Old Fort Lauderdale Breakfast House Opens Friday

Misha Grosvenor

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The Old Fort Lauderdale Breakfast House (O-B House) wants to help you rise and shine when it opens for business this Friday. "We want to be the go-to place for breakfast during nonconformist hours," said the restaurant's owner, Rodney Ely. The O-B House, located on Himmarshee Street in downtown Fort Lauderdale, will serve breakfast and brunch menu items until 3 p.m. daily.

The O-B House Crew -- Rodney Ely, Aaron Johnson, Terry White, and chef Ted Inserra.

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The menu, created by Ely, includes a variety of specialty items, many of which have a distinctly Floridian vibe. The Anchor Breakfast, inspired by Ely's fishing trips to the Bahamas, features oven-baked Florida grouper with eggs, toast, and cheese grits. Another sea-inspired dish is their D-Clawed, an omelet filled with jumbo lump crab meat, cream cheese, and cilantro.

Ely's menu puts a spin on classic breakfast dishes like French toast and pancakes -- the eight-inch pancakes are oven-baked in a cast-iron skillet and served with maple syrup from Vermont. For locals on the go, the O-B House offers several breakfast sandwiches like the Big O-B B.L.T (try saying that three times fast!) with raspberry mayo or the Morning Sailor -- two eggs over medium with mayo on thick-sliced toast.

The breakfast house plans to set itself apart from the competition is by using fresh, locally produced ingredients. Recently, chef Ted Inserra left his position as executive chef at Suite 100 to join the O-B House crew. Inserra has worked in many kitchens in Fort Lauderdale and said he was surprised at the "caliber of the ingredients" used at the O-B House. The restaurant uses free-range eggs, grass-fed sirloin, and, when possible, organic, locally grown produce. A nearby dairy farm provides the restaurant with dairy products, including low-pasteurized milk and freshly churned butter.

You won't find Folgers in your cup at this breakfast joint; the restaurant gets its Arabica coffee beans roasted to order from a century-old coffee producer in Louisiana. If you like to keep your day caffeine-free, the restaurant's Valencia orange juice is squeezed to order. If you prefer to get your Vitamin C in more creative ways, the O-B House serves bloody beer -- a tomato-juice-and-beer concoction with a kick. Beer for breakfast? That's one excellent reason to rise and shine!

Hours: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Weekends 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Old Fort Lauderdale Breakfast House
333 Himmarshee St.
Fort Lauderdale 33312

Call 954-530-7520, or visit o-bhouse.com.