Toscano's

Today we had our second breakfast at a grill called Toscano's on St. Joseph Blvd. in Gatineau (yes, across the river!).

The first time I was mildly OK with the place; parking was hard (it's busy), you have to line up to get a table (which I hate), service is hit and miss and the food was ok for the money. I wasn't bowled over.

The food was well presented though and that led to an encore visit today; still had a hard time parking but the line up was very quick. The food took a long time to come this time but when it did it was very good.

Here are the pics:

To me this place is a QB version of a Dennys or Coras so it's all ok but just a bit unimpressive. It could be excellent, but it doesn't quite make that, it's 'good'.

I don't need a 'buzzy' place to enjoy a breakfast; for me Cozy's wins out.

next week (12th Dec) it will be Cozy's as we will be attending the Shanghai Craft Sale.

McDonalds!!!

It had to happen didn't it?

A couple of us decided to 'slum' it and try a fast food breakfast for a change 'down'. McDonalds on Merivale was chosen as it's one of the newer locations.

We found seats by the TV and the fire that was almost like a VIP 'club' area with nice tub chairs.

The rule wrt ordering more than one breakfast was suspended this week and therefore we could sample the range of the menu.

Breakfast burritos, sausage and egg McMuffins 'Big Breakfasts' were all sampled and enjoyed.

I like McDonalds' breakfasts but I'm not keen on their burgers. However, their coffee is outstanding and to my mind is the best 'drip' coffee out there. Burger King could learn a thing or two from the golden arches on that front!

Not everyone saw the reasoning behind doing MaccyD's but I have to say it was a great success and I'd do it again anytime.

Zen Kitchen

Ok, so it's been a while; we spent a lot of time just doing Cozy's and the Fontenelle so it seemed crazy to just blog about the same places. However, a couple weeks ago we had a change and breakfasted at Zen Kitchen.

The food here is amazing and fast becoming a local sensation. Some may have seen the TV show that charted the road that the owners took to make the restaurant happen; "The restaurant Adventures of Caroline and Dave".

The food is 'fine dining vegan' and they recently started Sunday brunch.

Here are some pics of the food we ate:

I had the burger with the most amazing fries and home-made ketchup. The apple fritters were good, as were the pancakes.

A couple of us had deserts but my bread pudding wasn't moist enough and to be fair I really missed some real cream on it (but that is not ZK fault).

All in all we like Zen Kitchen as a once in a while breakfast haunt.

Fontenelle Restaurant

We've been at the Font for the last few weeks so nothing new to report.... maybe soon......there is a new restaurant in town that we plan to visit for brunch very soon; Town here we come!

Fontenelle; can this place get any better?

Back at Fontenelle after our deep fried frenzy last Sunday, otherwise called Dim Sum!

This place feels so comfortable and 'right' and this week they had the eggs benedict on the menu (last time I ordered it it was off, probably due to a muffin disaster).

I ordered a 3 egg Benedict with fries (not home, but French)! Can a breakfast get any better? Rhetorical! NO IT CAN"T!!

Short post this week, it's Easter Sunday and I'm going to grab a nap!

Dim Sum at the Yangtze

When the core of one's club swells with a couple of out of town guests there is no better place to go for a big table than a dim sum breakfast, if you remember to reserve a big round table that is!!

The 'out-of-towners' were up for a new experience having not had dim sum for brekkie before but it's not for everyone and with the addition of the most senior of our group (NK) we were a very lucky '8'.


The Yangtze is one of the largest Chinese restaurants in Chinatown and is well know for good dim sum.

It is good, but there are highlights depending on your taste. The consensus is that the pork and shrimp 'shui my' is the best around as well as the BBQ pork bun. I usually can't eat eggplant but the braised eggplant that they serve here is so yummy I could eat JUST that for the whole meal, unfortunately it only made one 'stop' at our table until after we were too full to eat anything else!


Dim sum is one of the easiest foods to order. The food makes the way to your table from the kitchen on many trolleys that cruise around the tables and you either pass or accept a plate, steamer or dish of whatever takes your fancy. As you accept the food your bill is stamped and at the end of the meal they are added up and you pay your bill.

The only bad thing about dim sum is that when you've had your fill it seems as if the better stuff then makes its way from the kitchen. It seems the lunch dim sum menu is a bit different to the earlier food that comes out and it all looks so good you really wish you could start all over again.

Dim sum is one of the best breakfasts and it's good vale too. Waistline watchers beware though it is NOT diet food!


Next week: back to our default; Fontenelle! hey do actually have the best 'chips' (read french fries) in Ottawa.

CW

Resto Chez Mo-Nik

The suggestion was to venture into QB this Sunday to sample some "petit-dejeuner"!!

So off we drove to the other side of the river and found a little place on St.Joseph called Resto Chez Mo-Nik. As the 6 of us entered it was a bit "Slaughtered Lambesque"!! If you've seen American Werewolf in London you'll know what I mean!

The place was` packed and sitting at the bar we were served coffee and within 10 mins a couple of 2 tops were slammed together for the 6 of us! We didn't really fit around these two tables and we were really in the way for servers and other customers but that's what we were given and that's what we had to endure.

The wait staff were efficient and spoke enough English to serve us well. We all ordered the usual, nothing exotic, eggs benny, western sandwiches and combos.

Coffee was free flowing and free (an important rule) and our food arrived in a few minutes; some incorrect orders regarding type of toast and onions with the hash etc. The food here is ok, nothing special. The place is just too busy and crowded and makes you feel as if you are just 'in the way'.

Will we revisit? NO!

Next week = back to Fontenelle to have more of the best fries/chips in the world!

Resto Chez Mo-Nik gets a poor 4/10

CW

Baker Street, FAIL

About a year ago we attempted a brunch at Baker Street (385 Richmond Road), we parked, entered and were faced with a 45 minute wait for a table. We decided to abort and eneded up at one of our usual places instead. This last Sunday we attempted again as we keep hearing good things about the place.

We tried to go a little earlier but as we entered we were, again, faced with a wait but being 2nd in line wasn't so bad, so we stood waiting for 15 minutes.

Not once did one of the wait staff  acknowledge us in any way. Then we noticed that no one was close to finishing. As we said this a waitress heard us and said, "Yeah, they are all just getting their food, it'll be a while - probably 30 minutes."

This place is a disaster for brunch as far as we are concerned. One thing that puzzles us is that they seem to close a section off that could seat about 12 more customers, maybe they are under-staffed but we'll never know.

One of our top rules of OBC is that we don't line up, so sorry Stoneface Dolly, you'll NEVER see our club at your cafe and nor will Baker Street ever again! There are plenty of other places that can cook an egg.

Anyway we fell back on Cozy's and had a great brunch!

Fontenelle Restaurant

We tried a new place for brunch last Sunday (21st Feb) which was a suggestion from GJ (aka JJ). The Fontenelle Restaurant/Diner is an unassuming place from the outside of it's location on Montreal Road, Vanier but as you enter you get the feeling that you've been here before.

The usual mix of booths, tables and bar stools exist but it all seems homely and inviting and without any pretension or aspiration.

We tried a booth but the 'seat to table' girth was a bit too restrictive, we moved to a long table at the back, were served with coffee and awaited the rest of the OBC crew.

Our waitress took our orders from the extensive and very reasonably priced menu (no fancy eggs benny here!) and memorized every order without flinching even when changes were made by a few. I always feel admiration for this waitresses 'trick' but at the same time a bit of anxiety as there always seems to be something wrong with the order.

Well, the food came amazingly quickly and apart from a couple of baked beans mix-ups the food was all delivered as ordered. The food is good and wholesome but nothing special, at these prices you get what you pay for. $6.85 for a full on 'Hungry Man #2' with toast and coffee is just ridiculously cheap and you feel a bit stupid complaining about anything.

Apparently the beans are the highlight of he meal; for me though it was the 4 types of meat on the plate; ham, sausage, bacon and bologna!!!

While we were there 3 separate groups of law enforcement ate here so it really has a range of approval 'stamps'!!

Fontenelle is akin to Cozy's with more of a diner 'feel' and slightly better prices. This place is def on our 'revisit list'.

This week we are going to retry 'Bakers Street' unless the line-up is crazy and then we'll abort.

RULES FOR OBC VENUE:

1)No Line-ups.

2)Not too expensive.

3)Good food.

4)Good service.

5)Room for 6-10 in a group

6)Don't talk about OBC!! 

.......back to Cozy's.

Just a quicky for this week's post as we decided to balance the 'books' after last week's expensive brekky at the Empire Grill.

The thing about Cozy's is that you know what to expect; it's the MacDonald's of the 'greasy spoon' establishments.

Our waitress was 'frazzled' and her perfume was stronger than it should be and the orders were a little messed up but nothing was too much trouble to get fixed, missing beans,missing onions, extra coffee, wrong toast etc. no big shakes.

They mess up the eggs too but at under $15 for 2 breakfasts which includes coffee and a refill (the coffee is very good too) you can't really complain.

The star of any breakfast here is their bacon; now I'm a ham/pea-meal bacon guy really but this streaky bacon they serve here is great. The biggest let down is the beans.

The breakfast steak is also a bit thin but at under $10 for steak and eggs it's still a detail.

Talk of where to go next Sunday seemed to be moot, it seems we are back at Cozy's a while!

CW

The Empire Grill

The Empire Grill is on Clarence Street in the Byward Market and looks modern and roomy and inviting. We got the big table in the front window which was a good job as we had guests this last Sunday and so the Breakfast Club was suddenly a swollen 10!!

Coffee was served quickly although it was not free with breakfast, $3 for a cup of coffee, however many refills is just not a breakfast feature any of us enjoy! Note to Ottawa breakfast establishments: we pay enough for some meat, eggs and toast; give us the brown water for free and we'll keep you on our regular list!! Isn't this simple 'come back soon' economics??? Anyway as we wait for our table to fill up the menu was studied, choices made and finally ordered.

The only problem with this place apart from the price was the long wait to get the food. Now I know a '10top' in the window is considered a 'prisoner table' but 40 minutes is too long. The kitchen staff looked overwhelmed and, frankly, slow.

When it did arrive the reactions were varied but, mainly, good. The breakfast poutine had hollandaise which wasn't a good match and had such a small amount of 'hog' bacon it had to be searched for.

My breakfast pizza was one of the best things I've ever eaten at breakfast/brunch. The mix of very good chorizo, bacon, egg, spicy tomato sauce and smoked brie was magnificent; the fresh basil was a triumph of taste. My wife ordered the same and I ate half of her pizza too.

Portions, barring the pizza, were on the small side but the sausage on the regular plate was of good quality and most were happy with what they got in front of them.

With the inability to discover the fact that the green 2 hour parking meters are free on a Sunday we parked in the multi-storey for $6 which effectively made our breakfast $25  each. Too much when we can usually get away with a $20 including tip.

At these prices you don't expect to find a patty of jam with a slashed foil top on the table. If this place was less expensive and the coffee was free it would get 8/10 but the price tag forces a 6/10.

Most of us would return for another 'shot' but not anytime soon.

This week, a nostalgic return to the 'first born'. Cozy's (dress to unimpress) and then a trip to see the medals at the Mint!

Anyone who wants authoring rights contact me. If you don't know how to contact me you won't really expect those rights will you? Feel free to comment.

CW

Pubwells

So Trella's poor performance at providing the same level of quality as their breakfast fare led us to move on to somewhere new once again and JC suggested Pubwells on Preston at Spruce.

Pubwells is a pub that serves food and, most importantly to our club, breakfast. The place is small but service is quick and friendly.

One of the nice things about the menu is that you can order a single benedict if you wish, for those with smaller appetites. The menu is standard breakfast fare with tea (non fancy) or coffee for free with your breakfast.

On the positive side, the eggs were the best and freshest eggs I've had for a long time. The hash were great but quantity was a bit low. The toast wasn't well buttered though and the patties of jam were very low quality and almost watery. One member experienced confusion with normal tea and fancy tea and cost an extra dollar or so, so check when ordering.

Overall this place is a good breakfast venue, we'll be back. 7/10.

Next week: The Empire Grill in the Market.

CW

A quick adhoc visit to The SconeWitch

Just before the Trella swap/change we tried a place we've been longing to go to for a while, The Scone Witch on Albert Street.

TSW is a small cafe on Albert next to the Alterna Bank. It has small tables and seating is chairs or stools at high tables. The menu is based around their baking of their own scones and you choose your scone of choice at the kitchen 'bar' and decide what you want with it. The food is then brought to you.

The coffee here was very good.

The scone I choose was a cheese scone and I wasn't that impressed as it was a bit dry, and got progressively dryer as it cooled down. The others ordered the platter meals that came with the best ham I've seen so far at a breakfast venue it looked and tasted like real off the bone ham, a triumph!

TSW was ok, I ordered badly (partly my fault), the stools were not comfy and the table was not big enough to fit 4 plates and 4 coffee mugs on. I had a taste of the ginger and rhubarb marmalade and it was good, not my 'bag' but I coud tell that it was special.

The thing I didn't like about this place was it was just too cramped and I didn't feel like spending a 2 hour breakfast here, not that we felt rushed - just that it wasn't very comfortable.

The Scone Witch gets 5/10.

CW

To Trella we will go.....

It only took a couple of 'incidents', minor ones at that, to get us to search for a new venue and JC had heard of a new place on Preston called Trella.

It's just south of the Queensway and, on a Sunday, parking is usually easy up the Xerox side road.

I think it was the 75c peanut butter 'incident' that urged us to move on from Cozy's but it was time for a new place in any case.

Trella is a 'Mediterranean' grill and it's basically a newly designed contemporary Italian eatery that also happens to serve a good breakfast with, most of the time, excellent service (unless very busy then holes start to appear).

The coffee was free with the breakfast and peanut butter was complimentary with toast, we were happy!

All the breakfast food here is great and if they have it made when your order hits the kitchen you can also swap out the hash for garlic mash, which is divine!

They have a superb salmon benedict made more special as they add caremilised onions and a slice of cheese to the mix; my standard fair most Sunday's.

The coffee here isn't only free but very good, even the decaf' and they have a good selection of 'fancy' tea to choose from too.

Occasionally the omelets are a bit overcooked and dry and the hash is sometimes not cooked enough but other than that the breakfast menu is a delight.

One of the great things about our new venue was/is that it's a big place and almost never had we to wait for a table......unlike one attempt a year ago to get a breakfast at the Baker Street Cafe in Westboro Village.

Trella became our new venue of choice and apart from a couple trips back to Cozy's we were happy.

Then one Sunday it was busy, the service, the order and the food was crazy bad and thanks to some, what I can only describe as, "forceful complaining" by RJ that we hardly paid for a thing that day.

Even so, we started thinking the time had arrived again.

Last week (4th Jan) we decided to go a little later and try the lunch menu; not great and not as good value as the breakfast menu - the 'move' was a GO!

CW

...the beginning: Cozy's

Cozy's is an unassuming little cafe on Wellington between Irving and Fairmont

It's where it all began sometime in 2007. Four of us just sort of fell into a 'brunch thing' on a Sunday at 11am. The place we chose was Cozy's, mainly as it was, at the time, a 10 minute walk for all of us at the time.

Cozy's is actually nothing special, but it's also not really bad at all. They have a menu with the usual items on it and breakfast comes with coffee and 2 refills.

We've been on a Saturday a couple times and I would suggest it's to be avoided unless you are a fan of Euchre! If you are, this is the place to be!!!

Our group grew by a couple in this time and often had the odd guest member so that our table sizes went from 4 to sometimes 8 or even 10. I have to say that the place handles any size of group with equal ease and seldom have we had to ask for anything and wait very long.

Our orders span the menu from one egg and 2 sausage through fruit and french toast all the way to the "truckers" and the benedicts.

All the food is good, but not excellent. Sometimes the egg will be a bit harder than usual, the beans are awful, the hash is sometimes under cooked or overcooked and if you want onions with those they are sometimes the same with regard to the 'cookedness'.

The ham is thin, the sausage always a basic one and often a bit browner than you'd like but on the whole it's all a 7/10 experience. The service is fair to OK but never bad.

It gets a little frustrating when you inadvertently get that 3rd refill that costs another buck or so, especially when others at the table have not had their 2 allowable refills, and charging 75c for a patty of peanut butter is a bit 'off' but Cozy's was our staple place for about 9 moths when we decided to try somewhere new.

So Cozy's is a 7/10 and we still occassionally go back there just because it was our groups 'first' so to speak.

......and we're off to pastures new.

CW

The Breakfast (Ottawa chapter) inaugral post........a catch up, if you will.

It's not a hard concept to grasp, is it? A few people meet at 11am each Sunday for brunch and become breakfast experts or 'brekkies'. They start to wander each week in search of the best service, best sausage, best egg and cheapest bill etc.

Well, that's what we do and it occurred to me that we should probably start a blog so we can at least record for our own filing memories of where we've been and what it was like.

Obviously the first few posts will be in the form of a retroactive 'catch-up' on the many places we've already been and sampled eggs at.

You might think that cooking a decent breakfast for under $10 and serving it with a smile would be easy and every establishment would excel in this regard, you of course would be mistaken.

The blog will protect the club and have full anonymity so that we don't fall foul of the usual 'food reviewers' fallibility: being recognised.

The core crew started off with CW, MW, DK and JC and soon grew to include GJ and RJ and, of late, EK and NK (the "maybe's" we'll call those last 2).

No leader and no other agenda than eating some good breakfast fair and 'shooting the shit' for a couple hours.

Hope it's useful in your quest for the best breakfast in Ottawa.

Enjoy
CW