Breakfast dishes can be a fun departure from traditional dinner foods when dining out. While plenty of diners serve breakfast all day, many of those spots close at 2 or 3 p.m.
“It’s one of those things that everybody wants — we sell a lot of breakfast at night,” said Back To The 80’s Diner co-owner Shane Hissem. “After 4 p.m., we sell about 30% breakfast. I think sometimes people just get hungry for it.”
Hissem, his wife Kari Hissem and Aimee Bell co-own the Greensburg diner decked out in ’80s memorabilia, including a mounted E.T. in a bicycle basket, servers decked out in ’80s leg warmers and fanny packs, Pac-Man wall art and a MTV-themed wall.
The cheesy hash browns ($3.49) and fruit-filled stuffed pancakes ($8.98) are a hit, along with eggs Benedict ($9.99).
“People love the vibe and the breakfast at night,” Hissem said.
Server Bria Boyle said her customers really dig the pancakes for supper.
“French toast, pancakes and a lot of omelets are ordered at night. Customers come in at 7:30 p.m. and get their coffee and breakfast — we even serve Spam,” Boyle said.
Breakfast, er, dinner sandwiches
Cameron Wycich of Shaler likes to get creative when he orders build-your-own breakfast sandwiches at Oakmont Bakery in Oakmont.
The cafe there serves 10 different breakfast sandwiches all day, until 7 p.m.
“Today I ordered a blueberry bagel with bacon, egg and cheese. I occasionally order one for dinner,” Wycich said.
Oakmont Bakery co-owner Tony Serrao said offering breakfast options all day has proved popular with customers.
“People come in and order them all day long, especially kids coming over from the high school after school. They love to get hash browns, breakfast sandwiches and they even like to put the hash brown on the sandwich,” Serrao said.
Sandwich prices range from $6 to $10.
Breakfast for dinner is a concept that just “caught on” for Oakmont Bakery.
“We just revamped our cafe and offer fresh-squeezed orange juice all day now, too. We are a bakery, but our cafe has just evolved over the years,” Serrao said.
Extra large pancakes
Craving a mega-sized pancake for supper?
You’ll find them at Youngstown Grill near Latrobe. The best seller is the giant cinnamon roll pancake ($6.95), which covers the plate.
A homemade cinnamon sauce is made in-house and you can add chocolate chips or blueberries for $1.50.
Breakfast here is served until 8 p.m. Another popular breakfast choice is the Youngstown scramble ($9.95) served with eggs, onions, green peppers, home fries and a choice of bacon or sausage, all mixed together.
Hash it out
Tap It Brewery & Grill in Mt. Pleasant is another spot for hearty breakfast-for-dinner options. They serve breakfast until closing between 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., depending on the day.
The house-brewed beers pair well with breakfast.
The most popular breakfast meal is corned beef hash ($10.95), which is made with braised beef in a brine and served with breakfast potatoes, two eggs and toast.
Menu highlights include The Mammoth Special ($10.95) featuring two eggs, choice of sausage, ham or bacon, choice of two regular pancakes or two waffles or two French toast and one side. Three stuffed pancakes ($8.95) are served folded like a taco and stuffed with a homemade cheesecake filling (apple, strawberry, cherry or blueberry) and served with a side.
Savory crepes
Authentic French crepes are served for dinner at Paris 66 Bistro in East Liberty.
Proprietor Frederic Rongier studied at a crepe-making French institution in 1999.
One of the two dinner options is made with buckwheat and is gluten-free. Both can be made with Swiss cheese, egg and a choice of ham or bacon.
Crepes are $25 each and adding smoked salmon is $12 more.
Rongier is keen on buckwheat crepes.
“It’s 100% French and the taste is not comparable with anything else,” he said, also recommending pairing a crepe with French cider Cidre Brut ($42), a dry, crisp alcoholic French drink.
Crepes are commonly eaten for supper in France, particularly in the Brittany region, said Rongier, a native of France.
“Guests feel like they are in France when they eat one,” he said.
