We'll start with the latest brekkie place I've gone to and work our way back to the past. I've heard that's the best way to recount things when you have a poor memory.
Lola's Commissary
634 Church St
I heard about this place from BlogTo as one of the Best New Brunch places of 2009. Since it's close by (ie within the realm of Yorkville) me and my faithful companion decided to give it a go.
We were seated immediately beside a window and heating vent. A very nice treat indeed. Big Al, trying to nip a hanover in the bud, ordered a mimosa and an orange juice while I ordered coffee and orange juice. The coffee was served a la Americano which was a surprising change from the black sludge I usually drink. As Big downed her champagne heavy mimosa I remarked how elegant the cutlery was. Even before the food arrived we were pleased with Lola's. One minor complaint was the size of oj - though it was the best freshly squeezed I've had in a while it's never fun to feel like you have to ration your juice.
The menu was small and filled with a variety of options ranging from your standard eggs and bakey to fancy-schmancy wraps and 3 different types of French toast. Big ordered eggs over-hard with bacon and a side salad and I ordered Eggs Benedict with a side salad. Snarfing salad instead of hash browns, I've learnt, leaves your stomach with a feeling of satisfaction rather than self-combustion. It's the little things. The salads at Lola were delish; topped with cranberries, candied pecans and pears they were refreshing and would be suitable to be served alongside lunch and dinner. Since I find pears offensive I dumped them onto Big's more than welcoming plate. It was nice to have the salads seperate from our main dish. Nobody likes a warm salad.
Our plates arrived piping hot and our food was displayed nicely. Big remarked that her eggs were cooked perfectly and were 'beautiful' even. She made me touch her toast for a reason's I still don't know. Regardless, the toast was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. "Fresh and dense," she says.
My eggs benny was served atop bacon - something I've never had before but was excited about. The bacon, something I find every breakfast place usually does wrong, was incredible. Perfectly cripsy, but maybe a little too crispy for some, Big and I both agreed it was the best bacon we'd ever had at a Toronto breakfast.
A note on eggs: as my faithful companion knows too well, I have a thing about eggs. I am slightly afraid of them, in that if they are not cooked the way I like them, I become disgusted with them. When I was younger I used to refuse to eat the whites of eggs. To me, the runny yolk was the only part of the egg worth eating. My poor parents would continue to make me a full egg breakfast and I would happily dip my bread and bacon in the yolk and leave the whites untouched. When we had a dog he would have a feast consisting of all my scraps. These days my scraps (less plentiful than before) are often consumed by Big Al and others. Anecdotes aside, today I am able to eat almost all of the white provided it passes what I consider a not too harsh requirement. The white has to be fraking cooked all the way through. I don't care if the yolk flows faster than the mississippi nothing disgusts me more than a mucousy white wiggling at me from my fork. I have realized though, through my countless encounters with these offenders, that there are more important things to worry about than an uncooked white. Provided it isn't too uncooked I've learnt to suck up my pride and slurp up my eggs (gross). The eggs at Lola's are an example of this.
When I cut into the egg, the yolk shot out with such force that it almost landed onto the table next to us. Worry began to set in (with very runny yolk comes mucousy whites) but with such mounting hunger I said 'fuck it' and proceeded to eat the eggs with a non-judgmental approach. Through my flourishing cultery I noticed scary bits of white mucous but at such a minimal amount it seemed fruitless to push it away. Snarf on, my brain said, snarf on. So I did, and I was mostly pleased. I would have preferred a bit more hollaindaise and I do prefer ham with my benedict. I can safely say though that the benny was probably one of the best I've had in Toronto.
Reeeeecap
Big Al's Take
Food: A
Service: A+
Atmosphere: A
Music: A+
Bathrooms: N/A
Notes - Big Al, as she is apt to do, made a friend with owner Therese and learned that there is a fixed winter menu coming up during the same time frame as Winterlicious.
Lilsweetpotato's Take
Food: A-
Service: A+
Atmosphere: B+
Music: A+
Bathrooms: A
Notes - I gave the atmosphere a B+ because the decor wasn't really 'me'
