Breakfast at the Sunset Grill - Wellington St. Toronto

This morning I had an early appointment and afterwards stopped in for breakfast at the Sunset Grill at the northeast end of the CBC building on Wellington. Although they had a nice outdoor patio, I choose to eat inside.

The restaurant looks very new, lots of wood, and I liked the openness of it.

I was torn between the Crab Cake Benedict and my regular breakfast of bacon and eggs. Bacon and eggs won out.

The easy over eggs were done perfectly and the bacon was the right crispiness, not under- nor overcooked. When you see the (5) beside bacon on the menu, that means you are getting five slices!

My son, Ken, worked for a restaurant in Aurora that specialized in breakfasts. The owner told him the secret to a great restaurant breakfast is in the home fries. There's not much that can be done special to eggs, bacon or toast, so the secret is in the home fries. Over the years, I have come to very much agree with that. No problem here as the home fires were very tasty.

Not only was the food great, but for downtown, it is also a decent price. The staff looked after me very well. I would not hesitate to eat there again.!

The Pow Wow Cafe

This evening I ate at the Pow Wow Cafe on Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market. The cafe specializes in Indian tacos, that's Indian as in First nations. What sets it apart from a regular taco? First of all, bannock, an Ojibway style of fry bread, is used instead of a Mexican flour tortilla.

According to Ojibway chef Shawn Adler in a CBC article on their website: "Fry bread developed out of rations," he said. "People were systematically taken off their land, they had nothing to eat. So what was given to them by the Canadian government was flour, lard, sugar, eggs and what came out of them was [bannock]".

The Ojibway style Indian taco draws on this influence. He also told CBC News that "the crunch in the bannock sets it apart."

The place is small and very cozy.

They do not sell big brand pop but make their own, so I started off with a homemade strawberry soda. It was nicely sweet, no overpoweringly so, and very refreshing.

I ordered the jerk chicken combo. Why not? Jamaican style chick on an Indian taco. Gotta love it!

One taco is a full meal. It's layered with the bannock on the bottom and chicken, sauces, tomato and mango throughout. The mango really helped temper the spice of the chicken. There was a nice heat throughout.

I managed to find a piece of bannock without any sauce on it. It's quite tasty on its own and reminds me of Newfoundland touton. It has a nice crunch and, yes, does a terrific job of soaking up the sauces.

My appetite has not been great lately so I could not finish it. I hated leaving anything on the plate and as I had places to go, I couldn't get a carry out.

This was my first visit to the Pow Wow cafe but won't be the last. Think I'll try the beef taco next.

Breakfast at Over Easy, Hotel Victoria

Yesterday morning I had a very early doctor's appointment downtown and afterwards stopped into Over Easy located in the century old Hotel Victoria on Yonge Street.

The place was quite full. The photo above does not show the entire area as most of the dining room is to the right of the picture.

When you order a coffee, you receive a full carafe. The coffee was very good, so yes, I helped myself to a second.

There is a lot of variety to choose from for breakfast but Egg in a Hole, not with toast, but a bagel sure caught my eye.

It was as delicious as it looks. The bacon was done perfectly and I figured that there would be a little salt from the bacon and bagel that would come through, which it did, so I was glad I didn't add any extra.

Being downtown, it is a little more expensive than breakfast places that I usually would go but I will be back to this place, just to have this!

Take Out at Baba's Doner House, Queen St West

Last night Teena and I walked to a new place that had opened in our neighbourhood, Baba's Doner House. Not to be confused with a shawarma shop, the doner originates from Turkey, where, Ali, the owner, is originally from.

Baba's serves theirs as a sandwich on pita bread or as a meal. We had the meal.

The shop is extremely clean and Ali (the place is named after his father who brought the business over from Istanbul) is very friendly and chatty.

It is all about the taste and this is a very tasty meal. I had the chicken, which marinates overnight and is cooked slowly for four to five hours, is full of flavour. The rice was very nice and fluffy and the salad had an excellent tang.

My only regret is that they have something called a Pistachio Roll, which I did not get. I will the next time I am there, which I can see happening sometime next week.

Lunch at the Sunnyside Pavilion Cafe

During our walk today, Teena and I stopped for lunch at the Sunnyside Pavilion Cafe. The pavilion was built around 1923 and every time we stop to eat there, I feel like we are away on vacation. Today was no different.

The patio is quite spacious and it's always fun to watch the people passing by.

Teena ordered the burger and I had the quesadilla. We both had Diet Pepsi but beer and drinks are available.

My quesadilla had a nice crunch on tortilla and was quite tasty. It hit the spot and I would have it again.

Teena enjoyed her burger and fries and said the fries were not greasy at all. She would have them again.

I'm looking forward to us heading back again, only this time it will be different meal of the day!

Brunch at Cafe Neon

Teena and I decided to celebrate the holiday Monday by going to Cafe Neon on Queen West, just a little west of Ossington for brunch. It was highly recommended by our neighbors and I can see why.

I had the Eggs Benny but substituted the trout for the pulled pork. Great choice! It was fabulous. I wasn't big on the scone, though, not a big scone fan anyway, so next time I would make a substitution for it.

The eggs were perfectly done, I loved the dressing on the salad and thought the potatoes were great!. Usually I only eat half my home fries but not today.

Teena had the Blueberry pancakes and loved them.

We would go back again for sure. I saw the trout fish cakes hit other tables and am dying to give them a try.

If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit.

A Visit to the Rebirth of Bar Volo - Birreria Volo

Bar Volo closed after 28 years of business on October 1, 2016. Just before closing, they launched Birreria Volo on College St. in Little Italy. For years they were known as the "go to" place for a great selection of craft beer and Teena and I decided to check out the new location.

The space is long and narrow. After looking around for awhile, it seems that at one time it was an alley between two buildings that was closed off and roofed. It is a unique space that I was was very comfortable in.

Yes, they still have the same great variety of beers on tap and each description has an accompanying letter in case one forgets which beer he has gone to the bar to order. As in the old place, patrons order and get their beer form the bar instead of there being table service.

When we arrived, there were a few people there but it was full when we left. Good to see.

They had an extensive selection of sour ales on tap, which I was quite in the mood for. Here is what I had (and all were excellent!)

I loved the place!. Everyone was upset when they had to close their Yonge St location but something good has come out of it. They are now so much closer to where we live and will be much easier to visit in the future as we will definitely be back!