15 August 21 - 27, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ▼ BREAKFAST SWEET WAFFLE O’ MINE THE 15 BEST DECISIONS YOU CAN MAKE IN THE MORNING IN DALLAS. BY AAREN PRODY AND KRISTINA ROWE B runch may get a lot of attention in Dallas, but a solid, straight- forward breakfast is the work- horse of meals. Here are some of our longstanding favorites — places to get a simple (but amazing) stack of pancakes, quick stops that pack in flavors and more that don’t make you compromise on your staple coffee order. Ascension Coffee Multiple locations Sometimes places make you choose be- tween a good breakfast and good coffee. As- cension gives you both. Their all-day menu has a roster of breakfast gold. How do you choose between the Aussie bacon and egg roll, steak hash or brunch burger with house pickles and spicy ranch? If you’re there on a weekend, there’s crab cake Benedict and churro French toast tossed into the mix. They always have something interesting or exciting going on when it comes to the cof- fee menus, like the doki sunrise, a Kyoto- style cold brew made with orange juice, cardamom and sparkling water. Dallas hasn’t caught quite up to this new coffee trend, but Ascension sure has. AllGood Cafe 2934 Main St. (Deep Ellum) You can get AllGood’s celebrated chicken- fried steak on a breakfast plate with eggs and a side, but the all-day cafe also does a great job with Tex-Mex breakfasts like borracho biscuits and South Austin migas. Pancakes, omelets, egg sandwiches and breakfast tacos complete the breakfast menu. Comfort food first thing in the morning tastes even better in the familiar comfortable surroundings of this Deep Ellum favorite. Bread Winners Multiple locations Bread Winners has been a Dallas winner for three decades. The options and serving sizes are plentiful — from the French Ham Bene- dict to the Farmhouse Scramble. The best breakfasts here start with brunch tots or bakery treats like pigs in a blanket or home- made muffins for the table. Be sure to in- dulge in a cinnamon roll. Breakfast Brothers Arlington and Dallas locations Breakfast Brothers is loved for its well-sea- soned Southern breakfast dishes and flair — like the catfish and grits dish with two tender strips of fish with a side of gravy, two eggs and Texas toast. The red velvet waffles are popu- lar, as are the pancakes, which have those del- icate crispy edges (more pancakes need crispy edges). Be sure to use the “Join Wait- list” link on the website (for either location), as lines can get quite long on the weekends. Bubba’s Cooks Country 6617 Hillcrest Ave. (Park Cities) If your definition of breakfast includes bis- cuits, there’s no better place to rise and shine than Bubba’s Cooks Country. Add grits or hash browns to bacon and egg breakfasts, or just go for pancakes. People love the drive- thru, and we can’t blame them. Just take your coffee along, as the line can really stack up. Cindi’s New York Deli Multiple locations Cindi’s has been around for decades, and it’s no wonder. This old-school New York deli and diner serves breakfast all day. The pas- trami omelet is popular, as are the German pancakes (thin crepes topped with lemon butter and powdered sugar). Cheese blin- tzes and latkes are also fun international op- tions. Salmon is flown in weekly from Nova Scotia for the lox. There’s so much here that the hardest part is deciding what to get: so go with a group and order lots to share. Chubby’s 11331 E. Northwest Highway and 7474 S. Cockrell Hill Road Chubby’s has been known for its friendly service and gluttonous breakfast options since it opened in 1987. You definitely want to start with a stack of the Famous Banana Nut Pancakes served with warm maple syrup. Go ahead and follow that up with a massive steak-topped omelet. The reason- able prices won’t ruin your morning, but the serving sizes might. Crickles and Co. 4000 Cedar Springs Road (Oak Lawn) Crickles and Co.’s website says breakfast is their favorite meal of the day, so you can get it whenever the place is open. You’ll go there for pies, cakes and cookies, but don’t miss out on special breakfast dishes like the Very Berry Waffle, specialty omelets or egg tacos. A Texas Cackleberry Sandwich has dollops of house-made spicy pimento cheese on eggs and applewood bacon stacked on jala- peño toast. The Crickles Sandwich is made with cream cheese and a pork sausage patty on toasted raisin bread. Jonathon’s Diner 1619 N. Beckley Ave. (North Oak Cliff) and 5337 Forest Lane Jonathon’s Diner is a breakfast institution. Danger Dogs (pancake-battered turkey sau- sage links) are a long-time favorite, and the fried chicken and waffles might be the best in town. Other choices range from a simple two-egg breakfast to the All in One Waffle with bacon baked inside and scrambled eggs, pork sausage, caramelized onions, green chiles and cheddar on top. La Nueva Fresh & Hot 9625 Webb Chapel Road When a breakfast skillet just won’t do, a cheesy breakfast burrito on a house-made tortilla definitely will. La Nueva Fresh & Hot is a restaurant and tortilleria that serves killer breakfast tacos and burritos, among other Mexican favorites. If a burrito isn’t your thing, they also have chilaquiles, migas and huevos rancheros that all come out of their kitchen piping hot. Weekend mornings render long lines, but having patience is worth every bit of food that comes out of the kitchen. The green salsa here is a force of its own, and luckily, they sell it by tub. Mama’s Daughters’ Diner Multiple locations Sometimes an old-fashioned breakfast hits the spot, and Mama’s Daughters’ Diner has been slinging made-from-scratch breakfast for more than 60 years. Both the vibe and the prices feel retro, with the Mama’s No. 3 priced at just $10.25 with sausage or bacon and $12.25 with ham. It’s a breakfast for the hungry with two eggs, a choice of grits or hash browns, plus homemade biscuits and gravy. French toast and pancake lovers can get their favorite morning starter with two eggs for $6.75 on the No. 2 Mama’s Daughters’ Special. Maple Leaf Diner 12817 Preston Road We don’t know when Canada got their hands on American breakfast, but they proved our predispositions wrong at Maple Leaf Diner. Their chicken bacon and waffles were featured in Paula Deen’s magazine, the steak waffle on Food Network’s Incredible Edible America and many other of their most popular menu items have a cameo somewhere on Food Network. They serve Canadian staples, American favor- Nick Reynolds The “famous” banana nut pancakes at Chubby’s. >> p16
