Over Easy

Date Visited: Breakfast on Sunday Apr 6, 2014
Company: Girls brunch date for 3

For hung-over Sunday morning, +Gisele and I decided to find somewhere to grab a nice breakfast, ideally located in between her new place at King West and Will's. We couldn't exactly find somewhere right in the middle but she did locate Over Easy at Yonge and Wellington (with another location in the Annex). Laura and I moseyed over and luckily +Gisele had already gotten a spot in the line because it was extremely busy when we arrived. The restaurant is situated inside Hotel Victoria so the decor was very old-fashioned but quaint. We got a spot on the booth and I was very surprised to see how many tables the place had because you don't expect it to be very large.

We asked our friendly waitress what she would recommend and she said anything on their Specialties section is unique and also they have great hollandaise sauce for their Benedicts. There were so many interesting and appealing options from their Specialties section, the Eggs Bruschetta, Breakfast Poutine, not to mention their many Eggs Benedict. I decided to order the Vegetarian Skillet with the Poached Eggs, Hollandaise & Toast add-on (to get some Benedict in there too). Most of their options were priced around $11-$13. 

My dish came and it looked so colourful with the yellow Hollandaise sauce, green veggies underneath, and bright red tomatoes on the side! The poached eggs were cooked to perfection and the Hollandaise sauce did live up to the reputation that the waitress had just given me a few minutes prior. The skillet itself was filled with tons of veggies, with a bit of potatoes at the bottom and cheese topping it off. I love their tiny home fries which were cut up in small cubes. The baked cheese on top was also a great addition to the dish. So filling, I only had one of the eggs and about 2/3rds of the skillet. Also, their brown bread was delicious! It was sour dough which was a nice surprise and I usually don't care for the bread but I wish I had more of this! 

+Gisele ordered the Eggstro which she was already confused about what it was with the 'baked eggs' but it wasn't very appealing once it came. Everything was baked in a plate together and very greasy. Laura ordered the Waffles with Strawberry which looked amazing. It was topped with fresh strawberries and also came with a side of strawberry sauce.

Food: 4.5/5 - Tons of options for those who want a twist from their classic breakfast. Perfect for a 'morning after' brunch/breakfast, they have greasy options as well was healthier ones. 
Decor: 4/5 - Loved the small town feel of this place but still hip and modern.
Service: 3/5 - Waitress was chatty and food came at a decent time.
Willingness to go back: 5/5 - Definitely returning, so many more things to try!
Overall: 4/5
Website: http://www.overeasyrestaurants.com/

Fran's Restaurant

Date Visited: Brunch on Sunday Apr 21, 2013

Company: Getting breakfast after a night out and before the Jay's game with a group of 6 friends.

I've had this review pending for a while in my 'to-write' list because I wasn't sure if I was going to post it or not. The main reason was because my taste buds may not have been on their game this particular morning. After a night of drinking, my opinion on food may not be in sync with how I'd normally feel. Regardless, I've decided to go forward with this post because blogging is fun :)

So Fran's is located at the bottom of the Pantages Hotel across from St. Michael's Hospital on the corner of the street. It doesn't seem like it's attached to the hotel but according to the website it is. +Gisele lives just beside the hotel so I've walked by this place a few too many times. Upon first glance, it definitely looks like an old school diner/all-day breakfast place. I was pretty excited to finally try this establishment that fine morning. 

We were lucky to grab a table quickly upon arrival as the place was pretty full and more people started to fill in. We had a nice window seat with the sun shining in which is why my photos have so much shadow. The menu offered a huge variety, almost Pickle Barrel-like. They had unique combinations of classic dishes (for example, they have 6 types of Eggs Benedict). I was enticed by the Vegetarian Rainbow Benedict and ordered that along with a Vanilla Milkshake. From what I remember  we had to wait a while to get our food. Our drinks came in the meantime and I was very impressed with the Milkshake. I didn't like how it came in the mixing cup as it wasn't very pretty and a bit messy, but the shake itself was very delicious, thick and creamy how it should be.

When our food did arrive, the presentations of the plates were not very appealing. Laura ordered a waffles with strawberries and you can tell that they were previously frozen and not fresh, not very appetizing. My vegetables and fruits looked like they were just thrown on the plate. I was expecting a nice arrangement of the vegetables included but all I saw was a bed of spinach and some chopped peppers. The fruit wasn't very fresh either, the strawberry was literally shrivelled, why would you serve that as a garnish?

The actual eggs and Hollandaise sauce in terms of taste wasn't bad though. Half the plate was home fries which were good but I think everyone had a lot of that left over. +Alex and +Brian ordered the Steak Benedict which looked like it would've been a better choice but the consistency of the poached eggs were really off. One was completely cooked all the way through while the other on the plate would be runny which I found extremely odd. Everyone else seemed satisfied with their meals though, I definitely want to try their other options as breakfast was a bit disappointing. I'm curious as to how the other foods measure up when breakfast, their main attraction, didn't do it for me.

Food: 1.5/5 - Wasn't very impressed.
Decor: 2.5/5 - Surprisingly large but average.
Service: 2/5 - Busy time of day but we had to wait quite a while.
Willingness to come back: 3.5/5 - As mentioned above, wouldn't mind trying lunch or dinner here.
Overall: 2.5/5
Website: http://www.fransrestaurant.com/