Monday 31 December 2012

Luna Crepes

Today we went for breakfast/lunch at Luna Crepes on March Rd with a friend and her 2 year old boy.
Luna's is more of a fast-food restaurant as you place your order at the counter and they bring it to your table for you. We've been here several times before, but not with the children.
The first thing we noticed was that there were only two highchairs, so that meant that Toast Girl had to sit on a chair. This isn't a big deal, but it also meant that no more families could sit down to eat with their little one.
Not particularly feeling like breakfast, I (Toast man) decided to have the chicken parmigiana on a panini with a ceasar salad. It was around 10$ from their (all-day) lunch menu. This was unfortunately a big mistake; I should have stuck with breakfast. The panini bread seemed really stale and the tomato sauce made it really soggy. The chicken was pretty decent though and the salad was OK.
Toast mom had the vegetarian omelet, which was on the (all-day) breakfast menu for around 10$. She wasn't very impressed either; the crepe was fairly rubbery and that the omelet was pretty bland.
Toast Girl had the eggs and cheese crepe (though Pancakes was on the kids menu) for 4.99$. It didn't include a drink. This was by far the best of all our meals; it was actually really good and fair sized for a kid’s meal. Toast Girl really enjoyed it! We also ordered her a "blue" gelato for dessert, which she just loved. They had an amazing selection of Gelato.
One thing that really stood out was their coffee selection; which included cappuccinos, espressos, lattes, cafe au lait's, etc. Toast Woman and I both got a Latte (despite her ordering a cappuccino), but we were really impressed! It was around 4$ each for a large.
Our bill was around 35$.
If you're sticking with sweet breakfasts (crepes+fruit) or coming for the coffee you won't be disappointed, but I wouldn't recommend straying from their specialties.
Affordability: 2
Food Quality/Taste: 2
Family Friendliness: 2.5
Speed of Service: 3

Vegetarian omelette crepe

Lattes

Kids Pancake

Kids Egg and Cheese Crepe

Chicken Panini with Caesar salad
 
 
 
Luna Crepes and Cafe on Urbanspoon

Sunday 30 December 2012

D'Arcy McGees

Darcy's is a nice place to have a drink with some friends, have a tasty supper, and also, we found out, a great breakfast spot. The mornings seem to be quiet and there was only 2 cars in the parking lot when we arrived. We were seated immediately by the hostess at a booth. We kept the baby in his car seat because it wouldn't easily accommodate a high chair. They do have some available, though for the tables. Toast Girl was given a coloring page and crayons.


We ordered coffees and she ordered an apple juice. The breakfast menu is very small and to the point. There are about 4 options including a daily omelet special, a benedict, a 2 egg breakfast, and another egg and meat breakfast. They were all in the $10-$15 price range. There is no breakfast kids meal and no pancakes. Toast girl ended up ordering a grilled cheese off the lunch/dinner kids menu ($5 I think), I had the eggs benedict, and Toast Man had the Weekend breakfast.


The food arrived in less than 10 minutes and was all brought out together. It all looked really tasty. The benedict was made with peameal bacon that was cooked perfectly and wasn't greasy like most places serve it. The homefries were cooked with red peppers and onions and were delicious. The Weekend Breakfast was very good and though I didn't like the sausage much, Toast man said it beat most sausages that he has tried. It included sausage, bacon, 2 eggs, homefries, multigrain toast, and a grilled tomato. He really enjoyed his whole grain bread. Toast girl's grilled cheese was.. a grilled cheese. Nothing exciting and she just pulled the cheese out from inside and left the bread. She got homefries and raw carrots on the side.


The washroom had a change table in the handicapped stall and was pretty clean. The service was fast and friendly. Overall we enjoyed our breakfast here. Our bill was about $32 total.

Kids Grilled Cheese

Eggs Benedict

2 egg breakfast with bacon and sausage
 
 
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D'Arcy McGees on Urbanspoon

Friday 28 December 2012

Eggspectation - Downtown

This morning we were off to try out Art is In. When we arrived there, we found it to be closed for the holidays so we headed to Eggspectation instead. I am so glad we did, because the food was unbeatable! Upon arrival, we were seated by the hostess right away at a table for 4 with a high chair on each end. One of the 2 high chairs had a broken buckle so I ended up tying a knot in it instead. They brought a colouring book/menu and some crayons for Toast Girl.

We were brought some coffee and orange juice. The coffee was great and the orange juice was freshly squeezed and refreshing. The menu was huge and it all sounded so good. One page was devoted to benedicts while the kids menu had a full range of breakfast and lunch options.

I decided on the "Bravocado" benedict, Toast Man ordered the "Eggstravaganza", my good friend, Ainsley, ordered the "Southwest Sunrise" omelette, and Toast Girl ordered her usual chocolate chip pancakes.

The food took about 10-15 minutes to arrive and the adult dishes all arrived first. Toast Girl munched on my homefries while I took pictures and we waited for hers to arrive about 2 minutes later.

Now onto the good stuff- The food! My meal, the "Bravocado" is described in their menu as "Two perfectly poached eggs served on half an avocado with lightly spiced tomato sauce and melted Parmesan and cheddar cheeses. Served with our Lyonnaise-style potatoes." It is priced at $13.95. The idea of eggs and avocados had me wondering, but the fiery tomato sauce turned them into a mingling fiesta. There is no bread on this plate, nor is there any traditional holandaise sauce. The taste was smooth and peppery at once and if it would have been socially acceptable, I might have licked my plate. There was still sauce left afterwards to dip my homefries in which was a big bonus! They were great on their own, but I love an extra pep to my food and this was perfect. The fresh fruit on my plate had the perfect ripeness. I was more than pleased and still pleasantly stuffed afterwards.

I had the pleasure of sampling Toast Man's french toast and Toast Girl's pancake and both were indulgent! Super fresh and cooked to perfection. They were clearly made on location and they were served with real maple syrup. Toast Man enjoyed all of his breakfast and left raving about it. We both agree on 5 toasts for taste and will be using this Eggspectations as a landmark for the 5 toast rating on taste. Toast Man's breakfast included: 2 eggs- any style(scrambled), 2 slices of brioche french toast, ham/bacon/sausage, and homefries. It was $11.95.

Ainsley had the "Southwest Sunrise" omelette which was made with 3 cheeses, peppers, avocado, salsa and sour cream. It was served with fruit and homefries. She said it was more than fantastic.

Toast Girel's pancakes were decadent. They were cooked with chocolate chips and then had them piled on top as well, melted and delicious. She love the maple syrup.

When the adults were all finished the waiter came and took all of our plates. I wasn't paying attention when he took Toast Girl's plate as well until she asked me "Mommy, Where did my pancakes go?". I called the waiter over and asked if he could bring them back. I guess it was too late because within 2 minutes the kitchen had whipped up another plate of them. The waiter brought them and apologised profusely for the mistake. He then came back a few minutes later with a take-out box with another bunch of chocolate chip pancakes to go. Way to make up for an error! That earned some brownie points for us for sure.

We didn't visit the washroom, but there was a sign that pointed to them saying that there was a change station there as well.

Bravocado


Southwest Sunrise
Eggstravaganza


Kid's Chocolate Chip Pancakes
The menu is available here

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Speed of Service Eggspectation on Urbanspoon

Cora's- Kanata

If you do breakfast, chances are that you have been to Cora's. A lot of folks have it out for this place, and I'm not sure why. I still love it each and every time. True that the menu doesn't change much, but I love the fruit and it keeps me coming back.

We stopped in around noon today for brunch and it was very quiet. It took a couple of minutes for the waitress to notice us. When she did, she grabbed some menus, a kids menu and a high chair. We were seated at a table for 6 so that the carseat would have enough space on the table but there was still plenty of room for the 4 of us.

We were greeted with a smile and the kids were fussed over a bit. Our coffees were brought and refilled often and our daughter's milk came in a paper cup with a lid and straw. She knocked it over in a matter of seconds and we were so happy not to have a mess to clean up.

I didn't realize that their menu is not available online so excuse the lack of accurate prices and names of the dishes.

I ordered a vegetable skillet with a fried egg on the top and a side of rye toast. It was pretty good. There wasn't any seasoning on it but the veggies balanced each other out in a way that didn't really need extra flavour. It included carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions that were laid over home fries and topped with an egg cooked to order. There was also a small bowl of fruit included with kiwi, pineapple, canteloupe, orange, and strawberry. They were all good except the pineapple which was tough and unripe. I enjoyed this meal but made a mental note to include when I found a slice of ham mixed in with the veggies. I'm not by any means a vegetarian, but I was concerned for veggie diners that it would make it's way into a vegetarian meal.

Toast Man ordered a ham and swiss omelette. It was very tasty and he really enjoyed it. It came with a side of homefries and a slice of orange as well as toast.

Toast Girl ordered a chocolate brioche french toast with strawberries and bananas. It looked just as phanomenal on her plate as in the picture and tasted even better. It was soft and practically melted in your mouth. We were happy to polish it off for her when she announced she was full.

The place is bright and sunny and I have yet to visit when there is not several small children seated throughout the restaurant. The staff seems to be used to kids and though it was still a little embarrassing when our toddler threw a tantrum, we didn't get any dirty looks or comments. The high chairs seemed to be in good working order and there was a change table in the handicapped washroom. They have a kids menu that contains pictures of all of their meals and makes it easy for kids to decide what they would like to order (Notice how she didn't order pancakes?). They also have several chickens scattered around the restaurant (statues!) which excites my poultry loving kid. She loves to count them and make up stories about what they are doing.

Cost-wise it was still pricey. The coffee was not included in the price and the kids meal cost more than adult meals at most restaurants. Our total bill was around $35

Children's Chocolate Brioche French Toast

Ham and Swiss Omelette

Vegetable skillet with an egg and fruit
 
Toast Rating
 
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Cora's (Ottawa) on Urbanspoon