The Early Bird (Round 3)

We can't stop going to Early Bird. There was a new menu that included Eggs Benny that we really couldn't resist. I ordered the Pulled Pork Eggs Benny, which was great. The Hollandaise was perfection, the pulled pork was moist and delicious, and the slaw added a nice crunch. There wasn't anything special about the potatoes or fruit, but the fruit makes it feel like a balanced meal (even if it definitely isn't). The bread used for the Eggs Benny was a special creation, not sure if it was made in house or not, but it was nice and airy.

Pulled Pork Eggs Benny - smoked shoulder, house slaw, toast

Scott ordered the GrEggs Benny. He was raving about the soft poach on his egg, and how delicious the brisket was, although none made it across the table for me to try.

GrEggs Benny - smoked brisket, sauerkraut, 1000 island, toast

We were in the restaurant at 9 AM on a Tuesday, and it was completely empty. It is always a little strange being the only table, Service was great, but how could it not be with no one else there to make requests? We had blacked out our last experience, and are back to perfection.


Likes: Eggs Benedict! So glad to see them as a regular menu item :)
Dislikes: I guess the potatoes were a little boring
Food: 4.75/5
Service: 5/5
Would I go again?: Of course, any excuse to go and I will be back.

Berry Hill Food Company

Brunch is a long weekend requirement. As we are back from a long weekend visit with my family, it is time to share Sunday Brunch with you. We went to Berry Hill Food Company in downtown Oshawa, mostly because it is one of the few places I haven't been yet in my hometown. Actually, I am sure there are many, but it looked like it would be good. I scoped out the eggs Benedict options, and went for the Beef Tenderloin. At $16, I was expecting perfectly tender beef with creamy Hollandaise sauce. I was extremely disappointed - the beef was chewy, the Hollandaise was thin and there wasn't very much of it. The eggs were fine, but I have had better of every component. The potatoes were over-salted, but tasty. I really was filled with regret, wondering how good other menu items might have been, and why I made this choice.

Beef Tenderloin Eggs Benedict with sauteed garlic mushrooms

Scott was after more quantity, and ordered the Full Mounty. He enjoyed it, and I had some of that sausage, it was good. Nothing exceptional, again for $15 I would hope for more delight.

The Full Mounty - Canadian peameal, English sausage, 2 eggs, strip bacon, grilled tomato, baked beans, BH potatoes & toast

We left feeling overcharged and unimpressed. Looking for a great spot in Oshawa, we will have to keep looking. It seemed like there was so much potential, so maybe by ordering different things we might have been more on board. I do really want to say nice things... the service was good!

Likes: The coffee was served in a huge cup.

Dislikes: The food and prices weren't great.

Food: 3/5

Service: 4/5

Would I go again?: Probably not.

Earth to Table: Bread Bar

On Sunday we were headed through Guelph to visit friends and decided have a little brunch on the way. On the recommendation of a friend of a friend, we ended up at Earth to Table: Bread Bar. Their website looked really promising with lots of fresh looking dishes. As you may have noticed by now, we are breakfast & brunch connoisseurs with a critical eye for an egg. The brunch situation here is a kind of breakfast tapas, with small plates you can share or eat all yourself. It isn't what we started with, but I will start here with my favourite dish: Brisket & Potato Hash with Poached Egg. The brisket was delightful, so savory and flavourful, with a perfectly poached egg. Yolk on potatoes is one of the greatest joys of breakfast.

Brisket & Potato Hash with Poached Egg

My biggest disappointment was the French Toast. It wasn't very eggy, instead rather dry. The whipped cream made up for some of the lost moisture, and the caramel was tasty, but the bread was entirely the wrong choice for french toast. The bread was seedy and not very absorbent. I was very glad this wasn't the focus of my meal.

French Toast with Caramel & Whipped Cream

We were also a little underwhelmed by the Eggs Hammy. There was just very little seasoning, making it boring. The bread used here was fabulous, suiting of the Bread Bar name.

Eggs Hammy - poached egg with ham & hollandaise

The Root Beer-Baked Beans came in an adorable mini cocotte dish and were full of flavour. They were actually a little too spicy for me, and the beans were undercooked, so Scott ate most of this one.

Root Beer-Baked Beans

The Potato Latkes were the most confusing dish. It really wasn't clear how it was intended to be eaten. It reminded me of a pile of hickory sticks in both appearance and taste. I was really not into the taste of the salmon roe, way too fishy for me - although that is probably just my uneducated palette.

Potato Latkes with sour cream and cured salmon roe

While we are on the topic of fish, let's move on to the Smoked Salmon on Toast. This was much more how I prefer my breakfast salmon - classic, delicious combination. The only way this would have been better was more of it, luckily it was all you can eat!

Smoked Salmon on Toast - with cream cheese, capers, lemon, dill, & red onion

The breakfast nachos were better than they looked. They have found a really good guacamole recipe, there was just not enough. Not a huge egg presence, but it was good.

Breakfast Nachos - jalapenos, guacamole, scrambled egg, sour cream

Last but definitely not least, Scott's favourite dish: Eggs in Purgatory. This was a stunning example of the bread quality, that I hope and assume they make in house. The poached egg in tomato was excellent for dipping, being very rich and tasty.

Eggs in Purgatory - tomato, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan, toast

We were there right when the restaurant opened, and were really excited about it conceptually. The dishes themselves weren't that impressive, and left us thinking wistfully of our fabulous breakfast in Kitchener, ON at Gilt Restaurant. Nothing was terrible, but for $28 per person I would rather be impressed than overwhelmed with amount of food. There was also a cold food bar available with cold salads and cold, disappointing pizza. We tried a couple, and they were big mistakes. Served hot, perhaps the pizza would have been better, but they weren't good. The pastry cart on the other hand, was filled with delightful treats. There was a salted caramel brownie that I couldn't get enough of, and actually bought 4 to take to our friends. Our service was great, very attentive, informative, but not too overwhelming.

Likes: Selection and concept of breakfast tapas is great.
Dislikes: I wasn't impressed by most items, cold pizza shouldn't have been included.
Food: 3/5
Service: 5/5
Would I go again?: No, and I wouldn't recommend it either. It just wasn't worth it.

The Red Wagon Restaurant

This past week Scott and I traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia so I could attend the American Society for Human Genetics Annual Meeting, or ASHG 2016. We ate amazing food around every corner, but I will share just a few with you. Our first morning, I took up the recommendation from an old high school acquaintance to visit Red Wagon. It was very much out of the way, but we had a rental car and were very hungry. I ordered Crispy Pork Belly, in an attempt to make up for the sub-par pork belly we had eaten the night before in Whistler. This was delicious! Each of us at the table ordered pork belly, and we were all very satisfied with the crispy exterior and mouthwatering interior. The potatoes were tossed in some sort of cilantro situation that I don't love and would have preferred to be warned about (remember, cilantro is dish-soap).The coffee was spot on and flowing, the rye was delightful, the hollandaise was creamy, and the eggs were perfectly poached.

Crispy Pork Belly - 2 poached eggs, confit pork belly, grilled tomato, salsa verde, hollandaise, homefries and rye toast

Scott went more down his usual route, ordering the Supertrucker. This was an enormous plate of food that he was excited to finish. The pancakes were light and fluffy (although Mildred's are still the ones to beat). The non-traditional breakfast meats were excellent - pulled pork on pancakes, who knew?

Supertrucker - 2 eggs, 2 buttermilk pancakes, pulled pork, crisp pork belly, homefries, and sourdough toast

This restaurant is far out of the downtown core, so it doesn't feel like a tourist spot at all. It had been there forever, and feels like a really authentic diner experience. The service was great and friendly. We lucked out when we got there with no line, but when we left there were no open tables. The coffee and water were constantly full, which is always nice.

Likes: The tone of the place was great, the pork belly was perfection.
Dislikes: How far we drove to find it, and cilantro.
Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Would I go again?: Yes! If I am ever back in Vancouver I would insist on going back. Everyone else should, too!

Mildred's Temple Kitchen

On Monday morning, Canadian Thanksgiving, we had to travel back to London from having visited my parents. Of course, that means we could stop for brunch in Toronto! I had seen Mildred's Temple Kitchen on Instagram many times, so I was pretty pleased to see it was open on the holiday. I ordered the Big Brunch Skillet, and as you can see, we shared a side of chorizo sausage. First, I must say that the coffee was the absolute best coffee I've had in a restaurant, so shout out to Reunion Island Coffee. The skillet was very satisfying, but not mind blowing. Lots of spicy, tasty bites that went well with the eggs. I think I would have preferred poached eggs, since I really just don't like the jelly uncooked top of sunny-side up eggs, something I should have remembered. A nice rye toast would have been welcome too, it felt like it needed a toast.

Big Brunch Skillet - spicy pulled pork, roasted onions, black bean and potato hash with sunny eggs and piri piri salsa

Scott went his usual route - pancakes! These pancakes should be winning all the awards, they were so thick, light and fluffy. The Buttermilk was really doing good work, and that blueberry compote was delicious. I am a little jealous I didn't have a plate for myself. In the menu, it mentions that they are cooked low and slow, so I imagine the batter must be crazy thick to get them as high as they are.

Mrs. Biederhof's Legendary Light & Fluffy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes - served with Lanark County maple syrup & whipped cream.

Many things about this place were absolute wins. Like everywhere else in Toronto for brunch, it was really busy, and they don't take reservations. They do take your phone number, and text you when your table is ready, which is genius. There are so many little shops and things around Liberty Village to look at to entertain yourselves for 45 minutes, that the wait really didn't seem like an inconvenience at all. We actually bought a nice cast iron lasagna pan at a store nearby that we hope to use this week (this one). The dining area is so spacious and light, with enough charm to make it cozy. The kitchen line is completely exposed, so I could see every skillet and stack of pancakes prepared before ours. The music was great, kitchen staff clearly agreed - one chef stirred both a pot of something and his hips to Salt-N-Pepa's Push It. Unfortunately, our actual service wasn't impressive. Our server seemed completely exhausted. We quickly ran out of water and coffee, and were left for way too long with nothing to drink. All of our interactions with him felt really awkward, I didn't like it.

Likes: The atmosphere and pancakes were great!
Dislikes: I loved the coffee, and would have loved more of it - service was not ideal.
Food: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Would I go again?: Maybe. I do want those pancakes, but there's plenty more to try in the area. After such a long wait, I want to be more impressed.

The Church Key Bistro-Pub... Again

Sunday Brunch! Back in London for a quiet weekend between the chaos, we headed to our favourite restaurant in the city. I know I have shared about The Church Key before, but honestly it is amazing, you need to go now. Every Sunday is a fabulous list of options accompanied by a basket of tasty pastries. We have never had the same thing twice, and never been disappointed. Today brought with it some serious choices. I settled on the Blanquette of Salmon, always a sucker for salmon at breakfast with poached eggs. Everything about it was delicious, but that béarnaise sauce was incredible. I would buy it by the jar if that were an option. My brunch niche is clearly in the rich and creamy area of any menu. I made so many mistakes trying to eat this whole thing that has left me full for the entire day, but it was so, so good!

Blanquette of Salmon - toasted olive oil brioche and Italian style sliced salmon ceviche of brandy, lime, mustard and dill.  Surrounded with white wine veloute, fennel & black olive soffrito, poached eggs and béarnaise sauce

Scott went for the BBQ'd Pork Buns, and was also in heaven. The bun was soft and moist, while the pork belly just melted in your mouth. The miso squash puree was the real surprise for us here. It was so nutty and rich, an interesting combination that I would love to try again. At this point we were both in awe at how lovely the eggs were. Mine were poached, his was soft boiled, and both were perfect.

BBQ'd Pork Buns - traditional steamed Mantou Bun with soft boiled egg, pickled mushrooms, miso squash puree and Wuxi barbecue sauce.

Finally, the pastry basket! What an exciting time to be alive. Some of the favourites were back. Scott describes the Coco-Nutty Bar as legendary, and his all-time favourite. I love the jalapeno cheddar cornbread and the sticky cinnamon roll is so sweet and satisfying. This basket is clearly the reason I have been full all day. The pumpkin muesli wasn't sweet or spiced enough for me, but followed by the completely decadent chocolate bouchon it was forgotten. We are excited every time about what a great idea having the pastry basket at the start of the meal is, and we spend the whole time raving and savouring each bite.

Pastry basket - Blueberry muffin, Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread, Poppy Seed Lemon Loaf, Butter Croissant, Sticky Cinnamon Roll, Muesli Pumpkin Loaf, , Chocolate Bouchon, Coco-Nutty Bar, & Maple Pecan Financier

Likes: Service is great, presentation is fabulous, and the food was always impressive
Dislikes: The butter croissant was a little under baked this time around
Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Would I go again?: I will resist going next Sunday, but the one after that? No guarantees! Okay maybe we will take a few weeks off...Go here!

Gilt Restaurant

Another weekend, another wedding. This time, my friend and roommate from Carleton University got to marry her wonderful new husband. As they are off on Honeymoon touring Europe, I can tell you about the fabulous breakfast we had at Gilt Restaurant in Kitchener, Ontario. I ordered the Lobster & Dill Eggs Benedict. Each toast had a whole lobster claw, that was of course just buttery goodness. The melted brie under the lettuce added to the creaminess of each bite. We need to talk about these potato puffs. We were loving them, so creamy and rich with a nice crispy exterior.

Lobster & Dill Eggs Benedict - brie, double smoked bacon, bibb lettuce, poached egg, lobster, dill hollondaise on toast with potato puffs

Scott ordered the Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread French Toast. This was actual banana bread made into french toast with classic fall spices. The banana bread was dense and rich, with all the cinnamon and nutmeg flavouring you would expect. The whipped cream, coulis, and caramel made it moist ad easy to eat.

Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread French Toast - with Chai whipped cream, dulce de leche caramel sauce, and berry coulis topped with walnuts

We also couldn't restrain ourselves and ordered some bacon wrapped dates. My only concern is that there were only 5 for us to fight over. These were sweet and spicy in all the right ways. The bed of arugula I am assuming was just to stop them from jumping off the plate.

Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with chorizo and habanero with a Frank's Red Hot sauce

The restaurant itself was nice with a lot of black and hints of gold. We went right at opening, unsure if it would be busy or we would need a reservation. In some towns, Sunday Brunch is a big deal, not in Kitchener. We were the only ones there until we were leaving and one other table had just arrived. It is a shame, they deserve to be packed based on the quality of food and service we received.

Likes: Food was so good! I wish we would go back to see what they come up with next.
Dislikes: They had some music and payment issues due to the internet service, but that's a minor problem.
Food: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Would I go again?: Probably, if I were back in Kitchener - there didn't seem to be much competition. Maybe I am not seeing the true Brunch scene?

Sunny Morning Breakfast & Lunch

I can't believe how busy it has been this week! I almost forgot to tell you about my delightful Sunday breakfast, the morning after watching two amazing people get married the night before. For a small moment we considered the complimentary hotel breakfast in the morning, but it looked so sad. Instead, we went to Sunny Morning Breakfast & Lunch in Etobicoke. I ordered the Smoked Salmon Omelette. This was perfect, I had cream cheese to spread on my marble rye toast for each bite of smokey salmon and egg. I opted for the side of fruit instead of home fries, since I just felt like I needed some fruit in my life. Three of us enjoyed the fruits, it was huge! The capers and red onion made for just the right flavour combination that is always a success.

Smoked Salmon Omelette - Smoked salmon, capers, red onion, with fruit, marble rye & cream cheese.

Scott ordered a sweet pile of tasty goodness, called Freddy's Caramel Waffle. It was delightful, with sweet caramel in every hole of the waffle. It was amazing to see, he didn't even use syrup. He loves syrup! I would call this a dessert long before accepting it as a breakfast, but there you have it.

Freddy's Caramel Waffle - golden waffle topped with pecans, banana slices, sweet milk caramel and whipped cream.

This place was really busy when we got there, and really busy when we left. We waited about 15 minutes, and service was quick. They were really on top of keeping our coffees full and the food came much sooner than we expected. It didn't seem like the quality suffered at all from the pace, I assume they are used to being busy on a Sunday morning.

Likes: The service was great, food was delicious
Dislikes: Tables were a little small
Food: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Would I go again?: I would if I happened to be right in the area. I maintain that there are so many places to try in Toronto that I can't waste valuable stomach space on a second visit anywhere. I would recommend it though if you are looking for a great breakfast spot.

The Church Key Bistro-Pub

Yesterday for brunch we could not resist heading to our favourite spot in London. Maybe I've said that before? Well, Church Key is our favourite brunch restaurant. With weddings coming up and lots of travel plans, it made sense to stay in and save money... then we read the menu for this week. Every week, Church Key offers up usually about 5 different and often very unique brunch items. We have probably been about ten times and never ordered the same thing, yet been super satisfied every time. The $4 mimosas are a brunch staple. This week was really hard to decide what to get, but I went with the Pad Thai Pancake. This was an amazing meal, just look at all that pork belly! The tamarind gravy was so rich and delicious, I could not get enough. The prawns reminded me more of lobster than shrimp, they were so buttery and meaty. Every single bite was an explosion of flavour, so clearly I finished the plate and left feeling extremely full.

Pad Thai Pancake - Rice noodle rosti stuffed with shredded carrot, cabbage, beansprouts and pork belly, topped with fried prawns, green onion, crushed peanuts, fried egg & tamarind gravy

Scott was very torn between the Octopus Pepperoni Cheese Pizza and the Venison Mortadella, ultimately being unable to resist the Venison. The meat itself actually tasted like an elevated mortadella (one of the best deli meats, in my esteemed opinion as a former Deli Expert). The pistachios had us guessing to remember what these little green things were in the meat, but ultimately flavour gave them away. The foie gras was rich and delicious, but how could it not be? Scott was raving about the blackberry gastrique with the pancakes, only offering up one bite. The mushrooms were the surprise. I am not sure what they were roasted in, but they were so meaty tasting that it was hard to believe it was just mushrooms. This was our first exposure to purslane, and it wasn't a great one. It is a sour weed that didn't make its way into our hearts, being the only thing left on the plate when all was finished.

Venison Mortadella - Italian venison sausage with Sicilian pistachios and foie gras served on sweet corn pancakes with roasted wild oyster mushrooms, wild purslane, and blackberry gastrique

One of the things we look forward to at Church Key is the pastry basket at the start of the meal. Each Sunday morning, the Chef bakes off a collection of pastries that are almost always creative and impressive. When we came for our first brunch here, we were in the middle of binge watching The Great British Bake Off (if you haven't gotten into it, now is the time - the 7th season has just started!). What this really meant was I came into the pastries with a heightened appreciation for lamination of dough layers in a croissant. I was so impressed! So many defined layers, so rich and buttery. This basket, while very different in composition, still gives me to opportunity to pretend I know what I am talking about when it comes to pastries. They have really figured out croissants here, There have been several different flavours, and this cheese one was perfection. The cheese was salty and delicious, present in every bite. While served with butter, none of the pastries needed it since they were each perfectly seasoned. The Chocolate Bouchon was so rich and full of chocolate that a little bite is all we needed. The Lemon Loaf is one we have had and loved before - so much lemon flavour with sugar crystals on top. We saved it for last since we knew it would be delicious. Scott really liked the Coco-Nutty Bar, while I preferred the Maple Pecan Financier.

Pastry basket - Butter Cheese Croissant, Raspberry Olive Oil Muffin, Maple Pecan Financier, Coco-Nutty Bar, Chocolate Bouchon, Lemon Loaf, & Date Square

Service is always great, with two servers that seem to be the ones holding it down each visit. The owner is always present and visible, either behind the bar, serving tables or helping to clear plates. With brunch set as $25 per person, and ever-changing menu items, we have to restrain ourselves from going every week. Brunch is only served from 11-2:30 on Sundays, and you are competing with the church crowds, so reservations are definitely recommended.

Likes: The creativity and attention to detail
Dislikes: ... I got nothing
Food: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Would I go again?: Definitely, honestly at the next chance I get. I love looking at the brunch menu on Saturday and getting excited for Sunday morning. I love taking people here to try out what is on offer.