Café Clarke

Café Clarke is a small and cute little café on Centre street in Pointe St-Charles. Let me make this clear, Pointe St-Charles has, like, one good restaurant worth the detour and that is Machiavelli. There are a couple other good spots like Miel and Bloom, but I wouldn't necessarily come from, let's say, the Plateau to eat there.

The now defunct Boulangerie Clarke in the Mile-End had a little baby. Frank Servedio, the owner, use to work at the boulangerie, which was owned by his parents. This is a big great family story! Café Clarke is basically a sandwich shop that serves awesome coffee (or so I've heard!). What differentiates them from other sandwich shops is the fact that their sh*t is fresh as can be. Sandwiches are made to order AND they cut their own meat. Hello. What a difference that makes!

The place feels very homey and warm. Feels like you want to bring all your friends there, you know? I also really loved the color scheme: green, white, and light, classic brown. Yes, 'classic' brown. It's a thing.

I started with the pasteis de nata, because it was already right there! I was a bit dispointed that it wasn`t A: made in house and B: not supes fresh. Obviously, it was a day old. I just went to Portugal, see. I KNOW what a day old pasteis de Nata tastes like. I am used to the yummy, crunchy, soft, pastry. Not the dry one. Don't get me wrong, it was still OK, but it just wasn't worth it. I got so excited! And then I got so annoyed. At them. For selling me a day old nata :/

La sandwich in a croissant! I loves me a good croissant sandwich! A good looking sandwich, without any fla fla. Dunno if that's a thang in English, but I'm dsoin it. It just means that it is simple. Thinly cut ham, almost like paper: THAT's the dream. The croissant was buttery and right about melted in my mouth. The only negative, if you can call it that, is that the tomato was a tad too juicy.

The only thing I'll say about the service (which was at the counter.. so I won't rate it), was that it took the dude a while to even say hello to me. Just say hello, and tell me I'll have to wait a couple minutes. GEEZ.

And now, le score!

Food: 6.5

Well, I'm bound to go back now, aren't I?! When it's only 15 steps away from where you live, you go back.

Le Well

Le Well is this cute-ass new resto on Wellington in Verdun and it was on THE list! I'm always in for a good brunch. ALWAYS. Especially during the week, when there are barely no brunch options in the city. Hey, mama needs to know she can have brunch any day of the week! So I headed there with ma girl Isa, last week.

The place is quite small, very bright, adorned with lots of greenery. Ceramic counter and wooden tables and chairs. And then, there was the music. Music from the most awesomest show, Broad City. Do you know Broad City? No? Well you should get on that. You're welcome.

The menu looked great, but a couple things jumped out at us. We were hungry. Very hungry. Starving, really.

Grilled cheese with braised beef, Dijon mustard, pickles, swiss cheese. I gotta say, I loves me a good GC. Ya, I'm SO cool, I can abbreviate everythin' now. Before getting this, we asked if it was going to be enough for our very empty stomachs and the waitress laughed a bit. OK, a lot. And she had reason to. When it arrived in front of us, we too laughed. How huge is this??? The meat was ubs tender and juicy, and the bread, perfectly grilled. The egg on top was just runny enough to envelop the whole thang when broken with a fork. Mmmmm... runny egg. The bread was just toasted enough without hurting my teeth (yes, I's gots bad, sensitive teeth), and the mustard gave it a nice tang. Isa wasn't super fond of the mustard being in there but I liked it. The pickles, well, let's face it, they are good in everything. The potatoes were a hit and miss: some were hot, some were not. Some were crispy, some, not so crispy. Basically, what was lacking here was a hot plate. When will people learn? Hey, if my step-dad can heat the plates before serving food, restaurants can. Thank you for listening.

El Pablo: fried chicken, avocado, lettuce, tomato, coriander, and egg on top. The chicken was a tad on the dry side, which is never what you want in chicken. Well, it's never what you want in any meat, really. The romaine was a bit meh, and the tomato sort of made everything a bit soggy. Who likes soggy? Not me, that's fosh (short for fosho, of course!). The coriander was good, as always (I'm sure you know by now that I'm NOT one of those people that find the herb soapy. Pfff, come on!!!) and the egg was perf.

Service was on and off. We got water very quickly and as ALL of you know by now, water is more important than the actual food. But not really. The only girl on the floor looked like she was struggling a bit, and it took a quwhile (yes, it's a word) to get our dishes. As in we actually had to get up to ask her when we would be able to order and then a while before we actually were able to eat. Eating is fundamental, ya see. I'm kidding, but NOT. She was really nice though.

And now, the scores!

Service: 7.5
Food: 7.5

I'm fosho going back. Did I mention it's one of the only brunch spots around ma place during the week? Mmmmyes.

Barley

Barley is new new NEW. So new that most people dson't even know it exists! BAM! Yes, I'm that cool. I knew it was opening before THEY knew they were opening. What do you think about THEM apples. Wow, I'm obviously getting overwhelmingly intense. Imma stop. I went for lunch-ish, last week, with ma girl, little Boo.

Barley is the new (and only) cereal bar in Montreal. It's located on Notre-Dame (what else is new?) and it is a huge space. HUGE. Think about the biggest thing you've seen, ever. Multiply that by 8 and you have Barley. Hihihi! Basically, you enter the place, you have couches and tables and comfiness and then you enter somewhat of another room and you have some more tables. There is also this meeting room surrounded by glass, which, I think, is there only to, like we say in French, nous faire parler. 'Like, what the f is THIS doing here'. THAT kind of talk. We weren't even certain that it was actually part of Barley's... I really dug (ya, I talk like a surfer dude now) the brick wall and the fact that there was a lot of greenery. I likes me some good greens! No, not THAT kind of green. Sheesh! 

At the far end (far, far, faaaar end), the cereal bar. The owner actually brought in cereal from many places, and a lot of them reminded me of my childhood. OK, not necessarily MINE, because my parents weren't really fond of us eating crap like fruit loops, or just any kind of cereal that was overly sweet. But I totes get the reminiscence. Hey, I remember my rice krispies like it was yesterday. They don't only serve up cereal, but also smoothie bowls, parfaits, chia bowls, and salad.

I started off with a white hot chocolate. Excuse me, homemade white hot chocolate. I specifically asked because I do NOT pay for powdered choco at a resto. I do NOT. I was uber happy to be able to order a homemade white hot choco. When do you get that? Well, not all the time, that's when. I took my first sip, getting ready for pure joy, and I got... pieces in my mouth. I was like 'what the f*ck is that?'. Little boo tasted it and, in 2 seconds flat she said 'it's coconut'. She is a coconut expert, see. I love it as well. I can't get enough of it. EXCEPT, when I'm getting ready to drink soft, velvety goodness, I get coconut flakes in my mouth. I would've loved for them to warn me so that a: I would not have been so surprised and b: I would've probably thought long and hard about actually having it IN ma drink. Apart from the coconut incident, it tasted lovely: not too thick, as if I were drinking a chocolate bar, and not too thin either. Also, it wasn't overly sweet. White chocolate tends to be just that and I was glad to be drinking a hot chocolate that wasn't on the uber sweet side-o-things. I'd go back for one of those ASAP IF I'd have the no-coconut promise.

We were there for lunch, and I hardly saw us having, like, a bowl of cereal on the side, as you do with appetizers in most restaurants. So, we both went for the smoothie bowls. The guy behind the counter told me it was thicker than most smoothies and it was more consistent, seeing as there were berries and grains and what have you on top. I had the Tassie Devil: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, avocado, tofu, acai, double chocolate granola. It was very VERY berry! I loved the fresh berries on top and although the acai added an extra crunch, they added TOO MUCH crunch. As in, if I crunch you one more time, my teeth will break. I am being very serious. I am ALWAYS serious when it comes to my poor little teeth! I liked how the smoothie was thicker than a usual one, but, let's face it, this was not a meal. I really don't know how I feel about this. I'm having a big internal dilemma. OK, here it is: even if I would've had this for breakfast, I would've STILL have been hungry. On top of it, if you're going to be open all day, perhaps add stuff to this dish that will make me full. Like a salad with protein or something. NOT a mesclun. Don't do that, because then I'll really be disappointed.

Le Tannery: avocado, baby spinach, pineapple, mango, banana, ginger and green hemp granola. I do give them props for two things: beautiful presentation and different granola flavors! I absolutely loved the ginger-avocado mix! It was fresh on top of fresh! The granola was good (better than mine) and the banana was perfectly ripe. The whole time, I was thinking DAMN I should've ordered this.

Basically, you go up to the counter and you order and they bring it to you. What we found a bit on the funny side was that the guy gave us a block with a table number 'in case' it got busy. We turned around, only to find a very empty (except for 2 patrons) restaurant. I think it took just a tad too long to get our food; just long enough for us to look at each other and give each other weird looks. He checked up on us which is always a plus.

And now, the scores!

Food: 7
Service: 7

Maybe I'll go back for a snack, but I hardly see myself going there for lunch or any other kind of meal.

Jackie et France

I'm on a mission. Well, let's face it, I have many missions when it comes to restaurants: finding the best ramen in Montreal, and visiting every Asian resto in the city. But I'm also on a mission to eat at all the breakfast spots in Verdun/Pointe St-Charles/St-Henri. I go out quite a lot with my dad for breakfast and I always choose a new spot :) Well, it was Jackie and France's turn!

Looks SO empty. Of course, I had to take a picture of the only tables without patrons.

I asked around to see where we should go, mostly because I'm running out of restaurants in the area. Jackie et France is a very homey, Acadian (yay!) breakfast and brunch place on Bannantyne. We arrived at around 8, you know, the normal breakfast time for my dad and I. We had a very nice welcome by the waitress (I wouldn't expect anything less in an Acadian establishment) and were seated right away. The place could use a little sprucin' up, with the old curtains, tables, chairs. The walls also looked a bit on the yellow side. Perhaps a new coat of paint? Looking around, all the clients looked like regulars, and I know there are a lot. Actually, the people that I know that have been there are ALL regulars.

The ham omelet. Run of the mill. You know what, I've become quite the difficult breakfaster-bruncher. Not uber fond of the 'regular' foods aka simple omelet, potatoes and a couple slices of fruits. I'd rather eat original breakfasts, you know? My friend Jer DID mention that they sell 'guédilles', which, I must admit, I had not noticed on the REALLY BIG menu (seriously, it was like a menu with 98 choices from an Asian resto). Aight, so, the omelet was a tad on the dry side o' things BUT hey, I was happy with the quantity of ham in there! The beans were p-e-r-f-e-c-t! I'm a sucker for good beans, like any good Québécois should be! The cretons were smooth and stuck to the roof of my mouth like any good cretons should! Mmmmm! I ate mine AND my dad's. Yes, I'll eat MY food and YOUR food! They reminded me of tante Berthe's cretons: you had to be there (my dad's ex' aunt from Québec city from, like, 25 years ago!). The potatoes were perfect until I ate a hard one and it got stuck in ma teeth. Uncooked potato ain't cool man. Not cool.

Service was good. Food came out extremely fast. So fast that I wondered how in the holy hell they had put those dishes together that rapidly. She did not ask whether we liked our food or not and we had to ask for water. Grrr. There was only one waitress for the whole dining room so shizzle was left on tables for a while. Dunno how I feel about dirty plates at the next table chilling there for 30 minutes.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6.5
Service: 6.5

I'm on a quest to try every breakfast hot spot in Verdun. And THAT is exactly what imam gonna dso.

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!

Bagel St-Lo

I love trying new places when I have my bi-weekly (ish) breakfast with ma dad. I looked up breakfast spots in Verdun and found Bagel St-Lo. I loves me a good bagel. Let's dooo it!!!

Bagel St-Lo is a small restaurant with lots and lots and LOTS of knick knacks. Everywhere. I absolutely loved it. Looked really nifty: Tintin, cartoons, old kitchen apparati (you know, the plural of apparatus, geez!), old signs, old sporting equipment. Some nice dream catchers completed the eclectic décor. Chill music (hello, Bob Marley, master of chill!) was playing and the place was empty when we got there at 8 am. Duh. There are about 26 places with mix matched chairs. Apart from a bit of cold that was seeping through the door, it was a very comfortable place. I could've imagined just reuniting with some friends there. You know, let's have a reunion n' bagel kinda thang. Maybe this is why they seem to have many regulars!

So, everything that you get there is served with/on a bagel. I rarely eat bagels, or any kind of bread for that matter, so this was an exception. I was happy to make the exception at St-Lo, where they make their own.

First, I gots to warm myself up! Mmmmm. This was surprisingly good! Although the foam on top could've been hotter, the hot chocolate was uber tasty, with the undertone of hazelnut. I just love me some hazelnut in ma hot choco! Let's face it, it just makes the best kind of hot chocolate!

The bacon benedict. Listen, if there's bacon on the menu, it's bound to get in my mouth. It's almost a prerequisite. Bacon directly in ma mouth. I must say, 2 years ago, I would've been happy to see all this fruit on my plate. Healthy, right? WRONG! Full of sugar. Thanks to my nutritionist, Lucie, I now eat 2 portions of fruit a day. I used to eat 12. Roughly.

The sesame bagel was very fresh, as if they had just baked it. Wait. Are bagels baked? OK, there's was a heat reaction and those things were cooked. Yes. The beans were right on. Almost on par with the ones at La Binerie on Mont-Royal. And, for you who know La Binerie, it's sayin' somethin'! The amount of bacon was very disappointing. It was gone in 2 seconds. I can say I would've easily wanted 5 times the bacon. FIVE. The cheese was also disappointing. It was a piece of Kraft Singles. No. Just no. First of all, that can barely be called 'cheese'. Second of all, what is it doing in a restaurant? I will never know. The hollandaise was so thick, one could have argued the fact that it was liquid  (it was solid). You know when it sticks to your teeth? Ya. I gots to give em' props for the egg: it was perfectly cooked and seasoned.

My dad, who, usually, would totes eat somethin' cheesy and bacony like this, chose, for some unknown reason, their 'healthy plate' with a plain bagel and fruits and cottage cheese. Kinda wish I would have chosen that!

Service was... comme ci comme ça :) When we entered the resto, it looked like the waiter was somewhat ignoring us so we just sat down on our own. Ya, were savvy like that. The waiter ended up being super friendly and even reheated my dad's coffee (if my dad could/would describe love, this would be it). We did not get a water refill. You KNOW how I feel about that, boy.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6
Service: 6.5

So many breakfast spots, so little time.

Campanelli

My mama and I were going out for breakfast (ya, we cool like dat), and of course, that meant I had to choose a new restaurant. Yay! I chose Campanelli: looked good and it was close. Two things that are musts. Turned out to be a tiny little place for coffee and rustic muffins and not much more but hey, now I know.

Campanelli is a small place with some good indie rock playing. At some point, Jean Leloup played and I was suddenly brought back to my early twenties when I used to over listen to Ballade à Toronto while smoking a nice little joint. And since my mom reads this, joint means unicorn. And smoking means... petting? Wait, am I high now? And in other news...there's not more than 20 seats in the house. I'd describe the décor as being half industrial and half lets-go-to-the-cottage. Let's just do it.

My mom ordered a latte, because she felt fancy (she's usually a straight up coffee kinda gal), and I ordered a hot chocolate. We got a carrot and apple muffin and a chocolate chip muffin.

The hot chocolate was good but not thick enough  for my taste. A bit too watery. The carrot/apple muffin was pretty much out of this world (ya, far out there): it was moist (ugh) and delectable. I could've eaten 8. My mom actually said that it was one of the best muffin she's EVER had. What! The chocolate chip muffin was a tad too dry for both of us. It lacked... well, it lacked apple. Hahaha.

Service was good. The girl warned us which muffins would be too sweet for breakfast ...I can do sweet but not TOO sweet! She brought our stuff to the table and told me that if need be, she could add some sugar in my hot choco.

And now, the scores!

Food (and drinks): 7
Service: 8

Cute little spot to go to if you're lookin' for a good MOIST (ugh!) muffin and a nice coffee, fo shizzle!

3734

I was looking for a new brunch place. A cheap (ish) one. I found it in Restaurant 3734. Btw, I don't know how OK I am with restos naming themselves after their address. I mean, how original IS that? Anyhoot, prices seemed aight and the food looked more than aight so I headed there with my friend T last weekend.

Turns out there was this big kid's birthday party. Whatever happened to good ol' McDonalds? It was good enough for me, it should be good enough for your kids, damn it! So, they took up half the resto and their parents took up the other half. There were only a couple tables left.

The place itself is very bright and with that very chill music playing, has a very nice vibe. It has very high ceilings and is surrounded by floor to ceiling windows which made it even brighter. The wooden floors and wooden countertop at the bar with the white tiles on the wall gave a very mellow feel to the place. Don't ask me why I think wood plus tiles equals mellow, that's just the way it is. There was also a Christmas tree in the corner when you came in. I just loved the oranges in there. You pass by it, you feel hungry, just take an orange. Why not? Kind of like Céline Dion and her 'take a kayak' thang. Makes sense right? Mmmmmright.

I was QUITE hungry, with having been to the gym beforehand and only having eaten an egg. ONE egg damn it! I already knew what I wanted to eat and was just waiting for T so that we could order. I was a tad disappointed -to say the least- that they did not have what I had chosen to eat prior to getting there. Grrrr. Why? Why would you put something on your website and not put it on your menu. I cry. Because I'm a big foodie baby.

I had the tartine: poached egg with beets and some romaine. I'll say somethin' I will rarely say:  I really liked that romaine. Tis true. It had a mix of what tasted like soft cheese and crème fraîche with some chives on top. So simple, yet, so good. It was fresh and crunchy. The beets were perfectly cooked and there were two kinds on the plate: some full ones and some in spirals. Beets n' eggs: they got it. The egg was cooked to perfection and seasoned to perfection as well. Mmmmmegg! The bread was good but under grilled I found. I would've liked more crunch and more charred taste to it. There was also a mix of cheddar and mozza on it and that was just lovely. Lovely, I say! Just salty enough and when spread on the bread, with the egg yolk on it, oh yes. Oh. Yes.

Service was good. Water was on the table pretty quickly, and although, when I got there, with the birthday party happenin', I got kind of scared (yes, scared) that service was gonna suck for us, it didn't. Yes, it might have been better without the party, but hey, what can you do? Our waitress was very smiley but did not ask us how we liked our meal. Just to recap, these are the most important things to me when I'm getting waited on:

1- I must always have water.
2- Always check if I like my meal.
3- Know your menu.
4- Perfect wine service.
5- Don't take a plate away unless everyone is done.

Pretty much sums it up.

And now, the scores!

Food: 8
Service: 7.5

Loved that romaine but there are so many places to eat at! I might go back but not any time soon.

Café International

I was invited once more to go to Café International! This time, it was to try their breakfast. They are new in the breakfast area (you know, THAT area!) and wanted my opinion. So, I brought my Bridgert, who, by the by, has been to two failed invitations because of bad food. She's one lucky girl, because this was [not] third time's a charm.

You can read all about Café International's decor and shizzle here: http://www.eatingoutmontreal.com/2016/06/cafe-international.html. There was 'jazzy' music; you know, the kind that plays in malls. Where only old people go to. That are about to dsie. But seriously. I would prefer some fancy Italian singer in my ears than that! 

I feel like it's my duty (and Bridgert would certainly agree) to mention the 800 errors on their breakfast menu. A couple mistakes is a-ok but more than a handful is just pushing it! Many accents were forgotten, syntax was all wrong and even some letters were omitted (its gruyère, not guyère---written like that every time).  It was pale blue with little drawings here and there of a sun OR a piece of bacon OR an egg. Come on. COME. ON. 

I hate bashing restaurants, especially the ones that invite me to eat fo FREE. I appreciate it, I really diddely dso! But I's got a job to do people, and that is to give my honest opinion about restaurants. And when the menu has shtuff like '2 eggs and bacon or sausage' or 'pain doré' or a fruit bowl or a damn bagel with damn smoked salmon on it, I get a little mad inside. Or a LOT mad, like the hulk. For a moment, I just wanted to leave, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. 

To make matters worse, I was told that the chef was to cook for us and surprise surprise, he wasn't even there when I arrived and did not for a good 30 minutes. Fun. He was awesome last time I went and he's a really super duper nice guy (you get it!) but gosh darn it boy, show up on time when someone is coming to see you!

The waitress suggested we have three dishes from the menu to share and I just felt like telling her we did not know what to pick because it all looked way too simple/bad/been there done that. I'm not even being mean, I'm being realistic here, people! 

Le croque madame. The only difference between this and the croque monsieur was that there was an egg.The egg was absolutely perfect and as y'all know, I'm egg-difficult. AND it was perfectly seasoned. 8 points! The ham was nice and on the thicker side of dem cold cuts, the tomato gave it some moisture, although the piece of bread on the bottom got a bit soggy. The bread was nicely grilled but there was something missing, like some pepper perhaps. Oh, and speaking as a butta-lovin' girl, there was a tad too much of it in this dish. I do know that butter makes everything better (I can't tell you how many times my 350 pound chef-teacher at ITHQ said this), but this was on the 'too much' side.

As a friend mentioned on Facebook when I posted this picture, 'why would you actually pay to eat that?'. Well, I didn't pay for it and I wouldn't have! I don't know if you can see it but there's a whole layer of butta kind of floating near the omelet. Ya. That's a whole layer of butter. It's like the omelet is Canada and butter is a whole province. You see what I'm getting at here? I'm going to have to tell my old prof, chef Jean-Jaques Morand, that he was wrong about butter. You CAN put too much. Apart from that nonsense, the omelet was alright but nothing spectacular: the seasoning was done right,  but the cheese wasn't completely melted. The homemade sausage was full of fennel which was quite tasty but it was unfortunately dry! Ugh.

The potatoes were the best part of the dish: crunchy, hot, soft on the inside and very well seasoned. Seasoning is very important, kids! The fruits were hanging around there and apart from the pear that was nicely cut, they were pretty much thrown onto the plate.

Pain doré. Let's face it, this is NOT pain doré. It wasn't thick enough, it didn't have a nice crust, and it just wasn't pain doré. Actually it tasted more like an uncooked pancake. I can honestly say that the best thing about this dish was the fact that there was a bit of lemon in the batter and that was very refreshing and awesomeballs. This pain doré was a big disappointment.

I had to make it up to Bridgert so I ordered what I had ordered last time: tiramisu. Ah, tiramisu: the dessert from Italian heaven. And you KNOW that heaven is filled with wonderful food. MmmmmmItalian heaven! It certainly did not disappoint! That soft cream that tasted just enough like coffee. Just love.

Service was alright. Could have been better. The waitress frowned when I said no thanks to coffee but I'd want a hot chocolate please. I just don't like coffee. I've tried. I am not a fan. It took her a while to bring us the menus and may I just mention that at that point there was only one other person in this huge restaurant. We had to ask for water and I must point out that at some point her boyfriend came in with their 4 year old and although he was totes adorable, it just didn't feel right for her to have her family at work with her.

And now, the scores!

Food: 6 (tiramisu saves the day!)
Service: 5.5

I have to be honest here and say that unless they drastically change their breakfast menu, I shant go back.

Ma Douce Moitié

Juju (cause that is just such a cute nickname) and I had planned on going to Ma Douce Moitié about a month ago. She had already been and was excited for me to try it. I was totes excited. New restaurant? What! New brunch place? Whaaaaat! So we met there aaaand realized that they were freaking closed. And they were supposed to be open. Damn them. The cook came to tell us that it was to be closed all day. We cried only a little bit. OK, a lot. Seriously, it became a very embarrassing situation for us, with all the crying and what not. Anyhoot.

Hence, we decided to go back 2 days prior to Juju's departure back to Belgium (because Canada doesn't want her to stay but that's another [sob] story) and, surprise surprise, it was freaking open this time! Woohoo!!!

The place is oh-so-cute, the kind of cute that when you step in,you go 'aaaaw!'. It had old tables and a very cottagy feel, bronze ceilings, and wooden boxes on the walls. One thing I did not like were the tall faux-leather chairs. They did not go. No! Well, AND they were the same chairs that we had when I was with my ex so maybe they brought back some bad memories. Who knew an ugly leather chair could do that? I must divulge that the table was quite sticky, which obviously means that they never clean. Just kidding. They probably just forgot a spot, and they didn't know that a very highly ranked (yes, that's how I describe myself now) blogger was going to sit there next. 

Anyhoot, food looked awesome. Y'all know I have a special spot in my heart for awesome food :p A fun thing about their menu (btw, it had JUST changed... lucky us, we got first dibs) is that you can choose dishes OR you can choose to make your own dish with different components. We opted for the first one. We were going to share everything because we tight like that, you know!

How effin good does THIS look? Well, it looks like a freaking million dollars. That's a million dsolla plate right there! Maybe I'm getting over excited, I mean, it's only bread and fruit, right? Wrong! This, ladies and gents, is chai french toast. Chai french toast! CHAI french toast!!!! I can keep on saying it and it will still be as real! And thank the almighty Heysus for that, dsayum!!! First off, I have to say that this was the right amount of fruit, unlike when you go to Chez Cora and they give you a full watermelon. But who cares about fruit right now? The bread was soft in the middle, crunchy on the edges. The good kind of sugar crunch, you know? The caramelization across the nation oooooof the sugar. Yes, that made a lot of sense (might still be on a sugar high). The chai totally came through in such a nice and subtle way while remaining oh so present. There was some cinnamon in there too which kind of reminded me of Christmas. Let's face it, every time cinnamon is involved, Christmas comes to mind. It's a thing. It actually fit right in there with the chai! It was just such a special, NOT your run-of-the-mill pain doré that was that much more appreciated by Juju and I.

Eggs benedict with candied bacon. Hello. AND hello! Let me tell you a story about me and candied bacon:  it was love at first sight AND it's the kind of love that keeps on giving :) The hollandaise was thick and lovely but a tad under seasoned, the egg was a perfect 10 in all respects (runny yolk, tasty, buttery, smooth) and the bacon... OH the bacon. The bacon could only be described as better than heaven itself. That's right, I went there. And I'd go there again. It was crispy and salty and all that bacon-y goodness X 100. It wasn't your store-bought thin-ass bacon. No no no. It was thick and I could have eaten it like a sandwich. Or somethin. On the other side of the plate was an abomination called mesclun. Mixed salad shall never ever EVER be part of any meal I am enjoying. Is that understood?

House made scone. It was flaky, it was light, it was soft, it was awesome. I rarely order scones because of the dryness that many can't escape. But this one was a little piece of alright! Ya baby! And the blueberry jam, again, home made, was, well... great! I am in no way a fan of jams or anything fruity except for whole fruits. It's just not my thang, my cup-o-tea. I blame my dad's ex ex ex ex because she always used to make pies and I got oh so sick of them. This jam was as if they had just hand picked the blueberries. For realz yo! It tasted so fresh and not overly sweet. Fosho one of the best jams I've ever tasted.

Service was good: the waiter came about three times to see if we were ready to order, haha. It was quite difficult with so many yummy sounding dishes! We got water quickly and from then on, service was very homely. One thing that bugged me was that our empty plates stayed in front of us for what seemed like an eternity. I'm the kind of person that used to push her plate when I was done dinner so in a restaurant, please just get it away... I'm done AND I'm full!

And now, the scores!

Food: 9

Service: 7.5

With the arrival of their new menu and therefore a bunch of new and exciting things (that include bacon of course), I would totally be up for going back soon!