Mitzi's Sister

Location:

1554 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON

www.mitzis.ca

Best place to go with your best friend after getting your hair did?

Mitzi's Sister.

Absolutely, hands down, the best brunch place I've eaten at, yet.



Challah French Toast
Served with home fries, fresh fruit, pure maple syrup & fresh whipped cream. $13.50

This week's topping was pomegranate!! Amazeballs.



And the Huevos Rancheros (Scrambled eggs in a grilled tortilla with refried beans, guacamole, tomato salsa, sour cream, home fries and fresh fruit. $10.95) was incredible!



Oh yes, I had a Side of English Bangers. $3.50

No photo of them because our server forgot my order and they arrived a bit late;  after I was almost done with my French Toast.  But fat and juicy, the bangers were really good.

As is our hair.

Mitzi's is highly recommended.

Local Feature: Harlem Underground

Location:

745 Queen St W, Toronto

www.harlemrestaurant.com/underground

With a wall-mural/graffitied glass hallway and red interior walls, Harlem looks like how you'd expect a restaurant in Harlem to look: cultured-chic, friendly and somewhere you'd want to spend a few good hours with friends and wholesome Southern cooking.










Cajun Tempura Fried Okra
$4.95

Of all the fascinating side dishes on the menu ( fried plantains, candied yams, bacon mac n' cheese, collard greens,) we had to try the deep fried okra.  Arriving piping hot, and with plenty enough to go around, it did not disappoint.  Granted, okra is not for everyone...the slimy texture and odd taste is certainly something to acquire.  I, for one, love okra and have had it in many forms, so this was just another lovely treat for me.


Harlem Benny Poached eggs, chili-garlic greens, atop a sausage and grits flap jack along with cheesy hollandaise
$10.95

R who had this dish, was worried that the portion size and the density of a grit flap jack would be too heavy since she'd already eaten breakfast, but the flap jack was light and the eggs perfectly poached.



Mile High Jawny Toast Three egg-dipped thick slices of egg loaf drizzled with maple syrup, crushed pecans and fresh fruit
$10.95

OMG you guys.  Undoubtedly the best FT I've had to date!  THICK, yet fluffy slices of bread and an absolutely mouth-watering, nutty, berry sauce on top.  While splitting this dish with A who ordered the fried chicken and waffles, I ended up with a smorgasbord of salty (fried chicken) and sweet (waffles and french toast) goodness on my plate (usually how I like to eat things - all on one plate) which was wiped clean with the last bite of toast. 


Southern Fried Chicken & Waffle With a Chipolte-corriander-lime maple syrup
$11.95

Speaking of the Fried Chicken and waffles, does four pieces of chicken sound enough to you?! Thank goodness we were sharing!  What portions are these, my friends?  Amazing!  The chipotle-corriander-lime maple syrup was an excellent accompaniment to the waffles (which unfortunately lacked that fresh-out-of-the-waffle-iron heat).



Yam & Yukon Potato Hash Topped with a sunny side up egg cooked with spicy sausage, served with biscuits and greens
$9.95

We all agreed, the potato hash was incredible!  Especially with the spicy sausage.



Veggie Omelette Sweet peppers, onions, mushroom and spinach
$8.95

N who got this dish said even with the cheese it was a tad bland for her taste.

And none of us cared much for the sweet potato biscuits accompanying the omelettes.  They weren't warm or soft enough and had the texture of a scone; fairly dry.  I think with everything else going on in the dish, the side biscuit came cross as rather plain in comparison.  Regardless, I wish it had been better 'cause there's nothing like a hot biscuit!

Still, with any personal requests (ie. cheese in the omlette, collard greens instead of spinach) there were no hesitations to comply, in fact suggestions were made to accommodate dietary concerns, if possible.  Our server, Jen, imparted just the right measure of attentiveness without being intrusive.

Oh, and a shout-out the to the low-ceilinged washrooms, which we figured is the "underground" part of Harlem Underground. We all emerged from it as if we were the (recently rescued) miners. (Yay, miners!) :)

But in all seriousness, HU is such a wonderfully warm and friendly place, I would not hesitate to return. And with a group of seven, the verdict was unanimous: come hungry, and leave content!

Cora’s Breakfast and Lunch

Location:

277 Wellington Street West, Toronto

www.chezcora.com

Did people eat more in the '90s? I'm not sure. All I know is I ordered the 1990s Harvest for breakfast at Cora's on Saturday and it sure was a gigantic portion! 

There's not a whole lot of selection for brunch downtown...I mean, really downtown, near the Queens Quay area. The closest place we could think of was Cora's. And I guess everyone else thought the same. The line-up was huge! And that too, on such a blustery cold day. Our wait was about 20 or so minutes, normally we'd have gone elsewhere, but there was nowhere else to go, except for maybe the brunch at 5 Senses (or is it Sen5es?), which didn't have a line-up, which we took as it either not being good or being too pricey. Turns out a "gourmet" breakfast buffet will set you back $21.95. A bit too much to pay for eggs and toast, me thinks. As it is, breakfast is the easiest meal to prepare and uses the cheapest of ingredients.

At Cora's it's still a little too much for what it is, but it really hit the spot that day.

Of course, I'm sure everyone could have done without the wait, but when we did finally get seated, our server was really nice and my 1990s Harvest was absolutely perfect....the raisin french toast, the bacon, the eggs, the pile of fruit (all of it exactly like the larger than life photo in the menu) . What a heaping portion. The blueberry crepes were a bit of a dud, but between the two of us we covered all of our cravings...AND some. 

NEW: Frankly Eatery

Location:
1118 Queen Street East, Toronto

www.franklyeatery.com

So, I first posted about Frankly Eatery in April.  Our friends opened up Frankly (the name deriving from them not knowing quite frankly what name to give it) in Leslieville and we finally got the chance to check it out this past weekend.


Loving the signage outside and how warm and cosy the interior is.



They had a few weekend specials, one of them being: Scrambled eggs w/ scape-jalapeno pesto topped with sausage & bacon, tomato and red scallions served w/side salad & baguette.



Everything Everything was fresh and came out hot and tasting delicious.

I got my standard: French Toast (Vanilla cinnamon French toast topped with our mixed berry compote and pure maple syrup and a side of fresh fruit. $7.75).  I have to admit I knew what I was going to get when I saw the menu before Frankly Eatery even opened :) And it was incredible - we were loving the baquettes and the berry sauce on top.  Perfect.



The Aloo Parantha (large Indian style flatbread stuffed with shredded spiced potatoes served with a homemade cilantro sour cream and side salad 8.50) was cooked to perfection - exactly the way we like it, tasting wonderfully homemade.



The Egg Bhurji (Spicy Indian style scramble with onions, peas and tomatoes served with green salad and sliced baguette. $8.50) was amazing!! Definitely something I would get again.





One of the other specials was the Tandoori Chicken Wrap  (Tandoori chicken, slaw, roasted chick peas, garlic aioli w/ side salad) which, with the side salad, was quite filling.







And finally, there they are! The fantastic crew bringing it all together: great job guys - everyone is loving the place and we can't wait to come back! 

Frugal Fare #5: The Bellwoods Bar & Grill

Location:
756 Queen St W., Toronto

Cost: Under $10 for breakfast

It's almost refreshing to find a place in TO that doesn't cater to all your dietary concerns (ie. lactose-free and/or soy milk, gluten-free what-have-you).
It's plain white or brown bread.

Milk or cream.

Sausages or bacon.
That's what was so perfect about spotting the "ALL-DAY BREAKFAST" sign while driving around the Queen/King street area at 9am on Sunday in the search for breakfast.

ALL DAY BREAKFAST!

Peter Pan was closed, Brant Street Cafe was closed, Fusaro's was closed. Everything was either closed or only opened at 10:30am for brunch.  The key was to find a place that served coffee.

So the "ALL-DAY BREAKFAST" sign was that much better.

The interior

Bellwood owner Tom Koulias has been in business for 40 years!

The first thing on the menu was simply: FOUR eggs with toast, bacon and potatoes.

DONE!

I believe French toast might have been the second thing on the menu.

"I am so happy right now."

FOUR eggs with bacon!

Ma French Toast!

BUTTER! Awesome.

Heavily buttered goodness!

COFFEE

We like to mix it up

There's a "Help Wanted" sign....any takers?

Fusaro's Kitchen

Location:

147 Spadina Avenue, Toronto

Cost: $10-15 for lunch

www.fusaros.com

This is a long overdue post; I guess because it's such a frequented lunch spot for me that I simply thought I was having a home-cooked meal at times!

If you don't get there by 11:45am at the latest, be prepared to wait in a long line up that runs out the door!



The pre-made pizzas, sandwiches, quiches etc are all very good - a pizza slice will only set you back a few dollars and is way better than Mama's Pizza. I really like the croissant with chicken, olives and feta (a bit o' cheese never hurt anyone)...although it's a tad salty.



The panini's and pastas are made to order and add $2 for a side salad...



Their daily specials are listed on the fairly new blackboard on the side (Fusaro's has undergone some interior design changes in the last couple of years - going from orange walls with black and white photography to plain blue walls with the menus on blackboards - for a more minimalist look or realistically, more spatially accommodating for the sheer volume of the lunchtime crowd.



I've had many a pasta dish here and I have never had a bad experience.



I have heard from my yoga instructor however, that she gained weight eating the salads here (So, note to self, and to you reader). It's all that dressing - which they actually do put a bit too much of .

I even hosted a birthday brunch here a few years ago (the Evite was aptly titled: "Let's get some f*****ckiin freeeeeench toast" a la 40 year old Virgin).



Someone else got the calabrese, like so:



Salmon & eggs:



Eggs florentin:



Not a lot of people know about the brunch on Saturday, but it's lovely and not at all like the cafeteria-style-lunch-time atmosphere. The food, on the other hand, is just as good :)

TRAVEL: Palm Beach, Hamburger Heaven

Location:

314 South Country Road, Palm Beach, Florida

Cost: $25 for two

Hamburger Heaven is a cute little diner in Palm Beach and one of two places suggested to us to get breakfast in the area - I'm sure there are more joints to grab freshly squeezed OJ, but HH was super close to our hotel and the beach which made it perfect.

We didn't make it in time for breakfast the first day...missed it by more than a few hours (breakfast is served until 11am and we were there around 3!), but our lunch consisted of what we considered to be makeshift breakfast dishes...ie. quiche (eggs and spinach) and fruits!

It was gloooooooooorious!!!! Ta DA!





And we thought we'd try the special of the day - Blackened tilapia on salad....my oh my was it ever delush! SO glad we missed breakfast! It was the perfect 3pm meal!



We did make it in time for french toast and eggs the next day though! And they remembered us and sat us in the same booth - so sweet! The service was amazing, they didn't make any fuss seating us in a booth even though there were just two of us and even though they had a lineup later for lunch with groups of four waiting. It just reminded me of horrible Mildred's Temple Kitchen and their huge a** fuss of seating us!

We had freshly squeezed OJ (how could you not?). Omg you guys, soooo good!



The eggs, toast, side of potatoes and....bacon....



I always get french toast for breakfast...and these were tasty (I have to admit Testa's was better, though especially with their serving of fruit on the top) but I was loving the giant Texas style toast.



The breakfast was all very good but I think it's called hamburger heaven for a reason and we really wanted to come back for one of their burgers but they were closed on Sunday, our last day there! Oh well, next time for the hamburger! We ended up jokingly calling this place Hamburger Helper but it truly is a little taste of heaven.