Rose and Sons

I'm always on the look out for good breakfast/brunch places.  And now that I've decided that in order to be able to fit in some running time, I have to wake up at 7am on either Saturday or Sunday.  Perfect for trying new places for my favourite meal of the day!

The hubby had a request for a heavier meal, even though it was brunch, and I wanted a normal brunch meal.  We arrived at Rose and Sons at the perfect time, at 11am.  We were seated right away.  The people that arrived after us had to wait.  One thing to note, there isn't much seating there, and what they do have of seating is mostly communal.  So if you're not comfortable with communal seating, then you don't need to come here, although you would be missing out on some delicious food.  I ordered the all day breakfast which came with 3 eggs, bacon, schmaltz hash (I just found out schmaltz = chicken fat), and toast (the bread was made in house!  Soooooo good!).  The bacon was thick sliced, which made it seem like I wasn't actually eating bacon because it was melt in your mouth, flavour was also very good.  I wonder if they smoke it themselves.  The schmaltz hash was seasoned well, but a little too greasy for my liking, and it needed to be crispier.

All Day Breakfast

Hubby was contemplating between the duck confit or the fried chicken, and couldn't make up his mind.  So we consulted with our waitress and she said her favourite is the duck confit, so duck confit it was!  The duck confit dish, to our surprise, arrived as a whole duck leg topped with an egg, hollandaise sauce, potato hash, and an arugula and walnut salad.  Never seen a duck leg for breakfast/brunch.  The duck confit was melt in your mouth good!  I think thats the theme for the restaurant, melt in your mouth good!

Duck Confit

As we were leaving, our waitress told us that they have a BBQ smoke house right behind them which serves BBQ brunch!  So I guess they most likely smoke the bacon themselves.  Name of the restaurant is Big Crow.  Thats next on my hit list!

Rose and Sons
176 Dupont St.
Toronto, ON
M5R 2E6

647-748-3287

Hours:  Monday - Friday 9am till the joint closes
             Saturday - Sunday 9am - 3pm, 5pm till the joint closes

http://roseandsons.ca

Lisa Marie

This was supposed to be dessert after dinner.  My friend suggested Lisa Marie because of her fascination with Fidel Gastro and because they make desserts in little jars.  Apparently food tastes better coming from jars.

Walking in, it had a very industrial feel to it, the tables were all made with reclaimed wood and the legs of the chairs were made from plumbing.  The lighting inside drove me nuts though.  It was way too dark for my liking.  It would be nice to see what you're eating.  So please excuse the dark and fuzzy pictures.

We ended up ordering duck confit pizza, Elvis in a jar and marrow donuts.  Duck confit pizza essentially tasted like Peking duck on a pizza crust.  Instead of tomato sauce, it was hoisin sauce.  So for someone Chinese, it really wasn't that special.

Duck Confit Pizza

Elvis in a jar was pretty darned tasty.  It was french toast, peanut butter, banana, and bacon, recreated in a trifle type format and put into a mason jar.  Needed more bacon flavour.

Elvis in a Jar

Lastly, the marrow donuts.  We originally wasn't sure if we should order this.  None of us particularly like marrow.  And the combination of the marrow and being deep fried seemed a little too heavy.  But our server said that it was her favourite.  So thats why we ordered it.  The donuts were not heavy at all, super light, and there was no funny taste (animal/meat) taste to it either.  If someone gave me a donut to try, there would be no way that I would suspect that there would be marrow in it.  The donuts came with a side of cherry sauce which complimented each other quite well.
 

Marrow Donuts

Great environment and good food, just wished that it was brighter so my eyes didn't feel so strained after.

Lisa Marie
638 Queen St. W
Toronto, ON
M6J 1E3
647-748-6822
http://fidelgastro.ca

Glory Hole Donuts

I wanted to Glory Hole Donuts, months and months and months ago.  I first read about them in the Toronto Star.  At the time, there were only 2 places that sold these donuts, Glory Hole did not have their own retail location at the time.  I stopped by that coffee shop on a Saturday afternoon, and walked out with no donuts.  Because of the Toronto Star, these donuts have been selling out early in the mornings.

After my exams, I finally had the time to make a trip to Glory Hole's Queen West shop.  The location isn't exactly convenient.  The surrounding area is kind of dumpish like.  But I guess thats what they could afford since they kind of 'begged' for donations to open up a retail store.  When we walked in, they only had 2 flavours available.  We waited for upwards of 30 minutes for them to bring out some additional flavours.  We picked up a dozen donuts to try and share with friends.  I think they charged us wrong, because a dozen donuts ended up costing us only $31.  If I remember correctly, one dozen of their donuts (pre-retail location) was closer to $50.

The flavours we picked up include:  Banana Cream, Maple Bacon, Chocolate Pretzel, Black Forest, Pistachio and some Lemon Ricotta Balls.  My fave was the Lemon Ricotta Balls.  The texture was more cake like whereas the other donuts had a fluffier bread like texture.  Hubby did not like the Maple Bacon.  I didn't get to taste all of the donuts as they were given to friends.  I would definitely recommend calling in before hand for donuts so you don't have to waste time waiting...and waiting for these donuts. 

Box O' Donuts

Banana Cream Donut

Glory Hole Donuts

1596 Queen St W

Toronto, ON

647-352-4848

http://www.gloryholedoughnuts.com