It was more than Okay at Okay Okay diner...

Eggs Benedict on Hashbrowns... who woulda' thunk?  Hidden in Leslieville, Okay Okay diner (the cute little sign says Okay 2 like in math Okay squared, ha!)  can be discovered at 1128 Queen St. E.  The brunch fare is inventive and tasty and available every day of the week with Perfect Pancakes and Elvis French Toast (banana and peanut butter.. mmmmm)  Surrounded by Sexy Maman and The Baby Mama we dined in the sun and chatted a storm.  Our server was pleasant and super kind with the water and the baby in tow and our meal came promptly.  I found the hashbrown served as a nice crunch to the perfectly poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.  Although other reviews condemn the use of the No Frills fried hashbrown variety, I find it a refreshing twist and cutely creative.  Hipsters Queen Street over fawn at this place for its retro restored vibe and fun atmosphere.  This is not a "come as you are casual because I don't give a damn" pretentious outfit as unfortunately some places are becoming.  This is a "come as casual and we'll serve some decent food" outfit... sounds super okay to me.

Eggs Benedict with Spinach (around 10)  mmmmmm....

Relaxed and refreshed at Rosewater...

The Rosewater Supper Club has been this personal elusive dining experience that I've always wanted to savour, yet woe is me, oh teacher salary that can only afford fine dining with "icious" as its suffix... I did a little stint (nothing illegal, relax) and received a gift certificate to dine at this fare establishment, with Heather in tow whose brainchild this blog is, we entered the Rosewater tucked in on 19 Toronto Street at King and Victoria.

Large water features and an intimately cushioned bar area seduces you with its elegant and contemporary vibe that continues on into the large dining hall with cathedral height ceilings. If you look up you can see a sculpted and decorated mount illuminated by a suspended half-domed marble based lit from the bottom. Amidst the backdrop of a golden mural of an Asian-inspired peacock, the finely dressed diners are seated on dark periwinkle wood chairs and matching tables. Large silver booths, resembling giant headboards seem to denote booth seating and spotted the far walls.

French Onion Soup and Brie Fondue (yes, it is very large...excellent) (12)

Fresh tomatoes and a generous dollop of buffalo mozarella. (16)

JP our fantastic server, attentive and helpful at the ready guided us through the menu as we decided to start on the French Onion Soup with Brie Fondue, served separately and poured to the side with veal pieces in a veal broth. The onions were sweet and perfectly textured against the cream of the brie and the gruyere broiled on top. As Heather put it, it's "French Onion Stew", rich, earthy and homey. I had a refreshing heirloom tomato salad with buffalo mozarella. Fresh, fresh, fresh! The hint of salt really brought out the taste of the subtle white goodness.

Cornish hen on grilled vegetables and rich goat cheese gnocchi with mysterious plate licking dark sauce. (25)

Seared salmon on grilled vegetables and potato rosti with mysterious plate licking white sauce. (28)

The mains were cornish hen on goat cheese gnocchi in this mysterious sauce that if socially permissible in such an establishment, Heather would have surely licked the plate clean as I looked forward to the seared salmon with prosciutto threads on potato and onion rosti and grilled vegetables in yet another mysterious lighter sauce. Although the prosciutto went missing, yes, like Heather, licking the plate was not optional. Damn.

Dessert art..... gorgeously gorging on this two seconds after this shot was taken. (all desserts 9)

To finish the feast we settled on a Molten Tower cake made from scratch and baked upon request with a waiting time of 17-20 minutes, (seventeen minutes? so precise... a Big Mac comes onto my cafeteria tray in about 3) Served with a dollop of fresh sweet cream, berries, cut oranges and a mysterious orange berry that only appears at these ritzy places (reminiscent of ornaments on wreaths made at Lewiscraft) we were uber satisfied as this supper was succulent, sweet and full of sassy conversation and a sweet and daring surprise on a receipt at the end!

Oh la la!  Bon appetit!

Urbanspoon Rocks!

Many thanks to those who have been reading the blog as of late. Please feel free to post comments, critiques, thoughts, funny moments or jokes. They are always more than welcome, from one food lover to another xp You are more than welcome to contact me at: imgutom@gmail.com

Take care and happy eating!