The Waffle

After a night of baseball, which included an encounter with Kelly Gruber and Rance Milliniks at Arriba (which incidentally was not broadcasting baseball but hockey games), I was in charge of finding a location for a breakfast and recovery meal.  Thankfully, I had brought along my CheapEats Toronto book.

Near the Skydome, there was not a lot of recommendations.  One caught my eye immediately though, the Avenue Open Kitchen on Camden Street in the Entertainment District.  It caught my eye for the location (near Queen and Spadina) and for the prices listed ($3.95 for a breakfast plate before 11 am); and it was listed as a “greasy spoon”.

And so we ended up there.

Classic diner environment, a long and narrow room, with stools by the open kitchen and small booths by the wall, an old fridge filled with pop, newspaper clippings and old pictures hanging everywhere.  The chef is one of the owners - his face is on a couple of the photos, although he did look younger and therefore probably was when they were taken.

Cheese omelette was the way to go for the Ladies.  Great fake cheesiness was inside this nicely cooked omelette, and the ladies looked content and ate with appetite.

For my part, I had to go with the peameal bacon and scrambled eggs special.  The eggs were impressive.  Usually, in establisments of this calibre, the eggs are overcooked and dry.  Not the case here, they were great, smooth and very tasty.  Two big pieces of bacon came with, and those were just great.  Peameal is not exactly a fine cut of meat, but it was perfect to get me started for the day.

As for the home fries, now these were a real treat.  Real potatoes, nicely grilled on the plaque, with bits of onions - no deep frying, no freezing, no breading - they were fantastic.  On the negative side, the bread was not great and had too much margarine spreaded on them.

Scott read the news clipping on the wall.  A very complimentary review, claiming that “what you may not realize is that there’s a fine art to making food that tastes so good but makes you feel so bad (physically and mentally). They then proceeded to highly recommend they $6 chicken fingers and fries combo - now a little over $7.  So no matter that it was only 10 am, Scott ordered the said chicken fingers.  And he was not disappointed:  thick, real chicken filet, breaded and sizzled perfectly.

Is there something more traditional in Quebec than a spring visit to a Sugar Shack?  I don’t think so.

A folkloric atmosphere, the comforting warmth of a wood stove, and the odours, from the burning logs, from the wood furniture, and especially the aromas from the kitchen.

There are a few cabane à sucre in the National Capital Region, and this time, la Sucrerie du Terroir drew the lucky number, and 6 of us plus a baby headed over, on a sunny springy morning.

Located in Val-des-Monts, La Sucrerie du Terroir is very traditional, smaller than most shacks, making it a very cozy place. The staff was very friendly, and were wearing traditional costumes.  Although they do not sell booze,  you can bring your own.

First came the French Toast.  

A classic appetizer.

Nothing fancy, just some thick white bread soaked in eggs and milk and fried. 

Covered with maple syrup, they sure started our meal the right way.

All you can eat.