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Brunch good
Are you a Sunday morning alcoholic? You know, the kind that hides it with eggs benedict and a bloody Mary, or God forbid, mimosa.
I much prefer the in your face Sunday bruncher. The guy or girl who straight up orders a beer, or goes hard core with a rum and coke, with their fruit salad. But to each their own.
The fact is getting together with friends the morning after is fun even if you're feeling squiffy. And it's a great excuse to get out of bed when the tendency might be to sleep the day away.
My only issue with brunch is the term. If you're eating at noon it's lunch. If your eating anytime before 9:30am its breakfast. Although Sharon Tyler Herbst in her Food Lover's Companion says it takes place anytime between 11am and 3pm. Questions of timing aside the term is hackneyed. Brunch seems so 1970s somehow - it's been around a lot longer than that, but you know what I mean. I like the English word elevenses. It sounds good and fits my own strict scheduling rules.
Brunch is also about a sense of community. Brunch is a collective meal even if you don't talk to the neighbouring table. More people brunch than go to the movies or theatre. You can have a shared experience with strangers and with the people you've invited to your table.
Of course the biggest variable in lunch/breakfast dining is the quality to cost ratio. Tom's Family Diner on Queen West probably offers the best ‘banger' for your dollar (couldn't resist). The diner is conveniently across the street from CAMH. This may be a deciding factor in the pricing; they keep it down for the lower income customers that seem to make up the bulk of their trade. You can order the Canadiana - three eggs, toast, potato, coffee or tea, and choice of ham, bacon, or sausage - for $4.95; $3,95 if you show up before 11am.
It's nothing fancy. A counter and a big room in back with larger tables. But it's clean. The food, while not adventurous, is fresh, traditional comfort food. And you can always have a Blue with it.
The Dakota Tavern on Ossington has a bluegrass brunch, which sound like fun or hell depending on where you stand philosophically on the bluegrass question. The bar itself is a low-slung basement affair. You pay a fixed price and then it's all you can eat, and the staff brings it to your table. The menu is fairly consistent week after week: hash browns, sausage with maple syrup and a frittata (tends towards foam rubber, but the sausages are a treat) and fruit salad. Plus they have a maverick table if you want to sit with strangers and make them into friends.
And you can always go to Boom on College, not the cheapest brunch, but they definitely know what they're doing and the food is always good. The only problem is you really have to get up early, by the time brunch is supposed to start (11am we're told - see above) there is a line up down the sidewalk. And pray you don't get the table by the door. It's all dust from the street and arses in your face. Actually refuse this table and wait for a better one. The best thing to do is go with four people and then they won't even offer it.
So is anyone up for elevenses?