Rise and shine, it’s breakfast time in Edina. Why sleep in when you can go out and enjoy these delicious dishes? Besides great taste, eating breakfast is a great way to begin your day, recharge and connect with family and friends.
CROSSTOWN
Edina Grill
A sandwich is a sandwich, but the Crosstown is an all-in-one breakfast meal. True to its nearby freeway namesake, the Crosstown is a reliable way to go. It’s the Edina Grill’s upscale take on the old egg-wich. The Crosstown sandwich has a much improved profile from a flaky croissant bun, browned turkey sausage, hard-cooked egg, grill-crisp hash browns, real Cheddar cheese, housemade pesto and fresh spinach. A bowl of fresh fruit completes the colorful plate. Top-shelf ingredients give the sandwich a taste that’s every bit as bright as the morning. But you don’t have to restrict your Crosstown sandwich enjoyment to the a.m. Breakfast is served all day, so you can treat yourself to breakfast-sandwich glory anytime. $10.50
CREOLE BREAKFAST SCRAMBLE
Crave
Crave heats up the breakfast menu. Spice up your Sunday morning with the Creole breakfast scramble. Breakfast to the tune of a Cajun melody of spicy, creamy, meaty and vegetal flavors. Scrambled eggs prepared classic Louisiana-style will make you want to say “Laissez les bon temps rouler.” The cheery pep revels in a toss of red peppers, sweet yellow onions, andouille sausage, potatoes and seasoned tomato sauce. Housemade hollandaise sauce infused with blackened spice and Sriracha cloaks the made-to-order eggs. Green onions and parsley finish the dish with a garden green-fresh zing. Tame your hearty Creole breakfast scramble with a mimosa. $11.95; mimosa $6.95.
YOGURT PARFAIT
Good Earth
Lovely to look at and healthy to eat, the yogurt parfait is a breakfast mainstay at Good Earth. Customers ask for the beloved dish not just at breakfast but all day long. Layers of all-natural vanilla yogurt, fresh seasonal fruit and housemade granola look as pleasing as they taste. Nestled in a tulip glass, the yogurt parfait turns heads on its way to the table. “Not everything you get for breakfast is beautiful, but this is,” according to chef Corinne Sherbert DeCamp. In keeping with Good Earth’s food philosophy, this is a dish you can feel good about eating, and not just because it’s gluten-free. Ingredients are sourced from local and sustainable sources whenever possible. Plus, the granola is a nutrition powerhouse of steel-cut outs, walnuts, dates, raisins, honey, wheat germ and flaxseed. On the menu for 35 years running, the yogurt parfait has won over many a loyal fan and has become “an institution” at Good Earth, says DeCamp. $6.
EDINA CLASSIC BREAKFAST
McCormick & Schmick’s
The Edina classic breakfast is an improved version of the diner-style prototype. All breakfast basics are covered in one satisfying meal made to high standards. Take your pick of two eggs any style, housemade breakfast potatoes with peppers and onions, plus your choice of ham, bacon or sausage. As “the meat and potatoes of the breakfast world—it’s just good simplicity, a classic breakfast everyone remembers growing up,” says Paul Neu, executive chef. “Everybody likes eggs with bacon.” Available daily with extended brunch hours on Saturday and Sunday. $9.99.
CHERRY KIJAFA CRÊPES
The Original Pancake House
Wine sauce, cherries and crêpes make a memorable breakfast of Old World flavors. The cherry Kijafa crepes have earned their rightful place among the many breakfast favorites at the Original Pancake House and are considered a signature dish. True to their name, the cherry Kijafa crêpes have a splash of Danish fruit wine rolled in. First, Montmorency cherries cook down to a sauce that’s laced with Kijafa wine. Next, the burgundy red sauce goes between three flawlessly browned crêpes still hot from the skillet. The delicately thin crêpes have a starchy, buttery flavor that heightens the sweet-tart taste of cherries. The dish stands on its own and “doesn’t need anything else,” says Jennifer Adascheck, store manager. “The cherries are simmered in the wine sauce, and it is just so good.” Three crêpes $8.75, two crêpes $6.75.
RED VELVET PANCAKES
Red Cow
Everybody loves pancakes. With Red Cow’s culinary creativity, they evolve into something more. The red velvet pancakes are a clever twist on a cupcake dessert turned breakfast entrée. Are they pancakes or cupcakes? Red velvet brings to mind the latter, but you decide. These first-class flapjacks will steal your heart with their whimsical cupcake-pancake appeal. Yes, they even have frosting. A generous drizzle of peanut butter/cream cheese icing bands over the pancakes with a striking pattern of bright white against disks of vivid red-brown velvet. The smell is an edible perfume with hints of cocoa, banana, maple and bacon. Bits of fresh banana moisten each pancake’s tender sponge. The smoky sweetness of housemade maple-bacon syrup complements earthy chocolate flavors. Even then, the pancakes are not overly sweet. If you want to sample some of Red Cow’s other clever pancake creations, try the popular pancake flight trio, where the red velvet pancakes are all-star players. $8.50; pancake flight $9.
MORNING BUNS
Patisserie Margo
Ordinary white frosted cinnamon rolls pale in comparison to the sophisticated morning bun. A tender flaked croissant dough bakes into nearly translucent wafer-thin layers that are oh-so-fun to pull apart. Light as air, with bands of fragrant cinnamon sugar, morning buns welcome the day. A secret hides within those luscious buttery folds: The dough is a clever reincarnation of leftovers. Cutting, trimming and shaping regular croissants leaves behind valuable scraps from a labor-intensive preparation process. “So much goes into croissant dough, you don’t throw away any part of it,” says Margo Bredeson, owner. A slow, cool, 24-hour rise transforms the scrap dough into something extraordinary. The French-accented breakfast rolls are a way Bredeson pays homage to her Wisconsin culinary roots. While attending school in Madison, she biked miles to get her fix of morning buns from the famed (and sadly now closed) Ovens of Brittany. Tales of similar morning buns abound nationwide. The tradition lives on in Edina. $2.35 each.
CHERRY CHEESE CROWN
Wuollet Bakery
Have your breakfast with a cherry on top—or better yet, make it cherry sauce from Wuollet. It’s a cheesecake turned coffee cake in a completely edible pastry cup. Single-serving-size cherry cream cheese crowns make a tidy, albeit indulgent, breakfast. Experience the legend and find out how the cherry cheese crowns live up to their regal reputation, just as they’ve done since they were first introduced in the 1970s. A layer of cinnamon and crunchy nuts sits at the bottom of the filling. A decorative drizzle of white fondant icing is the gilding on the cherry cheese crown. Attempts to share are futile; with one taste, you will be compelled to devour the whole thing. Come early. “It’s really popular so we usually sell out,” says Annie Halle, salesperson. $3.25 each.
