Tag Archives: brunch

Who needs bacon & eggs when you can have brisket & eggs, bro?

Dude, this is body by beef brisket, bro! So when I heard that Industry Snack Bar, this new funky joint on Bloor, just west of Bathurst, was smoking brisket for 12 hours, making their own Jack Daniels BBQ sauce and serving it up with eggs, toast and home fries, you KNOW I’m all over that, homeslice!

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So, the brisket is super-tender, you can pull it apart with your fork. Home fries are salty and crispy, and then you get a few bites of runny egg, with some toast to soak it up — nothing wrong with that at all!

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Now, they do have a handful of macrobrews here, but Estrella Damn is the only one on draught. It’s nothing special, but it beats drinking OJ, bro-jay!!!!

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Dude, this dish comes with a side salad — and I even ate all the salad!!!!!!!

65-dollar, 66% buffet brunch on Mother’s Day

Now, we may have been raised by wolves in the wilds of Alberta, but that doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate Mother’s Day on Triple B — especially when there’s a buffet involved. We’re hanging out at Dia, this funky joint on the second floor of the new Canopy by Hilton at Bloor and Sherbourne, where they’re serving up a $65 Mother’s Day brunch that’s not quite a full buffet, but pretty close.

Y’see, while they have a buffet-style spread for starters and desserts, you order your entrees a la carte from their Mother’s Day menu… which means you only get to pick just one. But there is plenty of food to go around for starters, though:

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What we’ve got here is garden breakfast pizza, bacon breakfast pizza, a bacon & marscapone shooter, marble cheddar, hummus + goat cheese, Greek pasta salad, Virginia ham, sopressata and some bread for hummus dipping. I deliberately avoided adding any veggies to this plate, but there are some onions, peppers and mushrooms on the pizza, so that counts. The bacon breakfast pizza was TheBomb.ca, but the hummus on fresh bread was actually the best thing on this plate, bro!!!!!

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Now, there were six main courses to choose from, but you KNOW I went with the prime rib roast — dude, this is body by prime rib roast! But while I was expecting some freshly carved prime rib, Toronto Beach Club style, this piece of meat clearly came out of the kitchen. It wasn’t bad, but it was only the third best prime rib I’ve had in the past six weeks. At least the carrots and asparagus helped me not die of scurvy this week, so there’s that…

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But you KNOW we’ve still got room for dessert — and I grabbed one of almost everything on the dessert table, bro! We’re talkin’ strawberry chocolate truffles, strawberry trifle, vanilla crème brûlée, chocolate explosion brownie AND pecan pie… oh my! Now, we don’t normally trifle with trifle on Triple B, but I gotta say, this trifle was quite tasty. You’ve got strawberry jam topped with whipped cream, topped with shortcake, more whipped cream, and a couple strawberry slices on top. It’s like a festival of funk in Flavourtown!!!!!!!

This cider house rules, bro!!!!

Now, I don’t always drink cider, unless it’s for breakfast. I mean, it has apples, so that counts as fruit juice, right? So we’re hanging out at Her Father’s Cider Bar, this funky little joint on Harbord, and they’ve got almost as many different kinds of cider as Miss Likklemore’s has rum. Plus, we happen to be here for brunch — so I guess I can wait until it’s actually five o’clock before cracking my first beer, bro…

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This here Thai ginger cider from Kitchener Waterloo is more sweet than heat. It’s mostly apples, but you get a kick at the end from some Thai chilies and ginger. It’s not really spicy, though…

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And because not every cider has to have apples, we’re chugging this funky peach and apricot cider from Steel Town. It’s a little more sweet and a little less tart — not that there’s anything wrong with that.

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For brunch, we’re chowing down on some chorizo sausage hash, with hash browns, onion jam, carrot top pesto and a fried egg on top. Plus, I paid extra to add bacon — first rule of Flavourtown is always add bacon! And I gotta say, the bacon is what makes it. Otherwise, the onion jam overwhelms the chorizo, the pesto is only off in one corner and there’s way, way, way too much parsley here, bro…

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Now, we don’t always have dessert with brunch, but when they’re serving up Turtles cheesecake, you can sign me up anytime of day, son! You’ve got a nice, creamy centre with a crunchy crust, some caramel drizzle and toasted almonds on top. You KNOW I love Turtles, bro!!!!!!!!!

$60 Filipino brunch feast @ Lamesa

Now, we’re no strangers to Filipino food on Triple B, whether it’s the Filipino brunch buffet at Kanto or grabbing some kamayan all over this city. So when I heard about Lamesa, this funky little joint on St. Clair West, serving up a $60 discovery brunch for two, I was like, sounds like a nice, light meal for me! And lemme just say, you can definitely get your money’s worth here…

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We’re talkin’ chicken ‘n waffles, Filipino style! Chicken is boneless, but nice ‘n juicy, and then you’ve got the purple ube waffle, which really kicks it up a notch!!!

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Dude, this Filipino bacon is what makes it! Nice ‘n thick, with just a little hint of sweetness. I’d eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!!!!!!

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This Filipino french toast is stuffed with a purple yam jam. Dude, they put that shit in everything!!!!!!!

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Now, you can eat a fried egg with that Filipino bacon, but it also goes nice with some garlic rice…

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And you gotta try the garlic rice with some monkfish, deep-fried and crispy, with just a little sweetness.

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This smoked sausage is sensational — I could crush a whole chain of these, bro!!!!

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And then for dessert, you’ve got these plantain rolls, which are basically deep-fried bananas… and bananas is good!!!!

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Washed it all down with a glass of tropical house punch. You’ve got calamansi, mango, guava, lychee, ginger beer… oh, and rum. Can’t forget the rum, son!!!!

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Now, you might be able to feed a small family of four with this brunch platter… but you KNOW it’s just a light snack in Flavourtown, bro!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bacon breakfast pizza @ La Palma

Can we have pizza for breakfast, mommy dear, mommy dear? Gotta have it at La Palma, this funky Italian joint on Dundas West, where their brunch menu has both a smoked salmon and a breakfast pizza, with green tomatoes, eggs and stracchino cheese. But here we’re kicking it up a notch — I ordered a side of bacon and then put it on top, cuz everything’s better when you add bacon, bro!!!!

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Once complaint I had when I went here for dinner was that the portions were pretty small. And that’s still the case at brunch — this was less of a pizza, and more like a flatbread. And somehow, between the eggs and the tomatoes, this flatbread was very, very soggy. I will say that adding the bacon is what makes it — this dish definitely needed that extra little crunch. But I was still a little disappointed overall.

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Now, you can certainly stick with a mimosa or a caesar, but they’ve got a pretty interesting beer list here — like this dunkel weizen from Nickel Brook and Farm League Brewing. Not as wheaty or as citrusy as some other beers I’ve had in this style, but still not a bad way to start the day.

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But now we’re kicking it up a notch with this No Country Alsatian Pilsner from Fairweather. A nice crispy boi with plenty of malt — it’s probably the most flavourful thing I’ve had all day!!!!

These BBWs come with some hot chicks…

So, we’re hanging out at Old School, this funky brunch joint named after my second-favourite Will Ferrell movie (Anchorman FTW, bro!) on Dundas, just west of Bathurst. This place is famous for its Blueberry Hill pancakes (which I once ordered for delivery), but this time we’re gonna funk it up a notch. I was like “Dude, can I get the chicken and waffles, but with the blueberry compote from the pancakes…and add a side of bacon?” Yes you can, my man, and they didn’t even charge extra for the berries!!!

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Now, these Bacon Blueberry Waffles (BBWs for short) are pretty next level. The blueberry compote really sticks to the extra-crispy fried chicken batter, you’ve got some bacon in every bite, and the Tabasco honey that already comes with the dish adds a nice little kick. I will say the chicken was not as dry as the time I ordered it with mac ‘n cheese, but it still wasn’t the star of the show. So I probably wouldn’t get the fried chicken and waffles here — unless you add bacon and blueberries. 😉

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Now, their in-house Old School Lager, brewed by Lost Craft, wasn’t bad, but their actually pulled a bit of a switcheroo. I know I had a few of these, but I’m pretty sure that their drink menu said Old School Pilsner — which is not the same thing. Sounds like someone needs to have a chat with Kim Mitchell ASAP!!!!

Croque Madame in a crepe?? Holy crap!!!

So we’re hanging out at Maison Selby, this funky French joint on Sherbourne. We were here a couple years back for some especially good escargot, but now it’s brunch time, and they’re about to funk it up another notch. They’re taking this classic French sandwich, la Croque Madame, and turning it into a crepe!? Shuttez le phoque up ET fetchez la vache, bro!!!!

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Of course, here on Triple B, we took it up another notch by adding a side of bacon. And man, their four-dollar side of bacon is enough bacon for two people — non-citizens of Flavourtown, that is. You’ve got ham and cheese on the inside (plus some spinach at the end for some reason), two runny eggs on top, and then that bacon giving it a nice little chew. Man, I’d eat that every day of the week!!!!

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Now, I really wanted to order their cocktail called Sacre Bleu, add a bacon garnish and call it Tabarnak, but it seems they were all out of the ingredients last weekend. So instead I went with a Lemonade Stand, this tart ‘n tangy lactose sour from Indie Alehouse. A glass of this Lemonade Stand costs a lot more than a quarter, though — at Maison Selby, it’s $11.25, bro!!!!!!

South of the border bacon & eggs @ Chadwick’s

Now, I KNOW my main man Guy Fieri is all about chilaquiles — but they ain’t so easy to find in Toronto, bro. (I have only actually had them twice.) So we heard that Chadwick’s, this funky little joint on Dupont, that’s serving up all kinds of Tex Mex and Latin American fusion food on its brunch menu, had chilaquiles — but they come with eggs on top. Guy Fieri would soooo not approve!!!!

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Now the eggs might come with this dish, but here on Triple B, we’re kicking things up another notch by adding a side of bacon, and then putting it right on top. (Dude, the First Rule of Flavourtown is Always Add Bacon!) This thick-cut pork belly, along with some runny poached eggs, mixed in with those tortilla chips, a few radishes, cilantro, and two kinds of salsas — verde AND roja — it’s like a festival of funk in Flavourtown! And you’ve got two different textures with this dish — the chips on the outside are still hard and crunchy, while the ones that are soaking in sauce are chewier (and easier to cut, cuz this is kinda messy to eat with your hands). Either way, you can’t go wrong, bro!!!!

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We’re washing ‘er down with a Great Lakes Stout, their best impression of a Guinness. This Canadian take on an Irish breakfast smoothie goes down nice ‘n smoothly, at at 4.3% I can shotgun seven of these and still dance a jig, son!!!!

BIG APPLE BITES: Mac n cheese pancakes? Shut the back door!!!!

So, we’re hanging out at Mom’s Kitchen and Bar, this funky joint at W 48th and 9th serving up all day brunch. This place has got your classics like avocado toast, omelettes and even a pancake burrito… but when I saw the mac n cheese pancakes, you KNOW I had to check em out!

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The creamy noodles go great with the fluffy pancake batter, and then you’ve got some extra mac with cheese sauce on top. I paid extra for a side of thick cut bacon, which really kicks it up a notch!

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We’re chasing it with a Dad-mosa, bro! You’ve got UFO White beer, peach liqueur and orange juice, served in a 21 oz goblet. OJ and the wheat beer go together nicely, while the peach flavour is a little more subtle. That’ll wake you up in the morning!!!

Who needs Christmas turkey when you can have deep-fried duck???

Now, I know I’ve said this before — I am not a big fan of turkey, unless it’s Texas-style BBQ turkey, or maybe a turducken. But I didn’t see any place serving up turducken this year, so instead we’re heading to Louix Louis, this funky joint at the top of the St. Regis hotel, for a Christmas day brunch. They aren’t serving turkey here, either… but when I saw the Duck & Waffle, with deep-fried duck legs, I mean, who even needs turkey, right???

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OK, now let’s break it down. Waffles were thick, but not very fluffy. Even with the syrup, they didn’t get very soft, so instead of piling the duck on top, I had to put it on the side, like so. But the deep-fried duck was legit, nice n’ chewy with a crispy breading, and that blueberry compote kicked it up a notch!

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But hey, because calories don’t count on Christmas Day, we also ordered some steak ‘n eggs, son! Steak was on the rare side of medium rare (not a bad thing), and the eggs were pretty decent, although I didn’t see any of the shaved truffles they mentioned on the menu. Guess it must not be truffle season?

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Washed it down with “The Original Bloody Mary” which is supposed to be a St. Regis specialty — this drink was actually invented at a St. Regis in NYC, back in the day. But man, I gotta say, I didn’t taste or feel the vodka in this one. I mean, I wanna get drunk, bro, not dip my french fries in it!!!!!!!

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Speaking of St. Regis specialties… you KNOW I saved room for a slice of King’s Cake, bro! Dude, this 13-layer chocolate cake is thicker than Lizzo and J.Lo combined — I ate most of it, but I’ve still got pretty much an entire Prime Seafood Palace-sized piece of cake leftover for tomorrow…

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