BITE-SIZED BLURBS: OEB

Our Bite-Sized Blurbs are our honest opinions about a local restaurant, bakery or café that aren’t part of a larger Gracilianca series! Bon appétit!

The focus of this bite-sized blurb is OEB (which stands for “Over Easy Breakfast”), a hip & trendy breakfast and brunch place famous for their breakfast poutines!

Location: OEB has 2 locations in Edmonton: 124 street location (56-10240 124 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5N 3W6; this is the location we went to for this review!) and Kelly Ramsey location (10174 100A St NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 0R6)

Items on the menu: C&G ordered the Tuna Crudo breakfast poutine with ½ spinach and medium poached eggs ($21), and B ordered the Big Ahi tuna sandwich with wild arugula salad ($20).

Tell me more: OEB is a breakfast and brunch restaurant that was first established in 2009 in Calgary, under the guidance of the founder and chef Mauro Martina! Mauro spent his childhood in Italy, and moved to Canada in 1992 where he began his journey to an executive chef at the age of 21. OEB focuses on the “farm to table” philosophy and favors seasonal, fresh ingredients from local vendors! At the time of writing this review, their hours are: 124 st location - 7:30AM-2:30PM Mon-Fri, 8AM-2:45PM weekends & holidays; Kelly Ramsey location - 8AM-2:45PM daily. They also have locations in BC, Saskatchewan, and the United States!

So, how was it? We ordered ahead of time using their website, which was a pretty easy process! Because of COVID and the rising case numbers, we opted to get take-out and eat in a nearby park (this was obviously not during this recent cold snap we had in Edmonton). We arrived at OEB to pick up our order, but it wasn’t quite ready yet and we waited about 10-15 minutes past our scheduled pickup time before it was ready. OEB can get quite busy especially on weekends, which is something to keep in mind! If you are dining in, reservations are recommended - you can make a reservation or join the waitlist using the Yelp app!

For our rankings, we will be looking at a few categories, taste, presentation, and value!

TASTE:

B: 4/5 - I am not a huge sandwich person and I thought this was quite good (I really like Ahi tuna so that’s why I ordered this)! The tuna was cooked well and the sauce was flavorful. The milk bun used for the sandwich was also really nice and soft. Altogether as a combination it was a satisfying sandwich to eat :) The arugula salad is what you would expect.. You can also get potatoes instead of salad if you would prefer. But I thought the salad was a nice complement to the sandwich.

C: 4.5/5 - First things first, I LOVE LOVE LOVE OEB. Was that clear enough?! Definitely my favourite breakfast spot in Edmonton. I will NEVER turn down a chance to eat OEB. The Tuna Crudo is one of my favourite breakfast poutines (of note, I have never had anything else to eat at OEB besides breakfast poutines…. I’m a “stick to what is tried and true” person when I find food that I like!). It comes with poached eggs, ahi tuna, avocado, potatoes, and cilantro crema.

All of the flavours come together so well - I honestly find every bite to be a life-changing experience. The only reason that I didn’t give this a 5/5 was that the online ordering system only gave an option for potato wedges, and did not indicate an option for waffle fries which is what the Tuna Crudo breakfast poutine is supposed to come with. I missed the waffle fries… so take note of this if you are placing an online order, you can specify it in the “special instructions” but I assumed it would automatically come with waffle fries!

G: 4.5/5 - Nothing gets me more egg-cited than brunch at OEB! It’s easily one of the best brunch places in Edmonton/Calgary IMO, and the Tuna Crudo is one of my favourite dishes there. I’ve tried a few of their breakfast poutines and the Tuna Crudo is probably the “lightest” option of them all. Since I didn’t want to fall into a food coma immediately after brunch, I ordered this instead of one of their heartier (but very delicious) options like Soul in a Bowl or the Gold Digga, and subbed out ½ of the potatoes for spinach (which I highly recommend doing regardless of your poutine option to avoid potato overload - although if that’s your jam, go for it!)

Like C - I also ordered the Tuna Crudo in anticipation of their waffle fries, which I’ve had with the Tuna Crudo before - and was disappointed that the only potato option available when ordering online was potato wedges. (OEB’s menu still mentions “pommes gaufrettes” too - so I’m not sure why there was a difference!) It was still delicious, but this also kept it from receiving a perfect score in my books.

PRESENTATION:

B: 4/5 - Everything was packaged nicely in the box and the sandwich was still in one piece when I opened it so that is all I can really ask for!

C: 4.25/5 - No real complaints. It was packaged nicely in a to-go box and cutlery was provided. They also packaged everything in sturdy paper bags, so that was a nice touch.

G: 4/5 - Functional packaging in cardboard to-go boxes with cutlery - no complaints.

VALUE:

B: 3.75/5 - It wasn’t terribly expensive but still a decent amount to pay for a sandwich. It would have been nice if the sandwich was just a touch larger but I was still full enough after finishing everything.

C: 4/5 - I do find that OEB is a bit on the pricier side, but it is so delicious that I believe it’s worth it! Also, it is SUPER filling, so honestly when I eat OEB for brunch, I find that I eat a much smaller meal for dinner (or skip dinner altogether sometimes… oops). Or you could save a portion of your breakfast/brunch for dinner and that would make it more cost effective!

G: 4/5 - OEB has some less expensive items on the menu, but I do think the breakfast poutines are a little bit of a splurge! However, they are really filling and I’ve never left OEB regretting the money I’ve spent.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Would you order from OEB again?

B: YES!!! I definitely want to try some of the other items on the menu and especially the breakfast poutine the other girls had. I probably wouldn’t get the ahi tuna sandwich again but I feel like it’s worth trying once!

C: A resounding YES! (Did I mention how much I love OEB? Hehehe…) I have also tried the Gold Digga breakfast poutine in the past and loved it (those truffles!). I need to check out their entire menu! I might have to walk home after that to walk off the calories, but it will be worth it! #livetoeat

G: 1000%. They are egg-cellent and egg-ceptional, not yolking around! If you haven’t been, trust me - you won’t be disappointed.

Disclaimer: This review is not affiliated with or sponsored by OEB - views expressed are solely our opinions!