Showing posts with label Breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Breakfast. Show all posts

Patisserie Sebastien (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, September 30, 2017 by

From the outside, Patisserie Sebastien, a neighbourhood French bakery, doesn’t seem too Parisian. However, once you open the oversized door (perfect for strollers and assisted walkers), the smell of tantalizing buttery pastries and comforting espresso mixed with milk instantly greets you.

Sebaastien’s is busy but not in an overwhelming manner: there’s always someone occupying the handful of tables situated around the windows but I’ve never had to wait. If you’re there for just a sweet and drink, a row of stools by the coffee bar entices you to stay and enjoy the concoctions in their full glory. In fact, I highly recommend you stop and eat the pastry there as certain ones are not nearly as magnificent once suffocated in a paper bag and left sitting around at home.

At the restaurant, the canale ($2.95) has a wonderfully caramelized crust and airy sweet cakey custard centre… the ideal two bites of sweetness with a hot frothy cappuccino. Once they’re brought home and especially if they’re left overnight, they’re still good but becomes chewy.


Go early on Saturday for your best chance at getting one of their French doughnuts ($2.95). Even then, sometimes they can quickly run out when families run in to grab a dozen for the cottage and there won’t be another batch on Sunday. Sebastien’s take on a cronut, these doughnuts are sinfully delicious with layers of flaky buttery pastry with a crispy sugary crust. By far my favourite doughnuts in the city.


Their butter croissant ($2.25) incorporates the same airy dough but really needs some condiments as it’s not really flavourful. For those who like croissant sandwiches, this is ideal for stuffing with cheese, vegetables, and meat. Similarly, the chocolate croissant ($2.50) is not nearly decadent enough. With only two slivers of chocolate along the middle of the pastry, you don’t always get some with each bite – if there was a bit drizzled on top the pastry would be better.


I prefer the apple Danish ($3.10), topped with numerous thin apple slices and a sweet earthy almond paste underneath. This is a pastry you generally can’t find everywhere else.


For a light lunch, Sebastien also offers sandwiches, soups, and quiches. The baguette used as the sandwich’s base is delicious – soft, chewy, and has a lovely bread aroma; it’s a crusty bread that’s not hard so you won’t have the jagged shards that can cut your mouth.

Meanwhile, the sandwiches’ fillings can be improved. The Parisian ($9.50; half order pictured below as they thoughtfully split it for us) uses French style ham, gruyere and mustard. Nothing is strong enough so the flavours sort of just meld together: the ham isn’t smoked and the gruyere also fairly mild. The only saving grace is the lovely mustardy creamy vinaigrette on the salad … if devil's egg can be made into a dressing.

The legume sandwich ($9.50) could be good if the eggplant was hot. Maybe it’s me, but biting into a bun and being greeted by an ice-cold vegetable is a letdown, no matter how creamy the goat cheese.


Sebastien’s French onion soup ($8.95) has all the elements to satisfy without the guilt factor. In lieu of the cap of cheese and bread, a few slices of gruyere is laid on top so it slowly melts without leaving a pool of oil. Baguette croutons are served on the side so you can add them gradually to the soup to help retain some crispiness. Given the accompaniments are lighter, the broth gets a chance to stand out - it’s not overly salty so you can enjoy the sweet onions.


Of all the brunch dishes, my favourite is their individual quiches – combining a bite of flaky crust and savoury egg with each bite. Their quiche Lorraine ($9.50) incorporates plenty of ham and cheese so is flavourful and creates nice gooey bites with caramelized onion for sweetness. The quiche’s crust is flakey but still light enough to not feel heavy, especially when balanced with the same mustardy aioli vinaigrette salad that’s served with sandwiches.


What I like most about Patisserie Sebastien is that there really is a Sebastien. When it’s busy, he’s generally in the kitchen, preparing the baked goods, sandwich, quiche, and soup orders. Once in a while, he’ll make his appearance in the dining room, bringing over the food in a quiet non-opposing manner. It’s impressive the number of confections one person can create for a bakery. Splitting a soup and French doughnut with my own quiche, that’s my go-to weekend lunch treat. 



Overall mark - 8 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 3306 Yonge Street


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
Patisserie Sebastien Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


One Kitchen has you covered for breakfast

Posted on Tuesday, March 07, 2017 by

Let’s be honest, I’m LAZY when it comes to breakfast. Nevertheless, since it’s the “most important meal of the day”, I’ll eat breakfast, but what I consume is pretty routine and boring: on weekdays a staple of peanut butter toast or cereal (with berries thrown in on occasion). On weekends my effort goes up a bit – scrambled eggs or pancakes sometimes make their rounds. Don’t get me wrong, I love breakfast dishes! But, it takes a while to get my creative juices flowing, so throwing together an extravagant meal first thing in the morning is difficult.

Having used One Kitchen for dinner, I was excited to hear they now offer breakfast options providing you a hearty start to the morning without all the prep work. With a couple dishes offered weekly, I tried their sweet and savoury selection.

Admittedly, I’ve only made pancakes with powdered mix from a box. So, when One Kitchen’s recipe called for vinegar, I was thoroughly confused. Even so, I followed directions and the cappuccino pancakes turned out fluffy and cakelike. Much more aromatic than my typical pancakes (thanks to the espresso powder and egg added to the batter), so they didn’t rely solely on the sauce for flavour. In this case, rather than maple syrup, a dulce de leche glaze was included, and was thinned out with milk so it didn’t become overly sweet (great if you’re not into overly sugary foods first thing in the morning).


Meanwhile the huevos rancheros were so filling that we took the meal for two and turned it into four. Having had the dish on a number of occasions, I expected it to be harder to prepare. However, the bean mixture was quick to whip up, the three ingredient salsa not much harder, so what ended up taking the most effort was frying the eggs without breaking them. I would have liked the beans a little saucier (so would suggest thinning it out with some water or stock), but it was still a great rendition of the Mexican staple.    


Soon they will have smoothie options for those who prefer to drink their meals. I’m normally not a liquid diet fan … there’s something about biting and chewing something that’s oh so satisfying. But, having tried the berry smoothie it’s surprisingly satisfying. The morning I had the concoction, it wasn’t until around 11:45 my stomach started warning me to get ready for lunch. Maybe it’s the thicker Greek yoghurt or chia seeds that gets added, but the smoothie ends up being fairly thick and has a chewable quality to it.


If you’ve never heard of One Kitchen, they’re a Canadian meal-kit delivery company that sends weekly customizable boxes containing all the ingredients (and recipes) you’ll need to prepare meals. You can choose between two or four people plans with three to five recipes – the more you purchase the cheaper it gets: for two people it ranges from $10.49 - $11.49 per serving, while for four people it drops to $9.49 - $10.49. Although they can deliver every week, if you ever need to stop, just put your account on hold and nothing will get sent until you start up the account again. For a fuller account of their service, check out my dinner post.  
Now that One Kitchen has expanded their offerings to breakfast, it’s even more convenient for customers to feed their families (and even caters to those who like having breakfast at dinner). Intrigued? You can try it out for yourself by visiting their website, selecting any of the meal plans (including the largest) and using Gastroworld as the coupon code. You'll see the 40% applied off the subtotal.  Get cracking!

Disclaimer: The above meal was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide an honest opinion.

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

CLOSED: Little Fin now serves breakfast and they have a contest

Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 by
When it comes to a quick breakfast, food court establishments have generally been the go-to and sometimes only option for eaters. For those working or residing in the Toronto downtown core, you now have another choice: Little Fin is currently opened earlier and serving breakfast weekdays from 8-11am.

All are freshly made and in under ten minutes I was presented with a piping hot (Egg) White Wrapper ($5.50); all prepped to go should a dash to the office be in order. In my case, I chose to give myself a break and enjoy the wrap at Little Fin – they have a few tables and numerous bar stool seats in the store.


Wrapped in the well-grilled whole wheat tortilla was an egg white omelette, fresh spinach (normally kale) and a hash brown that added a great crunch. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting the “healthy” sounding breakfast to be very flavourful, but the layer of soft goat cheese and drizzle of slightly spicy sauce (it seems to be the same as what's on the po’boy) made the wrap delicious!  


It was a tough decision first thing in the morning. After seeing the chicken and waffles sandwich ($6.50) on Instagram, the thick piece of fried chicken with the waffles as the “bread” was calling to me. And I was really hungry so the the Ultimate Brek-Fin Sandwich ($7) would have also been nice: slices of peameal bacon combined with a fried egg, hash brown, cheese, avocado, tomato and lettuce on a toasted sesame bun.

Ultimate Brek-Fin Sandwich (courtesy of Little Fin)
Yet with a beach vacation around the corner, I refrained myself and was thoroughly satisfied with the egg white wrap. For those who’d like seafood for breakfast, Little Fin also offers a smoked salmon bagel ($6).

Smoked salmon bagel (courtesy of Little Fin)
Additionally, to celebrate the launch, Little Fin is running a contest:
  • Post a photo of your Little Fin breakfast
  • Use the hash tags #anyfinispossible and #finfanbrakfast and tag them in the photo
On April 8th they’ll select a winner to win free breakfast every Monday for a month! What a great way to beat the Monday blues and also try all four of their tasty sounding sandwiches.

 Disclaimer: The above breakfast wrap was complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide my honest opinion - for you and the restaurant's sakes.

How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 4 Temperance Street

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:

Little Fin Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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