Diner Deluxe

Cinnamon Buns Wait for No One

3.5 of 5

Diner Deluxe looks like a diner the way a good suit looks like clothing. The bones are classic, the booths and the coffee are right where you want them, and then everything gets made from scratch by people who could clearly cook somewhere fancier and chose not to. In Calgary you find it in Marda Loop and in Mahogany, where the room goes full mid-century, and there is a third one in Kelowna for anyone heading to the lake.

The deluxe burrito is the one that feeds the hungover and the virtuous alike. The banana-split French toast is dessert wearing breakfast's coat, and I respect the nerve. On weekends there are cinnamon buns, and they are the reason to set an alarm. The Community Breakfast Bowl is the sensible order for the person at the table who still pretends to be sensible. If brunch to you includes a drink, The Shaft is their cocktail, and the name tells you they do not take themselves too seriously.

There are no reservations. First come, first served, which is the only democratic thing left in the restaurant business. The kitchen says about ninety percent of the breakfast and lunch menu can be made gluten free, so bring the friend with the complicated stomach. Get there early on a Saturday, claim a bun before they vanish, and let the rest of the day sort itself out.

Order this: Weekend cinnamon bun, Deluxe burrito, Banana-split French toast, Community Breakfast Bowl
The damage: $$
Go: Saturday or Sunday, early, for the cinnamon buns; first come, first served
Find it: 2252 33 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2T 1Z8