OEB Breakfast Co. Raises the Bar for Breakfast – and Lunch

by RaeAnne Marsh

Breakfast is more than a meal as OEB Breakfast Co. serves it up — it’s an experience. And that is exactly what Chef Mauro Martina intended when he launched his concept in Canada in 2009. This past holiday season, he ventured out of Canada to bring OEB to Scottsdale, having fallen in love with this area over the course of many visits to the annual Barrett-Jackson Car Auction in Scottsdale.

The menu superbly supports OEB’s mission to “fill the soul” — also expressed as an elegant work of art that sets the tone for the upscale restaurant’s cheerful and welcoming interior, with carved wooden letters mounted on a sunrise painting of yellows shading up into deeper hues of orange — with an assortment of dishes that creatively elevate the familiar classics.

Among the eggs Benedict is the Waterfowl Benny, made with slices of smoked Peking duck breast and a porcini mushroom-truffle ragû. The Pheasant Benny on the Scottsdale menu — hog and pheasant mortadella, pistachio, peperonata and Spanish Manchego cheese — is evidence of Chef Mauro’s commitment to sourcing locally, replacing the Canadian version of the dish built around rabbit.

Poutines are the “bowl” dishes, most made with poached eggs, built on a base of herb-seasoned, duck-fat fried potato strips (several taste rungs higher than their cousin, French Fries), or fresh spinach or field greens. A-Lott A-Laks stars cold smoked salmon, with fresh local cheese curds, fresh dill, fried capers and a brown-butter Hollandaise — which this writer found perfect on top of spinach leaves. Hog & Scallops pairs large, seared scallops with slow-cooked bacon lardons, also with fresh local cheese curds and brown butter Hollandaise.

The hearty Scrambled Crêpe is a medley of scrambled eggs (pasture-raised), mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and American Asiago cheese, wrapped in a crisp-edged crèpe, mounded with field greens and topped with brown butter Hollandaise.

“Sweets” on the menu serve as both breakfast and dessert, living up to the section heading “Fully Worth the Calories.” Sweet Dreams Are Made of These, for instance, features a slice of New York-style cheesecake sandwiched between slices of French toast, the whole drenched in Bailey’s crème Anglaise.

Breakfast makes a fine meal any time during OEB’s 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. operating hours, but for those who prefer a more traditional lunch dish for lunch, OEB offers a selection of OEB-elevated sandwiches that include grilled cheese and hamburgers. And there’s a full-service bar along one wall that serves hand-crafted cocktails, local beer and Frizzante on tap.

The celebrated, classically trained Chef Mauro defines each letter of “OEB” to illustrate the philosophy he brings to his craft: “O” stands for “outstanding people,” as Chef Mauro believes in recognizing the farmers, for instance, who rise before dawn to feed their animals. “E” stands for “embracing evolution,” in this case getting away from modern culture’s ubiquitous processed foods. “B” stands for “bold integrity” in sourcing the best ingredients directly from carefully selected farmers, ranchers, bakers and others, to serve the guests — who also can count on a menu that accommodates vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets.

OEB Breakfast Co.
17757 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale
(480) 597-4463

Hog & Scallops Poutine
Poached eggs, duck-fat-fried herb potatoes, fresh local cheese curds, seared scallops, slow-cooked bacon lardons and brown butter Hollandaise
$19