Eggspectations
220 Yonge Street
416-977-3380
Brunch for two with all taxes and tip plus coffee and juice: $40
Montrealers must really like their eggs. How else to explain the huge popularity of chains like Eggspectations with 7 locations in the Montreal area in addition to the 2 in Ontario, 4 in the US and 2 in India? The Toronto Eaton Centre location is constantly busy, at all times of the day, with a line-up and an average wait of about 10 minutes for a table.
When we started this site some six months ago, we determined that our mandate was to cover anything and everything to do with food in Toronto. It’s easy to fall into the foodie trap of focusing on either cutting-edge and high end places, or hole-in-the-wall spots serving “authentic” cuisine from various cultures and completely ignoring a whole cross-section of stuff in the middle – which just happens to be where most people eat.
I was reminded of this recently when I received a press release inviting me to a tasting at The Pickle Barrel. The restaurant, which opened its first location in 1971 serving corn beef sandwiches and coleslaw, had recently undergone a make-over. The décor in most of the locations has been updated to a sleek and modern new look with cosy booths and tiled pillars. More importantly, the menu has been updated from its humble beginnings of deli meat sandwiches to a more cosmopolitan selection. The old favourites are now complimented by a variety of healthy options created by cookbook author and healthy living expert Rose Reisman. There is even a newly added menu of options that all come in at under 500 calories.
Go ahead and scoff, all you food snobs – the stuff is fantastic.