Breakfast today is much more than a meal: it’s an experience. Finding that trendy hole-in-the-wall that also serves great food can become quite a task. In search of just that, I came across two cafes that lived up to each of my expectations, all the while being in the same shopping center! Tru Bru and Cyrano’s are located in Orange, just a few building apart, and both serve phenomenal breakfast.
To compare these two establishments, I first chose an item on each of their menus that I knew they had in common: breakfast burritos. Now, to me, a breakfast burrito has to include several key components. First, it must have a tortilla strong enough to hold everything together. No one likes a burrito that just falls apart in their hands. Secondly, it has to have bacon—that is non-negotiable. And lastly, the burrito has to come with, or have already in it, a really good salsa. Keeping these three things in mind, I carefully evaluated each burrito and came up with the following conclusions.
Above is the burrito I ordered from Cyrano’s. When I walked into this cafe I immediately felt the small, cozy, hometown vibe. I even heard one of the waitresses address a customer by name, a sign of an obvious regular. In addition to the warming atmosphere, there truly is amazing food. Their breakfast burrito had everything I was looking for, including some extra points for avocado. When I bit into it, it had a crunch that made it worth overlooking the excessive amount of grease and calories that comprised it. Also,it came with a side of hash browns that made the experience even more enjoyable. Overall, Cyrano’s impressed me with their control of flavor, attention to complementing vegetables, and awesome salsa.
Tru Bru, on the other hand, is a perfect mixture of everything healthy that also tastes good. The cafe itself is designed to make you feel clean, concise, and in control. Compared to Cyrano’s, Tru Bru is a lighter choice in terms of the breakfast burrito. It is simpler and focuses in on a few key flavors. For this reason, after eating it I didn’t feel sick like some burritos can make you feel. Another thing that makes this burrito so good is the salsa that comes on the side, which is fresh, sharp, and tasty. Something else I would like to note is how prompt and attentive the service is. When I called in my order, I waited maybe thirty seconds, whereas at Cyrano’s, I was on hold for a few minutes and they forgot to ask what meat I wanted.
To wrap up my review of these two fabulous breakfast places, I’m going to give a little history lesson. The breakfast burrito was invented in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the year 1975, and was originally filled with bacon, potatoes, chile, and cheese. Today it has morphed into something much more elaborate, with various different methods of preparation. Tru Bru and Cyranos present before us two very different burritos that are equally delicious in their own ways, and I can only hope that my evaluation of each helps makes clear the expectations for the ever-famous breakfast burrito.
Photo Credits: Tru Bru Organic Coffee, Allen G, Hannah Van Essen
