NEW: L'eat

Location:

410 Adelaide St W

www.leatcatering.com/home.htm

In the cursed location where Zimbel's Cafe and before that,  Mosaic used to be, L'eat Express is the newest addition to the building beside Toronto School of Art.  Herbal Infusions is faring quite well so far, so maybe there is hope for L'eat (such a difficult name to wrap my head around.  Sometimes I think "teat", wrongly, of course).

I hear the brownies are amazing, but I walked by earlier today and the door was locked!  Will try again in a bit and keep you posted.

** So went back with some co-workers but they were still closed.  Someone did inform us that they were open this morning for a training session which included free pastries and plan to open again later this afternoon for another training session.  We were told they'll be open again tomorrow, so fingers crossed!

*** Went back on Friday and they were OPEN!  Found out a few things. 

Most importantly it's pronounced "ELITE", literally pronounce the letter "L" and the word "EAT".  I feel so much better, now. 



Owned by Tony Loschiavo with hand-crafted  goodies and gourmet meals made by Chefs Christopher Palik and Eric Walker, L'eat Express looks promising, especially with their original full service catering business (started 1983) in full swing at their Bathurt location.  I DID try the brownie, and it did not disappoint.  Shared with several co-workers, it was a huge hit! 



The complimentary bran muffin and double chocolate fudge cookie I scored was equally as satisfying, although I have to admit the cookie can't compare to Le Gourmand's chocolate chip walnut cookie which still reigns supreme. 





The teas on hand are from Language of the Leaf, which I love and which Neeta Khanna had sent me a package of teas to review in 2009.  I've also heard great things  about Paese, the sister restaurant to L'eat on King St W.

 

 

I really hope L'eat Express does well in this district, it's such a beautiful space and after speaking to Christopher, Tony and Rahim about their vision for this location, it looks like it's got all the ingredients to being as successful as the original.

Open Monday - Saturday (7:30am - 7pm)

The Cupcake Shoppe

Location:

2417 Yonge Street, Toronto

www.thecupcakeshoppe.ca

Our friend had an engagement party and served up these gorgeous beauties from The Cupcake Shoppe!





Not only were they pretty, they were insanely good!  I heart.  A lot.

They're $2.50 a Cupcake or $20 for 6 Customized Cupcakes which is quite pricey.  And mini cupcakes have to be pre-ordered as well.   They're beautiful though, and a great idea for parties.  I love the petaled ones!

Stoney's

Location:

323 Kerr Street, Oakville

Cost: Sunday Brunch approx $9 per entree

After all the hoopla and hype over Stoney's; we finally made it for brunch on Sunday and I have to tell you...I am a little bit disappointed.

Okay, so you stand in line, make your order, get a number, pick up your own drinks, seat yourself and your food is brought to you. I get it guys, I get it. But I have to ask why.



Why must you make your own tea/coffee and gingerly navigate your way to a table through the throngs of seated patrons? Perhaps even spilling some hot tea on the way to the outdoor patio? I feel that if I have to make my own tea standing at the milk/sugar counter in a restaurant on a Sunday morning, I might as well have stayed at home and done the same. Likewise, having to clear dirty utensils from the table shouldn't be on my morning list of things to do...at a restaurant. And if you're already getting the food brought to your table; why don't they just take orders at the table?

Also, running out of soy milk/lactose free-milk is not really acceptable when you're only open from 9am to 3pm on Sunday.

Our meals took a very long time to arrive (and we came after the breakfast crowd) that by the time they did arrive our hot drinks were cold and there were no offers made for refills. And while the service is friendly, we still had to call out for clean utensils to our server as she walked away after plunking our plates down (without even a glance) and also requested salt and pepper which was forgotten until we asked a second time. We also had to return to the front counter to remind them about the forgotten banana bread we'd ordered (more on the taste of the banana bread later).

So, before you get your underpants in a knot, let me just say that I don't consider myself a brunch snob although I am somewhat of a French toast connoisseur having cooked variations of it myself since I was, maybe twelve, and with it usually being my sole order at breakfast/brunch places all over, I can confidently say this:

The French Toast at Stoney's is just...okay.

On the positive (or maybe for some, negative) side, it is massive. The presentation is nice and the price is good for that much French toast. The plate was literally stacked with three huge slabs of bread. I say bread because it was literally too thick for the eggy-ness to fully penetrate the bready centre.



I dislike cutting into French toast only to find dry bread staring back at me. Admittedly the coating of brown sugar and cinnamon was tasty, but it wasn't enough coating and the too few fruits (although I did like the surprise of star fruit) on top of the mountainous "slabic" toast and teeny cup of maple syrup on the side was simply unjustly proportioned to the bread. However, I will happily admit that the side of bacon I got was perfection, although it's hard to screw up strips of fried pork.



The frittata was good...I'm hugely into artichokes so that part was great. Ordering egg whites didn't make it any less greasy...(this coming from someone who ordered bacon on the side, I know) and the mixed greens salad might have been better with the dressing on the side, but I suppose we should have ordered it that way.



Lastly, having to brush away the wasps and flies at our table (even before the food came, likely because the table hadn't been cleaned before we sat down) we had to eat quickly when our food finally did arrive. Argh, certainly not very relaxing the way a Sunday brunch should be.

And that home-made banana bread ($2.50) I told you about earlier? Don't do it. Absolutely no banana taste and oily to the core. No nuts even! Possibly the worst banana bread ever (best banana bread is still the one from the road-side stall in Maui).



There you have it guys...Foodhogger's Stoney's experience.

Undoubtedly some people's favourite joint to brunch, but overall, I'm not a fan of the system they have there...too much work involved for a lazy Sunday morning. Perhaps I'd go again for a sandwich or pizza at lunch where their cafeteria system would work. It's a good thing it's in the 'burbs...a place like Stoney's wouldn't survive in the city on that sort of system. Fusaro's in Toronto also has a cafeteria style system, but it's during the week and for lunch...they know better for brunch on the weekend...it's full table service; just how people want to eat on a Sunday, otherwise what's different than cooking up some french toast at home?

Zimbel's Cafe

Location:

410 Adelaide Street West

In place of Mosaic, there now is Zimbel's Cafe! It must be hard for them to get everyone's attention being hidden away in such a quiet street as Adelaide especially with Timmy's on the other corner and Le Gourmand and Starbucks dominating the Richmond/Spadina area. However, I think business will pick up 'cause they're really good!

They've done a great job with the interior design - love the Eames furniture - and photography on the walls. They also are a catering company and cater all sorts of events from Weddings to Corporate Lunches to Film Sets and have been in the business since 1981.





(Above photo courtesy of Andrew Zimbel)

The teas are from Language of the Leaf and yummy (pricer than Le Gourmand though but it's loose-leaf and Le G is known to mix up my Earl Grey with Earl Grey Green tea and not have the water hot enough sometimes).



The food is tasty at Zimbel's, as well. From the muffins, croissants and the banana bread (with sunflower and cranberries = excellent!) to their lunch menu (I had the salad with grilled chicken once), it's all very fresh and good.

And the service, although still novice, is getting there.



Great place to try out instead of your usual coffee/tea train destination!

***My friend who recently tasted the "knee buckling" brownie had this to say about it:

"To classify its deliciousness and sugar power, I'd say it was a spectacular punch to the back of the head, kapow!" - Mack Carruthers