Breakfast is a big deal at U Crave Café & Grill in San Fernando

The menu at U Crave Café & Grill is so exhaustive that you probably need to show up at breakfast to give you time to figure out lunch…and maybe dinner.

Indeed, the restaurant invites locals to “Try the largest menu in San Fernando at U Crave!” It stretches over nine pages of small type — so small, you should remember to bring reading glasses, and maybe even a magnifying glass if you’re worn out by a lifetime reading the small print on satellite TV contracts.

There are so many crêpes — both savory and sweet — along with a multitude of add-ons and build-your-owns that U Crave could easily be renamed U Crave Crêpes. But then, the same is true of the egg dishes, the bagels, the waffles and pancakes, the burritos, quesadillas, tacos, mulitas and fajitas.

And trying to figure out what to have from the coffee bar can make you want to lay down with a cold compress. How about a macchiato with two shots of espresso, served hot or cold, small, medium or large, with oat milk, almond milk or nonfat milk, boba and whipped cream, flavored with vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, and spiced pumpkin syrup — regular or sugar free.

Or…you could just get a cuppa joe…with free refills, of course.

The options go on and on, stretching into pastas and sandwiches, traditional pizza or flatbread pizza, burgers, salads and wraps, panini — and just for the fun of it, a section headed “Mid East Feast,” and a choice of “U Crave Plates.”

But then, since breakfast is served all day, U Crave also offers the great pleasure of having an omelette for dinner. Which when you consider that the restaurant is open from 7 a.m. till 11:45 p.m., makes for a very long span of eggies and pancakes. Which makes me very happy — I’ve long argued that omelettes are a great dinner dish. Like restaurants that offer dim sum only early in the day, eggs only in the morning make no sense. I’d much rather go to bed with a waffle in my tummy, than a two-pound tomahawk steak.

There’s also a counter at the entrance packed with baked goods, which are good to consider as you debate where to sit in the oversized dining room. Indeed, pretty much everything at U Crave is bigger than life. The restaurant is well-named — if you can’t find what you crave on the menu here, you can’t find it anywhere.

(There used to be a smaller U Crave Express on Ventura Boulevard in Encino, which closed last year, a victim of Covid. A pity for Ventura Boulevard always needs more choices — much as I love sushi, the raw fish options are multitudinous. Not that I’m complaining.)

More often than not, it’s sashimi I crave — rather than a breakfast quesadilla or burrito packed with eggs, chorizo, homestyle spuds, turkey bacon and cheddar, in a white, wheat, spinach or sundried tomato tortilla, with cotija cheese on top, tortilla chips or salad, red or green salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole or sour cream on the side. Like I said, the choices never end.

At U Crave, there are dishes that both amaze and confound. Like the Morning Burger, a term I don’t think I’ve come across before, turned breakfasty with the addition of one egg over-easy. It’s a pretty much wonderful creation.

There’s also the unbridled pleasure of the Oreo Cookie French Toast — six slices of toast with Oreo cookie crumbles, Nutella, powdered sugar and La Lechera brand condensed milk — with the options, of course, or chocolate, vanilla, cookies and cream, nonfat vanilla or strawberry ice cream; bananas, blueberries strawberry or pineapple, whipped cream, or shredded coconut.

Should you need, you can also add on extra slices of French toast, two at a time. For the luvva mike — is anyone ever actually that hungry?

It’s funny to note that the folks behind U Crave are also keeping track of every trend to come down the pike — and there are many. Along with nonfat ice cream, there are options among the pizzas and burgers for gluten-free, protein-style and keto-style. You can have the salads made with house balsamic, vinaigrette, Caesar, thousand island, ranch, blue cheese, olive oil or lemon juice dressings.

And yes, bunky, speaking of trends, there’s a salad made with kale and quinoa. Garbanzo beans and edamame too. It’s kind of…amazing.

You’d expect the folks behind the counter, and in the kitchen, to be running amuck, trying to keep up with all the complications. But at U Crave, they seem to have their systems down pat. The menu may be filled with twists and turns, but the prep is clean and efficient — for breakfast, lunch or late dinner. Mickey D’s should be envious.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email [email protected].

U Crave Café & Grill

• Rating: 2.5 stars
• Address: 110 N. Maclay Ave., San Fernando
• Information: 818-617-0154; www.ucravecafeandgrill.com
• Cuisine: American
• When: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day
• Details: Beer, wine and many coffee drinks; reservations not necessary
• Prices: About $15 per person
• Suggested dishes: 9 Egg Dishes ($9-$15), 6 Bagel Dishes ($5.75-$11.50), 13 Waffles & Pancakes ($9-$12.50), 7 French Toast ($8-$12.50), 28 Crêpes ($6.50-$15), 14 Panini ($11.50-$14), 9 Salads/Wraps ($12-$16.50), 12 Pizzas ($10-$15), 17 Burgers ($10-$15.50), 11 Mideast Feast ($4.50-$15), 9 Burritos ($10-$15), 6 Street Tacos ($10-$14)
• Credit cards: MC, V
• What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)