The Cosy Nest in Orleans does a pretty good BBF. Da Bombe in New Edinburgh is also quite nice, but not as dinerish, if you know what I mean. There are a couple other places in Orleans that might warrant some research as well.
I needed a big plate of breakfast today, so went to the Broadway up on Prince of Wales/Fisher.
Pancakes are excellent. Sausages are a bit small. Bacon is very thin. Toast was barely buttered. Coffee was passable. Eggs were as I had ordered them. Home fries were slathered with onions, chicken soup mix and margarine mixture, and not really great.
I guess I'm still looking for a good, cheap, huge breakfast.
I wish their menu had indicated that their homefries are heavily doused in garlic butter. They were not what I was expecting and I certainly wouldn't have ordered them if I had known. I ate one and could still taste it hours later.
Garlic sensitivity is a fairly common thing for many people. If garlic is the predominant ingriedient in a dish, it should be clearly listed on the menu.
Went to Broadway last Friday with a group of about 20 friends for some late night beers and appetizers. We only settled for Broadway because pub italia and the heart and crown couldn't take us.
We were a big group... so I won't comment on the service. (even though I really want to :-S)
I ordered a few pints and my girlfriend and I shared the appetizer platter which was 26 dollars of disgusting, grease filled nastiness.
The nachos were stale and covered with too much low quality cheese, the garlic cheese bread was dry as hell and difficult to swallow, the chicken wings were ridiculously small and odd tasting (and definitely not sweet and spicy... just sweet) and the tzatziki sauce was a bit too thick. The onion rings and the fried zuccini, although somewhat tasty, were dripping with oil.
Ugh... Both I and my girlfriend have iron stomachs. I was ok after managing to eat a lot of this (I had an irish car bomb, two tequilas and a few beers, so I had to eat or else), but her stomach was upset for the rest of the weekend (and she only had one drink - vodka 7). There was no food poisoning or anything, it was just a low quality, extremely greasy mess.
The Preston location below the highway. Very good pulled pork and chicken parm sandwiches. I had the latter, very juicy chicken breast, nice light crisp coating smothered in a very tasty bolognese and melted mozza, on a soft floury bun.
My side Caesar was so-so, girlfriend's side house and dressing were very good. Decent ambience, open airy space, obliging, friendly hostess who turned on the sound for the Germany-Portugal game Sat p.m.
Will be back for lunch, and the weekend breakfast, served late.
Edit: Back twice since first visit.
One: breakfast, average at best. Decent eggs and sausage. Frozen 'home fries', bad sliced bread, hardly buttered, lousy LOUSY smoothie, OJ, and coffee. 'Best breakfast in Ottawa'? No way!
Two: lunch for the Eng-Ita game. Lousy service by a large, space cadet waitress. She didn't hesitate to play the 'I'm new' card before she even began with her multiple screwups.
First, she bungles the greeting and then makes some sort of vomiting sound to clear her brain and start again, enunciating clearer. I hate when people do this with bla-bla sounds thinking they're funny, but this was especially silly and disgusting.
Then she asks me if I want Keith's Red or White. I ask 'do you not have Blonde?' 'Oh, sorry, I meant Keith regular or white. Did I say red?'
Then she brings only one chicken parm sandwich for me and my girlfriend. (I had earlier said '2 times everything except the drinks'. We both ordered the same soup, same sandwich, and same side salad). 'oh sorry, I wasn't sure if it was 1 or 2?' So she's not sure, but instead of asking, she takes a gamble, and even thinks bringing only 1 is the safe bet?!
At one point she takes away my cutlery, and when we ask for it, it's 'oh THEY never gave you cutlery'. This is the classic case of a stupid waitress who is never to blame. It's always 'they' or 'I wasn't sure' or 'did I say red?'
If you get a table with this waitress, move.
The cauliflower cream soup was great. The side salads are lousy, and the sandwich wasn't as good. Drier, less mozza and bolognese, and for some reason they added lettuce and tomato in the sandwich to make up for less sauce and cheese I presume, and a pickle on the side (who takes a pickle with chicken parm?). The bun was untoasted and soggy, and the chicken was not cooked as well as the first time.
Not sure I'll be back. The ambience inside is pretty bad. Maybe for the patio, and try other sides, as the salads are lousy, and specifying toasted bun with extra sauce and mozza.
The menu claimed it was large and... it was! I had a salad and a diminutive milkshake with it and was holding my gut together on the way out. Their poutine isn't quite chip wagon grade but is certainly good enough to order again!
Stopped in here for the Weekend Breakfast. Had the standard Bacon & Eggs Breakfast. Ordered my Eggs Sunnyside, Bacon, and Brown Toast. Everything was tasty... eggs were perfectly done, bacon cooked thru and yet good and crispy.
As others have said the Hashbrown Potatoes here have to laced with drugs... they are super tasty and very very addictive... bits of onion and a hint of garlic. Crispy on the outside, smooth on the inside. You can't get much better than this.
As always the place was packed... if you go for breakfast on the weekend, expect a wait. Singles or doubles though can sometimes find a space to mosey up to at the bar. Service was good, fresh coffee was offered and refilled often. A great start to a weekend morning.
The home fries here are incredible. Vegetarians beware - I heard the home fries are deep fried first, then pan-fried in a mixture of garlic butter, onions and chicken broth.
Hungry Pete