Grange vin+bouffe (Montréal,QC)

120 rue McGill
Vieux-Montréal
514.394.9463
website

I made plans with my friend MC for brunch. She suggested Grange vin+bouffe, and attached this review by Montreal Breakfast Review. I was really psyched by the description of "brunch with a twist", and a small plates selection for brunch. Unfortunately, the menu had changed to a regular menu; that'll teach me to base myself on a review that's nearly two years old!

The restaurant had a hip cabin décor, with wood planks and the requisite mounted deer head. The attractive waiters were dressed in plaid shirts. I kind of wish I had worn my new deer sweater - I would have fit right in!

We each ordered the freshly squeezed orange juice ($5). It came in its own little jug (burette on the French menu) to share, but the portion really wasn't big enough to share. The juice was very fresh and tasty, but I think on the pricey side for the portion.

After answering my inquiry about the small plates menu that did not exist, the waiter suggested that most patrons ordered from the "plats signature" section. MC ordered the Surf 'n Turn ($18) for something different. The description was somewhat accurate - salmon tartar with yogurt, beef tartar with cognac, salad and croutons - but she was rather disappointed, especially compared to my large plate.

I ordered Le Fermier ($18) which was significantly bigger than my poor companion's dish. It consisted of 2 scrambled eggs, William Swiss sausage, duck rillette, maple syrup smoked meat, potatoes and fresh fruit. As I didn't know what William Swiss sausage was, MC described it as a sausage with cheese. However, there was no cheese in my sausage! Funnily (or not), this flikr photo from nearly two years ago did have cheese. This meat-heavy dish was definitely enough to fill me up, and share some with MC! I enjoyed spreading the rillette on the bread, and really liked the sweetness that the maple syrup added to the smoked meat.

I thought brunch was decent at Grange vin+bouffe, but rather pricey for what it offered. I'm told that these are in the normal range for the more popular brunch spots. I guess I'll have to get used to big city prices! I was willing to pay a premium for the unique offering of small plates (I even found the old menu here). Unfortunately, these were no longer available, and without small plates, brunch at Grange vin+bouffe no longer seemed unique.

Brunch at Drake Hotel (Toronto,ON)

1150 Queen St West
Toronto, Ontario
416.531.5042
website

My sister and brother-in-law came for a quick visit. We spent the day in Toronto and started it off by having brunch at Drake Hotel. Drake Hotel seems to be the ultimate hipster spot for brunch (I don't really use the term hipster often, but it really seemed befitting in this case - although really, what do I know about being hip?!).



We had brunch on the café side, where we sat under a colourful bicycle frame lighting structure. We were very impressed!



My brother-in-law D started out with a pretty cappucino.



We decided to share the warm scone share plate ($8) deemed Toronto's best blueberry scones by The Toronto Star. We wholeheartedly agreed and enjoyed each bite of our buttery scones, served with a choice of clotted cream dotted with vanilla specks, whipped butter and jam. Very worthwhile ordering!


Blueberry Scones.

My sister ordered the Eggs Benedict ($13), which consisted of 2 poached eggs, smoked pork loin on toasted English muffin with hollandaise, and replaced the hand cut fries with home fries. The home fries were nicely crisp with slices of sweet onion. She really enjoyed the thick cut smoked pork loin and hollandaise sauce (on the side).


Eggs Benedict.

My brother-in-law and I decided to share the Southern fried chicken + waffles ($14.75), which seemed like a novel menu item. It was made up of a large herb waffle, fried chicken, maple syrup, crème fraîche and Niagara cherry jam. I loved the savoury fried chicken and herb waffle combined with sweet syrup and cherry jam. The fried chicken was well-seasoned with a bit of a kick from cumin (?). I really liked the big pieces of cherries; my sister scooped the leftover ones over her scone. My only issue is that I don't like things overly sweet and thought there was too much syrup. Were I to order this again, I would definitely ask for the syrup on the side.


Southern Fried Chicken + Waffles.

We really enjoyed our brunch and even came back later in the evening for drinks. It's a great spot to hit in Toronto for a meal or drinks, if you're not staying at the boutique hotel. We also checked out a combination of cool and vintage items at the General Store next door.

United Way Brunch Fundraiser

I was lucky enough to have worked on the 2007-2008 United Way campaign. Although I no longer work there, I wanted to contribute by doing what I enjoy: cook! So I decided to invite a few of my friends over for brunch in exchange for donations to a good cause! My friends were very generous and we were able to raise over $500!



I tried to have a selection of sweet and savoury dishes. I will post individual posts for each recipe in the coming days:

• Apple Pancakes
• Baked Egg Florentines
• Homemade Breakfast Sausages
• Homemade Baked Beans
• Breakfast Potatoes
  
• Crescent Rolls stuffed with Chocolate
  
• Banana and Pumpkin Muffins
• Berry Fruit Salad
• Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
  
• Mimosa
• Coffee

Confession: It was so hectic cooking for a crowd that I didn't have time to take pictures. This picture was recreated the next day...!