SUNNYSIDE ON CENTER
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Midtown; Elkhorn
Cozy Breakfast Diner
Perfect For: Breakfast/Brunch; Lunch; Casual Dining
Standout Dishes: Hashbrown Throwdown; Breakfast Burrito; Hash Brown Patty; Standard Quesadilla
Travis Liebig is all about pushing the boundaries on what breakfast can be. There’s nothing wrong with staples like pancakes or biscuits and gravy, but why stop there? Why not put eggs on the classic South American sandwich to make a Breakfast Cubano? Who says you can’t stuff quesadillas full of breakfast food?
That’s what makes Sunnyside on Center special: if you want a classic breakfast dish, it will deliver one made to order and cook extremely well. But if you want to get out of your AM comfort zone, they’re got you covered.
Sunnyside has two locations: the original is housed in a small building off 35th and Center, while the second is off Highway 31 in Elkhorn. The interior at both spaces brings to mind an updated diner: homey, but also modern. The servers and cooks are happy to tell you about any item on the menu, which focuses mainly on breakfast sandwiches, quesadillas, and burritos. And the service is quick: it rarely takes more than 5 minutes for food to be served, even during peak hours.
The latter is where Sunnyside truly thrives. It’s able to take the sheer brilliance of the breakfast burrito—whoever came up with the idea to stuff a tortilla with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and other AM goodness deserves a Nobel Peace Prize—while eliminating its one drawback: the food coma.
Because there are so many items included, breakfast burritos tend to be the size of small children. They’re also typically consumed in the morning, when their sheer heft renders them mortal enemies of productive days.
Sunnyside delivers on all the savory flavors that make breakfast burritos God’s gift to earth, but in a more manageable package. You can savor one of these customizable rolls (plus some awesome sides; we’ll get to that) without feeling heavy and weighed down, allowing you to attack the rest of the day.
Sunnyside’s burritos all start with a strong base: fluffy, cloud-like scrambled eggs, crispy, cubed home fries, and melty, stringy cheese. From there, diners can choose from various proteins (bacon, ham, chorizo, sausage) and sauces (chipotle queso and green chile).
The bacon is crisp, salty, and fatty, which pairs perfectly with the starchy potatoes and the creamy eggs. The chorizo adds just a touch of heat, and the green chile sauce brings a nice touch of freshness and acidity.
Best yet, Sunnyside grills its burritos to add texture and lock in the delicious flavors within. There are no worries of your burrito splitting on you here.
Sunnyside’s burritos are about 7 inches long and packed with ingredients; large enough to fill you up without torpedoing your drive to accomplish anything the rest of the day.
The same can be said for Sunnyside’s breakfast sandwiches and quesadillas. The Standard Quesadilla folds a flour tortilla around buttery scrambled eggs, the meat of your choice, and enough cheese to tap out a cow for a month. This folded treat is not only delicious, but it’s the perfect food to be eaten on the go. And, like Sunnyside’s other offerings, it’s plenty filling without immediately making you want to take a nap.
But if you do want a gut-buster of a breakfast, Sunnyside has just what you seek.
The Hashbrown Throwdown is a delightful ode to breakfast gluttony. It takes two of Sunnyside’s crispy, greasy hashbrown patties and uses them as buns for buttery eggs, gooey American cheese, and a peppery, deeply savory sausage patty. It brilliantly takes so many breakfast elements that are excellent on their own and mashes them into one salty, fatty item.
This item showcases the creativity Liebig and his staff have, an ingenuity that shows up commonly in Sunnyside’s specials. Follow Sunnyside on Instagram to see when they might come up with a Steak Chimichurri Breakfast Burrito, Chorizo Gravy Biscuit Scramble, or the Yo Adrian, a sausage and peppers sandwich with scrambled eggs.
Whatever your order, it should include some type of fried potatoes. The Hash Brown Patty will transport your taste buds back to your grade school cafeteria, when the greasy, salty potato cakes were the highlight of the day when they were served. And the Home Fries, cubed spuds fried to a nice crispness while maintaining their soft innards, are an awesome addition to any meal.
Whether you want to sit down and enjoy a meal in Sunnyside’s cozy space or grab a burrito or sandwich to go, Sunnyside is an excellent option. When you need a delicious breakfast that won’t crater your productivity for the day, Sunnyside is a perfect solution.