out the usual coffee, tea and juice suspects, Over Easy also has fresh fruit smoothies as well as alcoholic drinks (for later in the day).   They must have a juicer in the back as they offer fresh oj, grapefruit and organic carrot juices (separate juices, though I guess if you really want they can mix them all up for a fresh fruit punch).  We get a round of coffees, tea and smoothies to start our day off. We debate on the Cherry Blossom - Black cherry, strawberry and mango nectar, but we eventually go for the mango filled Tropical Twister since mangos are in season. The Tropical Twister made with mangos, bananas, pineapple juice and mango nectar (shown in pic) packed a nice refreshing hit of tangy sweet fruit and light on the ice... simular to a booster juice, with more fruit, less ice and zippo yogurt. One of our fellow foodies went with the Tropic Thunder with pineapple, pineapple juice and coconut milk that tasted of a cool dreamy pina colada minus the alcohol lol!

Threesome with poached eggs and chicken sausage 

the FOOD
Though the heuvos and crepes looked tempting, as were some of the more indulgent and heavy breakfasts like the Soul in a Bowl - breakfast poutine topped with eggs, hollandaise sauce, cheese and bacon lardons (served in a takeout container) or the Zillion dollar Texas donut (huge donut filled with berries, English custard, whipped cream and toasted almonds), we couldn't pass up the buttermilk pancakes made with a heavy hand on the cream and butter... especially since they were called the... 

Threesome with poached eggs and double smoked bacon

"Threesome" - Two eggs any style, the pancakes, and choice of double smoked bacon or black forest ham or country sausage (breakfast or chicken) with a fresh fruit garnish on the side. They should use bigger plates or put the fruit off to the side as the huge pancake warmed up the fruit a bit. The huge unassuming pancake that threatened to dwarf the plate.. oh I could feel my tastebuds dancing when we tasted this decadent buttermilk pancake that had so much butter and cream in the batter you didn't need to add anymore to sink into a blissful pancake heaven... you can't help but have your face split into a grin when you bite into this crispy exterior and super fluffy flavorful pancake. Nommy!!!

Farmer John's Delight Three Egg Omlette
Yup, not one, two, but three eggs from happy free range chickens go into the omlette, as well as diced bits of double smoked bacon and black forest ham, chopped green onions, and slices of field mushrooms. Its made family style - mix all the goodies into the egg and cook rather than cook the egg partially, then put fillings inside. You can't go wrong with a fluffy omlette (made with a touch of cream) full of bacon, ham and mushrooms - actually, next time I'll add in some onions too. Mmmm.  You can use the slices of multigrain (in pic) or rye toast to make an eggy sandwich.  The slice of watermelon, cantaloup and orange was a nice way to finish.

Breakfast Panino on handmade brioche
This was essentially an omelette packed with sliced mushrooms and some Swiss cheese served inbetween two slices of toast (we were a bit disappointed the brioche bread wasn't really sweet or different from ordinary toast) and topped with some roasted tomatoes with a small pile of fresh fruit. The roasted tomatoes made this dish. You can see one peeking out from the toast blanket.  Sweet and slightly caramelized from the roasting, it was bursting with rich fresh tomatoey goodness. Nom!

the VERDICT
Overall, a great place to grab the most important meal of the day, with the kitchen's extra dallops of cream and butter in their amazing pancakes, and going to lengths like raising their own free run chickens to make better tasting (and good for you) eggs, this funky, light hearted and fun brekkie place will definetely stick around and become a breakfast and brunch fixture in Calgary's fickle food scene.

OverEasy Breakfast
Address 824 Edmonton Trail Northeast, Calgary, AB
Phone (403) 278-3447
Hours 7am-3pm daily


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