It seems you can’t get into any decent breakfast place or diner in Calgary these days without having to line up. (Or queue up as my newly relocated friend JJ would say.)
The alternative involves eating things wrapped in paper.
So it was nice to find that The Main Dish — which I thought only did fancy take-home meals — is a great place for a quiet, simple breakfast (weekdays 7-10 a.m.).
The menu is short but has the basics. Bacon and egg with toast is only $3.99. An extra egg is $1.99. You can build your own omelette too.
Christina’s scrambled egg sandwich (something like $4.50) came on healthy multi-grain baguette but was missing some salt, or cheese.
The morning menu expands for weekend brunch (Saturday 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-2 p.m.) with steak and eggs, stuffed French toasts and Benedicts.
With decent coffee from the café counter, kind staff, comfortable seating against a wall of windows, and zero lineup, I can’t complain at all.
The Main Dish, 903 General Ave. NE, Calgary, (403) 265-3474. Open Monday to Thursday 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday 7 a.m.-11 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Andrew on 
are you gonna eat that? on 
Erica B. on 
jWo on 
November 4th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Yum! My favourite breakfast place lately is Cafe Mauro. Eggs poached in tomatoes sauce. It isn’t fast, but I don’t mind the wait.
November 4th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Thanks for the great review! Funny enough…we actually expanded our breakfast menu this past week. We’ve added a Cinnamon bun french toast, breakfast grilled cheese, and we’ll be adding our special Dish Oatmeal, and Fruit & Yougurt in the next week or so! Stop by and check it out!
November 6th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Cheryl: Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to check it out.