Iliana & Sergey's Palette: breakfast

http://destingo.ca/

Once in a while, we try to get together for breakfast with Ma Cherie before work. Our schedules are not perfectly aligned, so we plan this in advance. What is not usually planned is the place we want to go to. This time we decided to simply walk Queen St. West from Bathurst until we see something worthwhile. Initial idea was Chococrepe, but we soon found out that they do not open until later. Wondering west, we walked to R2 (another café on the strip) - large window opened and some folks inside - looked welcoming. Upon entering, we were not as sure anymore - there were no breakfast items really. When asked for a recommendation, the pointed across the street to a newly opened place. A very honest guy and we thank him for that!

APPEARANCE
massive bottle, chilled
wine is clear, light yellow in color

The large (very large by Queen St. West means) patio was empty at 8 am. Really, the whole place was empty… We enjoyed being the only customers. The place looked exquisite in a modern way. There were rustic decorative elements all inside – purposely exposed concrete combined with large LCD screens and AC pipes in the open. Maybe a touch too modern for Queen St. West with its “hipster-inspired” interiors. Nonetheless, I would personally take exposed concrete over rotting and greased-though wood we encountered in some other spots recently. At any rate, it looked upscale and King-St-West-like.

NOSE
light, citrusy, clean
Our waitress, who we chatted up later, turned out to also be the owner – a very pleasant lady with (I venture a guess here) mixed Italian - Eastern European accent. She mentioned that there is another location in Yorkville, which made sense considering the somewhat upscale look and feel. The menu was printed on beige recycled stock with a typewriter style font – going for a rustic look. The two pages were stapled together and also attached with a mini clothing pin. Items are organized in paragraphs, some aligned left and others right. We were pleasantly surprised with their prices - very down-to-earth and reasonable. The “Farm to the Fork” section of the menu is also very appealing highlighting the socially responsible nature of the restaurant.

SWIRL
citrus disappears, more earthy, herby smells come through

The street was slowly getting busier as we discussed our options on the sharp sunrise-light patio. We were surrounded by flowers and palm trees – it made us feel rather European. Our waitress let us have a bit too much time before checking on us, but when she came over we were definitely pleased with her. We might have also been a bit anxious as we did have a timeframe to keep this experience in. We asked for their Saltimboo eggs dish as well as their Buckweat Pancakes, from the Farm to the Fork section.

PALATE
dry, vibrant mouth-feel, with a sharp herb-veggie smell; noticing a healthy 100cal label
The Saltimboo dish looked beautifully and smelled very herb-heavy for a breakfast. It sure opened Ma Cherie’s eyes for a non-coffee drinker. It consisted of baked frittata style eggs, proscutto, sage, vine tomatoes, basil hollandaise, arugula with choice of salas or fries.

My buckwheat pancakes came with seasonal berries and maple syrup. Ma Cherie didn’t quite like the texture of them – the feel of chewing on fiber. They were super healthy, none-the-less, and came with some fresh antioxidants (berries).

FINISH
pleasant and fairly tangy aftertaste

Atmosphere wise – it is not quite a breakfast place. I’m not too sure why… Despite an oversized patio and a decent choice of morning fare, despite the pleasant quietness of Queen St W in the morning. Even despite this place being one of the only opened eateries in the morning. I think it is better suited for a trendy and upscale lunch or a lounge dinner. Maybe we are just too used to local wood-rotten and grease-covered-walls local breakfast joints and full of life and chattering, and Distinco just did not fit that image.

We should mention, it took us some time to figure out the name of this restaurant – no sign on the menu, we went back to find "destingo" in dark type, hidden under the eavestrough.

Overall.. a misplaced Sauvignon Blanc with a spirit of its own.

1.9.12

Three Coins Open Kitchen

A friend of mine asked me for a good family breakfast place in north GTA and I gladly did the research for her.

APPEARANCE
medium-deep plum, with ruby notes
It is up on the hill of Richmond Hill, in the central area, where it gets cute and cozy. From across the street what looks like a white wall of blinds welcomes you. Both me and cheri agreed that there is a laundry room feel to it. It was the triangular sign up on top that made us realize that is not the case.

NOSE
red berry, plum and cassis (a bit too diverse)

Inside, checkered and yellow walls, blue ceiling - quite a clash of colours for the morning, but relaxing to the eye following that bright white sign outside. In front of us - a long corridor with a bar-like area, facing the open kitchen grill and a girl telling us to sit where we wish. The place was packed and we didn't have much choice but to go towards the larger dining room, on the right side. It was rather busy and folks seemed to be a bit older, we both agreed that it felt like we are in some diner mid US. Posters of Marilyn Monroe and other of her era, including some decent cars, decorated the walls.

SWIRL
subtle oak, chocolate and anise
We got our menus, as were asked for tea and coffee. Skimming though the menu, I inquired about their smoothies. I was told that they are very good and that they are also out of them, as they didn't have milk. We found it silly that they couldn't go out and get a carton. Entertaining ourselves with the menu, Cheri couldn't help by notice their "Cream Chess" which I to inquire about.
(oh, yes, a typo)

Looking though their retro-flashy menu, it seems like a leaflet you get in the mail with pizza deals, except it was in the classic, plastic, double-fold pockets. Regardless of the visual overload, it was no doubt easy to navigate though. I had to try their benny which came with home fries, while cheri asked for their Western Omelette.
As we waited, I was surprised that there was no music playing, but soon enough It all clicked in my head. We noticed that each booth had something on their wall, (not the typical plasma tv), but an old-school juke box. That was probably the funnest part of this place.
We saw a couple leave so we quickly snatched their booth, but our seats were not left cold - a dad and his two kids quickly took our spots. The booth had a juke box, unlike our previous table, and was not right by the windows. Flipping though the oldies, we didn't have 25cents on us, so we asked our waitress a few times for a coin.

PALLETE
soft, well-balanced, tanins at the finish
My benny and his omelette arrived. We tasted them to the tune of the Beach Boys (Good Vibrations). We got a few smiles from people around. None else followed our juke box example, unfortunately. My Eggs Benedict was great - the bacon was substituted by lean English bacon, which they called ham. The hollandaise was great texture, not too buttery nor bland. The worst part of my plate were the home fries, they smelled like old grease. Totally not something I was gonna finish.
Cheri's Western Omlette was nothing out of the ordinary - green peppers, ham, onion and egg with a nice side of cucumbers and tomatoes. He though it was perhaps a tad too salty. We took our time finishing our dishes. Half of my benny really filled me up.

FINISH
leaving a pleasant mouthfeel
I have to admit, even though those blinds looked uninviting from the outside, we were more than glad they were there. That sunlight would have made us boil, as it was getting just a bit steamy with them down and the AC on.

Overall.. a decent Merlot (poor label at first glance, but quite worth it)