Vitamin Daily

Breakfast in bed? We love the concept but our eggs are runny and day-old bread is dull.

Instead, dial-up freshly baked brioche from Mon Panier Gourmet, a delivery service devoted to the most important meal of the day.   Each of the 20 menus (from $33.99) is made from locally sourced artisanal products and served on a wooden tray. 

Go for the Lovely Matinée with fruit salad, honey and almond granola and tropical green tea or the decadent Chocolateful including black chocolate muffins, cappuccinos, granola chocolate bars and fresh orange juice.

If you’re hoping the in-laws won’t stay an extra night, best stick with burnt toast.

www.monpaniergourmet.ca

The new Rise Bakery and Café caters mostly to the Monday-to-Friday business crowd but even if you’re not of that set, the fresh baked pastries and grilled paninis are worth braving the downtown madness for.

The second location (the original is in Bow Valley Square) is open bright and early for pre-office java, fresh baked muffins (love the mango-bran combo) and rich yogurt parfait packed with homemade granola and Greek-style yogurt ($4).

Satisfy lunchtime hunger pangs with sandwiches like the smoked turkey with sliced pears, Oka cheese and sweet onion relish on an apple, rosemary, flax sourdough ($7.95).

And before the weekend hits, stock up on the fresh-made breads like the chocolate loaf ($6)—it's worth every carb.

Rise Bakery and Café, Penn West Plaza, 120-207 Ninth Ave. SW, Calgary, 403-262-7474, www.risebakery.com

Nothing says je t’aime like a pile of fluffy flapjacks.

We’ve flipped for Batter Blaster (from $5) a ready-made organic pancake mix you can store in the fridge.  Just shake the canister, spray some batter onto a hot griddle, brown, flip and serve. No muss, no fuss and no measuring cups.

No you can save your energy for other, um…morning pursuits.

At Loblaws stores, www.loblaws.ca

The newly revamped Vendôme Café is catering to caffeine-loving Sunnysiders once again.

Brought to you by the folks at Teatro, the café’s hearty menu is perfect for a cold day and includes delectable goodies like goat cheese and beet salad, rich butternut squash or tomato soup ($9.95 for the combo) or a ham and cheese croissant with gruyere and emmenthal ($6.95).

But it’s the stunning black-and-white photos adorning the walls that add the right amount of edge and modernity to the historical space. Photographed by Jason Eng with art direction by Shea Kerwood, the three photos on the right wall are of the lovely Calgary model Ania B. (centre) and her equally stunning parents.

We can’t promise you’ll look as chic as them sipping your java but at least you can try.

Vendôme Café, 940 Second Ave. NW, Calgary, 403-453-1140.

As far as summer lunching goes, there’s nothing better than grabbing a snack from a kiosk and basking in the sun on the grass before your next meeting.

Calgary’s Stephen Avenue is a well-known hot spot for the downtown lunch crowd but head a tad east to Olympic Plaza and you’ll come across Ca’puccini.

From the talented folks at Teatro, the upscale restaurant where celebs come to eat (or at least are rumoured to come), the laidback kiosk serves a variety of breakfast and lunch items made fresh every morning at the neighbouring restaurant.

Start the day with an espresso and breakfast panini ($3.80) with eggs, bacon and cheese or head there at noon for a hot pulled lamb sandwich made with braised Alberta lamb and served with coleslaw ($6.90).

And who knows, maybe you’ll see Mr. Pitt there one day.

Ca’puccini, Olympic Plaza, 222 Eighth Ave. SE, Calgary.

Watch Top Chef, and you’ll soon learn that culinary prowess can be judged on the basis of a perfectly cooked egg.

When it comes to our own breakfast we’re not quite so fussy, but it’s near perfection at Toi Moi et Café. After Sunday morning trips to the Atwater Market, refuel with the divine Le Parisien which includes mouillettes (strips of baguette) dipped into soft-boiled eggs, or the mouth-watering crêpes et gauffres enveloped in fruit and cream (from $6.50).  

And, with four pages of fair trade tea and coffee concoctions to choose from, you’ll be infused with enough energy to plan your own cook-off (minus the nasty eliminations).

Toi Moi et Café, 2695 Notre Dame W., Montreal, 514-788-9599, www.toimoicafe.com

There’s a shortage of perfect brunch places in this city.

So imagine the excitement of discovering our favourite downtown haunt Bumpy’s is now open on Sundays from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.

No more Sunday withdrawal from the house-made granola ($4), breakfast panini with tomato ($3.75) and the best muffins ever (we’re talking fresh-out-of-the-oven, packed with peaches, coconut or berries).

And if you’re a freshman to Bumpy’s, just don’t mess with their coffee—no extra hot, extra foam, half-sweet here—the talented baristas have perfected a system and it works.

We’ll bet our weekend brunch on it.

Bumpy’s Café, 1040 Eight St. SW, Calgary, 403-265-0241, www.bumpyscafe.com

An ‘I Love You’ tattoo is a bold gesture, but we’ve decided on a less painful way to show our amour this Valentine’s Day.

Toast Tattoo lets you imprint your affections onto slices of bread, perfect for that breakfast-in-bed surprise. Serving suggestion: On a silver tray wearing a big smile (and not much else).

$4.95 at Motivo, 251 St-Zotique E., Montreal, 514-509-9064, www.motivo-magasin.com

Your hungry man craves a big boy breakfast for lunch, but you refuse to join his chain gang at Denny’s. Alas, there’s a beacon on the hash brown horizon.

Deacon’s Corner, a new resto at Main and Alexander, is retro dining at its best. Fashioned after those classic diners you see in the movies, you’ll find the requisite booths, banquette and swivel seats, but with above par fare (everything from biscuits to burger patties are made from scratch). There’s hefty all-day brekkies like steak and eggs ($13.50) alongside lighter ones like French toast with fruit compote ($7.75). And when we hit the spot just past noon, it was packed with the young, Gastown design crowd.

We think this should solve your domestic dispute. If not there’s always the cop shop across the street.

Deacon’s Corner, 101 Main St., Vancouver, 604-684-1555, www.deaconscorner.ca

Cheerios not so cheery anymore? You too can be a happy homemaker at breakfast time.

We tested Grandma Betty's scones by Joy Road Catering from this month's Western Living magazine, and they are the lightest, fluffiest, downright best we've ever had.

So pour some coffee, hand him the recipe, and head back to bed.

For scone recipe, visit Western Living magazine.