Brunch and Beyond

I seem to be doing brunch a lot lately.

It’s winter, and weekend mornings do not yet lead naturally to coffee on the back porch or walks in the park. It’s February, and we need our friends, the comfort of steaming plates of eggy things, and the morning light pouring in.

My sister The TV Gal’s visit was as good an occasion as any to meet friends for brunch at my local brunch spot, Mitzi’s on College.

Mitzi’s, a venerable woman-owned institution with (now) three outlets in the west end of Toronto, has always been a go-to place for a queer-friendly delicious and innovative brunch.

I’d say this joint still has a few wrinkles to work out. I’ve been three times and while the food is tasty, the service and the prices are not. Arriving, you stand at the door waiting to be seated, whilst ignored by staff chatting in the back. You seat yourself, worried you’ll be ousted. (A sign saying Seat Yourself would do the trick). If you arrive during peak hours you’ll be waiting in line or in the limited wait room seating. You’ll ask if you can leave your cel number and go for a coffee and you’ll be told quite authoritatively that that is not an option.

But this time we knew to seat ourselves and chose a table in front bathed in sunlight. I had poached eggs on cornbread with spicy sauce, sour cream, homefries and sourdough toast. Barely warm, verging on cold. I don’t do cold eggs and certainly not for $13.75. The server cheerfully took them away and returned the plate only slightly less cold than before. I gave up on heat and joined the much more important conversation swirling around the table: our debrief of the previous night’s party. Eggs were a little underpoached, the sauce delicious, and the combo of cornbread and potatoes a little too sweet for my liking despite the addition of seasoned sour cream.

It was a glorious unseasonably warm day, so TV Gal and I ditched our plans for a theatre matinee and joined the Librarian and The Hair Dude for a stroll at The Beach.

TV Gal took a million photos like she always does. Hair Dude and Librarian cuddled on a bench as we poked around on the rocks. People held their faces up to the sun, like pilgrims awaiting a blessing: the beginning of the end of the long, long journey through winter.