Bonjour Brioche Honestly Bonjour Brioche is hands down my favourite breakfast/brunch place in Toronto. They have amazing food with amazing prices, not only that they bake their own breads and everything is made in house, they also have a killer salad dressing that you can purchase for $6.50. My mom took me here a few years ago and
I recommend this place to everyone and can’t stop raving about it. I met up with some of my classmates for brunch before our “Hunger Games, Sweet Addition”. I figured we needed a proper meal before going into a sugar coma.
I got one of their daily savoury tarts which has quiche like qualities, egg custard in a flaky-pyllo like pastry crust. That day I got one with chorizo, arugula and smoked provolone served with a side salad and a piece of baguette. The chorizo was nice and crispy and the portion was just right for me.
Monica got the smoked salmon eggs benedict on a croissant with a side salad and instead of a piece of baguette she got a small brioche. She gave me a piece and it was delicious and she loved it. Kylie got a Lemon Twist, it looked super flaky and butter. I really wanted to get some of their croissant pastries to take home but sadly didn’t.
Kylie got a Lemon Twist, it looked super flaky and butter. I really wanted to get some of their croissant pastries to take home but sadly didn’t.
Bonjour Brioche is a pretty small restaurant so you’re pretty close to your neighbour. They don’t take reservations so get there early or expect a wait, there’s alway a line up out the door when I pass by. This place is definitely a must try brunch / bakery in Toronto, just on the East end of Queen Street. One more thing, they only except cash.
Sadly this year my sister and I didn’t plan anything extravagant for my mom on Mother’s Day, life has been so busy but we did spend the day with her and took her out to brunch. My sister made reservations to Smash Restaurant & Bar, where Bluestone Bistro used to be situated. I really miss having Bluestone Bistro there, they had amazing breakfast options like their to-die-for crab cake eggs benedict but never mind, we’re here to talk about Smash!
Little has changed with their decor or any renovations at all, just the ambiance is a little more lounge-y. For Mother’s Day they had a special for $25 which included breakfast bread basket, mimosa, entree and dessert. We all opted out of it and just got our individual meals.
This was the bread basket, banana bread and blueberry muffins but they weren’t anything special.
My mom ordered the Tuscan Chicken Sandwich with french fries.
My sister and I both got omelettes, I got the vegetarian (spinach, onions, mushrooms and cheese) and my sister got bacon and 4 cheese. I enjoyed mine but it wasn’t anything mind blowing, a little too cheesy but overall just an average omelette. Both omelettes were served with toast, a side of fresh fruit and home fries.
Chris got the Eggs Benedict with toast and home fries. He was extremely hungry so he devoured it and also ate some of my mom’s sandwich.
Opinion? Smash has nothing impressing but nothing horrible either, just an average restaurant. Would I be back? Probably not, at least not for breakfast.
What’s better than having brunch? Having brunch in the middle of the week as a good pick-me-up. Kylie met up with me at Le Petit Dejeuner for some delicious brunch food, she was going to be in the neighbourhood so we decided to grab a bite before heading to school.
Petit Dejeuner serves up Belgian-Canadian comfort food with their fabulous light and fluffy waffles.
I got the Breakfast Crepes, $12, filled with three cheeses, peameal bacon, two scrambled eggs and potatoes. It wasn’t a very visually appealing filling but it was scrumptious. Almost all the meals are served with a side of their famous apple slaw, sweet and tangy, topped with their house creamy dressing and pickles. I honestly hate raw apples but I’ll gladly eat a bowl of Petit Dejeuner’s apple coleslaw.
Kylie got the Waffle Benny, it’s like Eggs Benny without the English muffin and only with one egg, $13.00. Kylie seemed to love her meal.
I love the interior, with their bright green vinyl couches, yellow walls and just the old charm it has. The servers are incredibly nice too, warm, welcoming and laid back.
I warn you though, there will be a line up and usually it’s out the door on the weekends so go early and get a table!
It’s that time again! Soft shell crab season and Porchetta & Co are serving up some absolutely mouth watering sandwiches.
During the weekends Porchetta & Co are cranking out soft shell crab sandwiches for $12. Panko crusted fried crab served with smoked bacon, guacamole, spicy mayo and lettuce all on a soft hot dog style bun, in my option they can do without the bacon and the sandwich would still be great.
I’ve been to Buster’s Sea Cove plenty of times but weirdly I’ve never blogged about it. Buster’s is located in the historic building, St. Lawrence Market. I love St. Lawrence Market, sometimes I just walk around because I love looking at food and knick knacks.
I arrived around 11:30am and there were some stragglers but once 12 hit, it was an organized chaos. They have one person walking through the line with a mic taking people’s orders to cut down on the waiting time on orders.
I decided to get the Crab Cake Sandwich, the sandwich was huge that I could only eat half of it. One thing that I love about Buster’s is that they toast the bread.
The crab cake was full of crab with little filler. When I had the other part of the sandwich, cold, it was equally as delicious as when it was hot.
I urge everyone to check out Buster’s Sea Cove on a Saturday when St. Lawrence Market also has a farmer’s market across the street with local vendors and farmers selling their fantastic goods. It’s my favourite place on Saturday mornings and I’m not usually a morning person!
I’ve always wanted to try Come and Get it but never really had the chance to so last week I made an effort to head over to China town. I arrived around 11:30am and it was quite quiet, there was only another couple sitting across from me but that quickly changed when 12pm struck.
Come Get It serves up sandwiches, poutines and salads. The concept of the menu is unique, one protein served up three different ways.
The chipotle braised short ribs really caught my eye, braised short rib with ancho chili BBQ sauce, crispy onions, sweet and sour coleslaw and chipotle aioli. The short rib was tender, juicy and the sandwich was perfectly messy. The combination of the slaw also helped cut through the fattiness of the beef. I was stuffed 3/4 of the way through the sandwich, my favourite part was the crispy onions.
Come and Get It is a great sandwich place and I have yet to try their poutine and salad but they sound absolutely delicious. I’ll probably make another visit with more people so I can try other combinations!
Awesome utensil holders.
One thing that I love about this place is that they are very environmentally friendly, with recycling bins throughout the place, spoons and forks are made out of potato so they are biodegradable and the takeout containers are paper not styrofoam. They also have free wifi.
I’m not a Schnitzel expert or anything but Schnitzel Queen has some damn good schnitzel. I live conveniently live about a 3 minute walk away from here and I’ve known about Schnitzel Queen for the past 5 years but I haven’t stopped, maybe it was cause it was the location or maybe it doesn’t have the buzz it deserves. It wasn’t until my cousin wouldn’t stop raving about how good their schnitzel was, I knew I had to give it a try.
This little place mainly is a take out joint but they do have 4 bar stools if you wanted to stay, super homey.
This is the first visit so I just got the regular sandwich which had mayo, lettuce and tomato on 9 grain bread. I took my sandwich home to eat and when I opened the box, my jaw dropped and I was in awe on how enormous the schnitzel was. Not only was it huge, it was absolutely scrumptious. It kept me satisfied for a good 7 hours and usually I need to eat ever 2 – 3 hours or I become the hulk. Oh wait, did I mention I could only manage eating half the sandwich? Half the sandwich kept me full for 7 hours!
Their tiny restaurant doesn’t have a website so here’s their menu.
I’m going to try the dinner plates next time, my cousin says their schnitzel with mushroom sauce and potato salad is the best thing ever!
Brown Bag Sandwiches opened up their doors just 6 months ago and should be getting a lot more attention then they currently are. Serving up homemade soups and roast beef, delicious guacamole, and fantastic sandwich combinations.
This small shop mostly caters to the Ryerson student crowd with student specials for $10 (includes regular sized sandwich, side and drink).
Being the foodie (fatty) I am, I looked up the reviews online before deciding what to get and it seems like the overall consent was that the Fried Chicken Sandwich was a life changer so how could I not?
Fried Chicken Sandwich, spiced and breaded chicken, with guacamole, chipotle aioli, lettuce, tomato, red onion for $7.50. Loved the creamy guacamole with the sandwich, the sandwich was a little dry without it.
I got the student special and as my side I got the sweet potato fries, these weren’t my cup of tea since I love crispy fries. They were served with a chipotle mayo which had a nice mild heat.
My sister and Chris both got the Roast Beef Sandwich, roast beef, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and horseradish gravy 7.50
My sister and I shared our sandwiches so I had half of hers and she had half of mine. I thought the Roast Beef sandwich was much tastier than the Fried Chicken. The beef was moist and flavourful, we got extra gravy. My sister decided to add guacamole to the sandwich but no complaints cause guacamole makes everything 10 times better!
Given it’s so close to where I live, I’ll be back for some great sandwiches.
Kevin took me out to a pre-birthday dinner, we headed over to Rodney’s Oyster House because we were both craving oysters and they open till 12am (I get finish classes at 9pm). We arrived around 9:45pm and it was still packed with business people and couples which was surprisingly up lifting. The decor was very touristy and casual.
Our main objective were the oyster but we couldn’t just eat oysters for dinner, well we could but it wouldn’t seem right or very dinner-y so we decided to share everything.
The Steamed Mussels, $14, arrived first and we literally devoured them in less than 5 minutes. The broth was a light creamy, garlic-y broth was absolutely delicious, we used the complimentary bread to soak up all broth.
We also got the Lobster Club for $23, it came with huge onion rings. The club was packed with lobster and bacon, how could you go wrong? It was amazing.
And our feature of the night, the oysters.
There isn’t a menu for oysters and we didn’t really know how to order them so the waitress just brought us a variety of them. We got 1 dozen to share but I could’ve eaten 1 dozen myself! Our selection included: Kusshi (Vancouver), Village Bay (New Brunswick), Onset (Boston), Marina Top Draw.
We loved all the oysters, super fresh and sweet. The oysters came with an array of sauces like a simple mignonette, different hot sauces, cocktail sauces to just lemon and horseradish.
All though everything was good, Rodney’s is the place to go for oysters and I will definitely be back.
My sister and Chris sometimes like to play a little game called Hunger Games, this is not what you think it is. Basically they go around downtown Toronto going to different places and stuffing their faces with food. This Hunger Game is quite different from the one novel or movie.
Philip recently came back from his 2 month vacation and we decided to play our very own version of Hunger Games.
“Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour.”
Our first stop was Guu, Guu recently started opening for their lunch crowd with set meals that range from $8 – 15. You can find their daily lunch special on their twitter page, they update everyday.
I got the Gyu Don, sukiyaki beef on rice topped with a half boiled egg, $8.80. Everything was delicious but not outstandingly so.
Philip got the Chirashi Don for $14.80, there was B.C tuna, salmon, scallops and salmon caviar.
Both dishes are served with miso soup and different pickle items.
Then we ended up at Paulette’s, my last visit here was with Philip as well. I felt like the first time our chicken was less greasy, I’m also not a big fan of cakey donuts so I opted to skip the donut part of Paulett’es. You can read about my last visit here!
But since we decided to skip out on the donuts at Paulette’s, we headed all the way to the west end to Glory Hole Doughnuts. This is my second time visiting Glory Hole Doughnuts and I must say their donuts are still gigantic and delicious!
Philip and I spilt 6 and my choices were the Stuffing with bacon, Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana and S’mores. My favourite hands down was the Stuffing, it was savoury, sweet and everything you would look for in stuffing! It had chucks of cranberries and flecks of rosemary throughout the donut but I could do without the bacon, in fact I just picked off all the bacon.
Philip’s choices were Rum Raisin Twist, Stuffing with Bacon and the Blood Orange. Philip loved all his choices. and Here’s the post from my first visit. The menu changes seasonally so take a look at their website before going. They took off their Lemon Meringue donut (which was my favourite from my last visit), they said it was just too much work but they might bring it back as a special.
Our last stop for the day was Butter Avenue, this was my first time here so I got half a dozen macarons to try.
The flavours I got were White Chocolate Strawberry, Matcha, Chestnut, Earl Grey, Sea Salt Caramel, lychee raspberry. I love the light, Asian inspired flavours here and they weren’t too sweet. Their macarons are $2.25 each which isn’t a bad price compared to Ruelo which range from $3 – $5 (black truffle macaron). Butter Avenue in my opinion might have the best macarons in Toronto but I still have a lot of places to still try.
I didn’t get a chance to try any of their cakes but everything looked too good to even eat!
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