Restaurant: Aurora Breakfast, Bar & Backyard
There’s hardly any intro needed for Aurora. This newish addition to OKC’s Plaza District has quickly become an area favorite, with weekend brunch lines well out the door. For weekday lunch, you’re more likely to snag a table easily; weekdays also offer more of a relaxed vibe, with less family diners and a more subdued atmosphere all around.
This is a super vegetarian friendly restaurant, but there’s plenty on the menu for meat-lovers, too. Everything they do seems just so fresh and genuine; it’s a cozy space, a long, narrow restaurant, and it seats many more people than its outward appearance might imply. They source their coffee from Hoboken Coffee Roasters, and they have a fantastic selection of tea as well.
Below, five delectable dishes I’ve eaten at Aurora—and there’s still more on the menu I’d love to try!
VEGGIE BURGER
The veggie biscuits (top + bottom of the page) are my go-to at Aurora, but I’m also always on the search for new and delicious veggie burgers. This one, without a doubt, 100% fits the bill. It’s a house made mushroom + oat patty served on a challah bun with caramelized peppers, fresh greens, pesto aioli and Batista cheese. It seems like the trend now is for restaurants to offer vegan/vegetarian burgers that “taste,” “look” and “act” like meat, but I’m not about that life. Thanks to the folks at Aurora and others like them for proving that plant-based foods can be delicious without pretending to be something they aren’t. Be sure to ask for a side of their house-made hot sauce too!
AVOCADO TOAST
It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for avocado toast. If you ordered this one directly off the menu, it would come with avocado on sourdough with breakfast radish, feta, cucumber, fresh pea shoots, lemon aioli, heirloom tomato and EVOO. You also get the option to add hummus for an extra 75 cents, which I always opt to do. I'm not a fan of tomatoes or cucumbers, so I nix those and add an over easy egg instead.
Aurora makes a fantastic, creamy hummus, which goes perfectly with the buttery toast and the divinely ripe avocados. I love the addition of the feta on this, too. Again, be sure to ask for their house hot sauce, and give a generous drizzle over the top. Their potato cabbage hash is a must-order as well (it weirdly looks like Thanksgiving turkey in the photo above, but just ignore that).
SAVORY LENTIL HUMMUS BOWL
This is a fantastic lunchtime option and is actually something you could easily make at home! This bowl combines stewed lentils, Aurora’s signature white bean hummus, wilted kale, avocado, pepitas, heirloom grape tomatoes, breakfast radishes, lemon aioli and a runny egg. It doesn’t come with a side, but if you’re super hungry you might order an extra egg. Either way, this dish is guaranteed to fill you up without leaving you stuffed.
BREAKFAST TACOS
It’s seriously hard to beat a good breakfast taco, and the ones at Aurora are…well, good. Choose between a soft flour or a gluten free corn tortilla, and the chefs will pile on scrambled eggs, mushrooms, avocado, caramelized peppers, yellow cheddar, lime crema and radish. Must top with their house hot sauce!
I’ve never ordered them before, but heads up that they also offer Vegan Tacos with caramelized peppers, mushrooms, white bean hummus, avocado, heirloom tomato jam and fresh pea shoots.
VEGGIE BISCUITS
This is my favorite thing to order at Aurora and is perhaps one of my all-time favorite brunch dishes in town! They just have seriously incredible house made thyme biscuits; they’re thin and slightly crispy but have just the right amount of fluff as well. Aurora tops these babies with white bean hummus, fresh avocado, heirloom tomato jam, cucumber (I leave this off), feta and a runny egg (in the photo above I added an extra egg).
I know I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a fan of tomatoes, but the heirloom tomato jam on these biscuits is the perfect finishing touch. It’s slightly sweet, slightly savory, and pairs really well with the hummus. Prepare to fall in love (and again, people, ask for hot sauce)!
