Maha's

My bro Olive lives in the East End in Toronto at Greenwood. I love that hood. All the war time houses, all the bars, the nice little bakeries, and then, there's Maha's.

Maha's is an Egyptian resto that is always busy. ALWAYS. We went on a week day at 8h30am so we got to sit as soon as we got in. Yay! My bro and his wifey swear by it; pretty much any time they can go, they go. With reason. The place itself is very quaint (ya, I can use fancy words), with knick knacks placed here and there. I loved the eye of the pharaoh right when you walk in. Guys, they are WATCHING US. There's about 20 seats in this very cozy and comfy place. It was a tad on the cold side for me, but hey, that's f*ckin' winter for ya!

I started with what I thought was tea with cardamome. Well, it was actually COFFEE with cardamome. Yep, this marked the first time I actually ordered coffee. Ever. Even if it was by mistake. I looked at it, I told my bro 'hey that looks/smells like coffee'. He replied: 'mmmyya, that's cause it IS'. I actually had 4 or 5 sips not disliking it simply because the cardamome was very present and I just love that spice! And then I started kind of feeling sick-ish (and felt like this all day!) because of all that caffeine. Totes my fault. Damn you, coffee! Damn you to hell!!! The first sips were great tho, I must admit.

The date scramble. Yes. AND yes. That scramble was buttery goodness. The dates were oozing taste (ya, it's a thing) and the whole dish was just packed with flavour. I said 'wow' at least 5 times. If not more. The herbs in there made it that much better. There was a little salad that was very fresh and went very well with it. In all seriousness, one of the best scrambled eggs I've had. Ever. Yes, there are a lot of firsts here. It was served with charred balady bread which was just heavenly: so soft and buttery and fresh. Mmmmm. Whenever I eat a dish in a restaurant that includes a bread-y thang, I tell myself I won't eat the whole thing (you know, dem carbs. There's a reason I gave my toaster away) but in this case I couldn't NOT.

My bro had the Cairo Classic. Holy sh*t. Goodness on a motha f*ckin plate, I tells you. Let's falafel first. Hello. Best damn falafel I've had in ma life. Not dry at all, like a lot of falafel out there (you, know, OUT there!) and packed with flavor. The eggs were cooked to damn perfection and don't even get me started on those fava beans! Mmmmmm! Not overly cooked and still a tad crunchy! I am a beans-at-breakfast fan and this was right up my alley. That creamy feta fit oh so well in there and tasted, wait for it, perfect! It had just the right level of saltiness. Mmmm, that bread dipped in everything with an egg on top was just so lovely and just the most perfect bite! I think we can say that the key word here is 'PERFECT'.

Service was on par the whole time we were there. A nice and warm welcome and a great big smile. Always important! Staff was very smily and very friendly. Seems like a nice environment to work in! Imma gonna send em my cv. For, you know, a part time when-in-Toronto job! Oh, and we had a pitcher of water on the table with a bunch of fresh mint in there! Supa fresh!

And now, the scores!

Food: 8.5
Service: 9

Hopefully, I'll be going back soon! I need to try everything on the menu! Oh, and, note to self, do NOT order the coffee!