Omelets Etc. has expanded to a third, northern location

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• Griffin Swartzell

Colorado Springs, meet Omelets Etc. No. 3. This company opened in 2010, run by former IHOP employees, and it’s since expanded from the Westside to Southeast Springs and now, the Northside. It’s not just the food or the variety on the huge two-sided menu that excites us when we sit in the busy dining room. The prices catch our eyes, too: lower than most upscale/crafty/hipsterish breakfast spots.

Our stack of four nutty fruity multigrain pancakes costs $8.49, and they’re damn good. Each is cakey-soft, packed with blueberries and walnuts, then topped with strawberries and bananas. They’re relatively healthy and full of flavor, and a little butter and syrup makes this a no-joke breakfast. In our California Omelet, $8.99, we also find something to enjoy.

Diced bits of crispy bacon stand out beautifully against the slices of avocado atop, with mushrooms and tomatoes rating fine, and the pepper jack atop bears more pepper fire and flavor than we expect. But side hash browns rate pitiful, with no crispness to the exterior of the mound of taters, an indistinctly mushy interior and no detectable seasoning — not even salt.