Ramona's Kitchen
Ramona's Kitchen serves up a mean brunch with some serious Instagrammability, thanks to tri-coloured potato sides. Head here for impeccable bennies, pancakes, French toast and even buckets of breakfast poutine.
Owner Carlo Carlucci tells me no one has as many menu items for brunch and there really is a Ramona Kouladji, with whom he runs the place.
A homey feel rings throughout the casual restaurant, an open kitchen taking up almost half of the long space.
The Brunch Burger ($14.99) is usually two three-ounce fresh beef patties, but Carlucci hooks us up with two four-ounce ones. All meat comes from Ontario’s VG Meats and the patties have a nice deeply coloured crust and juiciness from being pressed into the griddle.
It’s topped with crispy pancetta, rather than bacon or peameal, so you just get a little crunch in every bite, plus cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayo and a runny sunny-side-up egg: rich, beefy and gut-busting.
It's served with a side of ubiquitous tri-colour potatoes (Yukon, sweet and Chilean purple).
Banana Bread French Toast ($13.99) is made with slice slices of banana bread dipped in egg and fried on the griddle so they’re crisp on the outside and moist on the inside.
It’s topped with toasted walnuts and sliced banana and served with syrup and a mini jar of Nutella.
Southwestern Eggs Benedict is a special, perfectly poached eggs topping sliced avocado and sweet potato “toast,” all smothered in a perfectly silky and rich yet acidic hollandaise that goes well with a smoky chipotle aioli.
We get this with a hearty salad on the side, greens topped with tomato and sharp cheese.
Breakfast poutine ($13.99) gives the tri-colour potatoes, heavenly poached eggs, and hollandaise that are all so amazing here their starring moment.
Bound together by the powerful handshake of molten cheese curds, the dish stays hot and gooey thanks to the bucket it’s served in.
Shakes ($5.99) come in flavours like espresso and Nutella, thick, almost chunky, the espresso full of coffee flavour and the Nutella nicely hazelnutty. They’re also licensed so you can grab a beer with your burger or get your mimosa on at brunch.
Watch out for more locations of this greasy spoon that seems to be constantly gaining in popularity, and head here the next time you’re craving the classics.
Hector Vasquez