breakfast blogger

It was too frikken cold to go out last weekend so I decided to make something unique. I offer you, Bacon Pancakes:

I put down strips of pancake batter and then placed bacon which I had prepared earlier on each strip.

Flip!

Oh my, I’m gunna enjoy this:

Bacon and butter.. together at last. Homer Simpson would be proud.

A couple of weeks ago I got a chance to try out the bamboo steamers that I got for Christmas. I picked up some frozen Dim Sum the day before at a market on Somerset between Breezehill and Bayswater. I can’t remember the name of the place off the top of my head but they have an impressive collection of Asian food.

Someday I’ll make my own, but not today.

We were pretty impressed with most of what we got. The BBQ Pork Buns plumped up verrrry nicely:

Here’s some Har Gow, pork Shu Mai and some seafood thingies:

Not quite as good as The Great Wall here in Ottawa or the Kam Fung in Montreal, but still a treat to have Dim Sum at home! Most of it was ready in 10 to 15 minutes, but the sticky rice took quite a bit longer.

A few things to remember if you try this: put parchment paper under Dim Sum that doesn’t have some already and don’t let your wok run dry!

A couple of weeks ago I formed a small breakfast party and headed out with some notes on a scrap of paper with a list of new places to try in Ottawa. The first place we tried was closed for the holidays so we tried the next one, Caffé Zucchero on Queen Street corner Lyon in downtown Ottawa:

Great success! But we found out we were too late for their breakfast menu when we went in at a little after 11. :(

But after looking at the menu we found something perfect:

Turns out we all ordered the #2:

And going in for a fly-by:

Into my tummy you go.

Booya.

Very yummy indeed..

First of all, I’d like to wish everyone a happy new year! It’s been a while since I’ve updated, but it’s not because I haven’t been going out for breakfast. I’ve got a few saved up that I’ll be posting soon.

Last Saturday was really sunny but cold.. a refreshing change from the weird warm weather we’ve been having around here lately. The Snug Pub is right next to the Heart and Crown on Parent Avenue in the Byward Market (the link shows the location in Google Maps, however it’s off.. it’s a bit closer to Clarence Street).

It’s pretty dark and cozy in the pub, but I managed to find a table where the sun was peeking through the window. Perfect for pictures!

I ordered the classic and relaxed with a Journal de Montreal and a coffee while the boys in the pub watched football (soccer) on the big screen.

Yum. One more shot, this time a little closer:

Again, yum.

Here’s the Christmas breakfast I had at my folk’s place:

Super yummy eggs Benedict! Last year’s breakfast was really good too!

And here are some fine words from Bob and Doug McKenzie:

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Eight comic books
Seven packs of smokes
Six packs of two-fours
Five golden tuques..
Four pounds of back bacon
Three french toasts
Two turtlenecks
And a beer (in a tree)

After seeing that Café Diana closed its doors on rue Montcalm in Hull, I was wondering if some establishment nearby would take its place. Sure enough, one of my favourite restaurants in the area has taken up to the task with style.

Le Twist at 88 rue Montacalm (map) started to do weekend breakfasts in late November and I’ve been there three times since. They are famous around here for their yummy burgers and I was eager to see how they would do with breakfast.

I found out about Le Twist doing breakfasts after I saw a small flyer on my windshield after doing some groceries at the IGA in town a few weeks ago. I was pretty pumped up about checking it out. I headed out on foot the Saturday after that and stopped into a local dep (see the first urban dictionary entry on what a “dep” is here) to pick up a Journal de Montreal. Once there, I found it almost empty and took a spot near a window so I could get good pictures.

As you can tell from above, I ordered the eggs Benedict.. not shown is the side order of toast for the mopping up exercise after eating this kinda dish.

Most of their breakfasts come with a side of salad which is refreshing change from what I’m used to. Not sure if I like it, but it is different.

On my next visit I forgot my camera. I kicked myself. Ouch. Le Twist was still pretty empty, but a bit busier that time..

The pic above is from last weekend. It’s a Croissant croque - madame and it was yummy!

A few days after my wedding I was in Montreal with my new wife.. and we tried out La grand-mère poule at 2500 Beaubien East.

Since I’m not in Montreal too often these days, when I saw the Saint Viateur on the menu, I couldn’t help myself. From the menu: “2 oeufs pochés et bacon sur bagel, nappés de sauce hollandaise ou carbonara”

In other words, 2 eggs poached eggs on Saint Viateur bagel halves with bacon, covered in either hollandaise or carbonara sauce. It comes with hot sugared apple slices and fresh fruit with fried grated potatoes. Oh my:

Super Yummy. $9.95

Saint Viateur makes the best bagels in the world and I was a lucky boy to have lived a block away from there for a few years.

Feel free to comment if you think otherwise.

I was off work last Monday and took advantage of that by checking out a place I heard was always busy. Ada’s Diner is on Bank on the corner of Argyle near Catherine.

When I went in it was pretty clear why the spot tends to be busy.. it’s small! The waitress was friendly and let me choose a spot to sit. I grabbed a table near the front window (more natural light = better pictures) and studied the menu for a bit while sipping on a coffee:

The Pancake Sandwich caught my eye right away. Bacon and eggs between two pancakes plus a side of potato pancakes. Yes please.

This may not look like much from the outside, but once you dig in, you’re in for a treat:

Very yummy. The potato patties were really good too. My one regret was not trying the fresh-squeezed OJ.. ah well, next time. T’was $10.80 before tip and after taxes.

Last Sunday I was devoted to finding a new place on Elgin street to try out, even driving over on a spare tire. I parked my crippled car, went to a convenience store to grab a paper and walked down Elgin keeping an eye out for a new spot. As I passed Woody’s, I was drawn by a description of a breakfast special written on the board outside: Veggie-omelet stuffed crepes with hollandaise sauce. I couldn’t resist and went in to try it out.

Yummy.

So I failed at finding a new place on Elgin that I hadn’t covered before, but was still quite satisfied with my morning yummies. My last visit to Woody’s was good too.

$10.95, coffee extra.

BB is one year old today!

Yep, it’s been one year since we’ve started to bring you breakfast goodness. In celebration, I give you this:

Gather up these bad boys..

Maple Syrup
Butter
12 slices of white bread
6 eggs

Fire up the oven at 410 F.

Grab a muffin pan and butter it up.

Combine some butter and maple syrup in a saucepan at low heat.. try 2 tablespoons of each.. just enough to coat the bread.

Un-crust the bread slices. Take two slices and place them diagonally on top of each other. The idea here is to create more area. Flatten them with your hands or rolling device.

Paint some of the maple-butter goodness on to the bread and then work it into a cup of the muffin pan.

Do it again 5 more times.

Then crack them eggs into each cup and dress ‘em up with some pepper or whatever floats your boat.

From the side:

Stick that pan in the oven for 15 minutes or more.. you wanna make sure those eggs set up real nice so they look a bit like like this:

Ignore the burnt crust, trust me, these ‘lil suckers are to die for..

Cheers!

Super special thanks to Betsy for the recipe!