| Product: |
Cora's Breakfast & Lunch (Toronto) |
| Date: |
12.07.06 (4636 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: superb menu, great waffles, good service
Disadvantages: outside patio, poor French toast on our visit
Finding a decent breakfast in Toronto proved to be a much more difficult task than we had imagined. Unlike New York City, where diners of every variety are placed every couple of blocks, Toronto simply did not seem to have the same selection of eateries. Slightly bored with what was on offer at our hotel, we were keen to try Cora's, a place that was highly recommended by the tour guide that showed us around the city on our very first day.
Located in Blue Jay's Way, close to the Front Street intersection, the establishment is easily accessible to those with hotels near the CN Tower. However, it is certainly worth walking 20-30 minutes to have breakfast here. Frequented by both tourists and locals alike, there is usually a queue in front of the restaurant during peak hours - especially on weekends. This queue does move fairly quickly - and we never had to wait more than ten minutes for a table. At least its popularity vouches for the greatness of the food and menu of a place that looks slightly tacky with its bright yellow and green design and happy smiley sun trade mark.
***History***
Cora Mussely Tsouflidou, the founder of Cora's restaurants, was born in Caplan, a little village in the Gaspé peninsula. Cora always had a passion for fine art, but her father wanted her to become a secretary. Fate intervened in Cora's life. Although she enrolled in college to pursue her father's dreams rather than her own, she soon discovered that she was pregnant with her first child and quit college during her final year to take care of her family. She soon had two other children and decided to become a full-time mother.
Cora's husband left her ten years later, leaving Cora a single mother with three children to support. Cora worked extremely hard as a hostess in a well-known Montreal restaurant, learning the trade and climbing the ladder all the way to manager and junior partner. In 1986, Cora suffered a burn-out and had to resign from her position and sell all her shares.
In May 1987, Cora bought a little snack-bar in Montreal. Within only a few months, Cora transformed the snack bar into a breakfast restaurant, serving traditional foods such as pancakes, omelettes, French toast and cereal - but combining this with healthier breakfast options as well. Over the years, Cora created over 100 different breakfast dishes, which still appear on the menu today.
Cora's soon expanded with the opening of a second restaurant in 1990, which was quickly followed by five more restaurants. In 1993, Cora explored franchising options - and eversince then her breakfast restaurants have just been spreading across Canada. Today there are some 65 restaurants stretching all the way from the East Coast to the West Coast. In French Canada her restaurants are known as "Chez Cora", in English-speaking Canada simply as "Cora's".
***Ambience and decor***
During the summer months, Cora's does open up it's patio, which I personally found rather unattractive - as it is adjacent to a busy road. In addition, there was a lot of construction work going on while we were there. Even in the absence of such nuisance, the patio would make diners feel rather exposed, as for some the queue waiting to get in would line up right next to your table and the people in the queue are ultimately tempted to stare at your plates of food to make a selection for their own breakfast or lunch.
The inside of the restaurant is rather crowded - trying to cram in as many people as possible. There are mostly normal tables - only a couple of booths to the right-hand side of the diner. The walls are decorated with child-like paintings and words that describe the food on the menu - something that is apparently the signature of her restaurants.
***The menu***
The menu at Cora's is so colourful with all the pictures of delicious breakfast foods, that it is difficult not to find it inviting. But the mouth-watering pictures do make the process of selection a lot more difficult. The menu has everything your heart desires - both in traditional and not-so-traditional form. Waffles, pancakes, omelettes, French toast, crepes and eggs of every kind form the bulk of the menu. One of Cora's trade marks is the mix of interesting ingredients - waffles are served with custard, French toast can be made with raisin bread and crepes can be filled with delights such as cream cheese and raspberries. Healthier options include yoghurt and granola - as well as massive fruit platters. When visiting, make sure you try one of the fruit smoothies or juices - always fresh and delightful. If you cannot decide between sweet and savoury - you can always have your waffle and order a side of bacon or sausage with this.
***Our experience***
We went to Cora's three times during our stay - and our first visit was certainly the best. We were seated almost immediately and supplied with our menus.
It was certainly not easy to select from the wealth of items on display - but the most attractive-looking item on the menu - and actually the most tasty item - was the waffle with a mountain of fruit and custard. Very helpfully, our waiter asked us whether we had been to Cora's before and when we said that this was our first visit, he explained that some people found the amount of custard on the waffle to sickening and offered to put it into a side dish instead. Much to our relief, we went with his recommendation.
We each ordered a mango and banana smoothie - which sounded delicious and indeed was. What I did not realise when I ordered it, however, was that this particular smoothie is made with yoghurt. Given its size, it actually is a meal in itself. The freshness of the ingredients really comes through in the taste - although I am certain they make the smoothie extra sweet by adding sugar to the mix. The presentation of this lovely concoction is much enhanced by a piece of pineapple lovingly placed on the rim, making you forget for a moment that you are actually on a city break - not a tropical island.
When Cora's promises a mountain of fruit - this is indeed what it is. A mountain, not a hill. The variety is plentiful - cantaloupe, melon, bananas, strawberries, grapes and pineapple are some of the delights I remember topping my waffle and making it invisible. The natural fruit juices seep right through to the waffle, making it soft and spongy rather than crispy, and averting any need for additional sweeteners, such as maple syrup or indeed the generous helping of custard that arrived at our table. I found myself picking off the fruit first - then putting three or four tiny spoons of custard on my waffle to finish off the delightful experience.
On our second visit to Cora's, my other half simply could not wait to have the mango and banana smoothie again. However, having experienced how filling this drink was, I decided to opt for a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice instead. This was sweet, delicious, with just the right amount of pulp in it and served at the right temperature. I often find that freshly squeezed orange juice is served at room temperature or warmer, which takes away from much of the enjoyment.
Although it was breakfast time, this time we opted for a "Banana Blast", a crepe with chocolate hazelnut spread, bananas and whipped cream. What arrived at our table could only rightly be described as a monstrosity - I had never seen a crepe that size in my entire life. It was served on a plate the size of a serving platter for a large turkey. For a chocoholic who also loves bananas, this is certainly a must-have, the combination of flavours simply explodes in your mouth. My fiance, however, was not to impressed with the selection. From his point of view, the amount of chocolate spread was simply too much and too sickening - and he clearly struggled with the two large bananas in the middle of the crepe. I have the feeling that my crepe had less chocolate spread on it.
To offset the sweetness of the chocolate banana crepe, we ordered a couple of cups of tea. The teabags served are of the cheapest variety, so if you are a PG Tips fan, you will be alright. As Earl Grey tea lovers, we did not find it special - and the hot water is served in an awkward carafe from which it is very difficult to pour without burning your fingers.
Sadly, our third experience at Cora's started off on a bad footing. We had to wait in the queue for a while - and the man who showed us our table looked filthy, with grease stains down his shirt. He also broke out into a real bad cough, directly facing us, which is all kind of off-putting when you are actually about to indulge in a feast.
It was only on this visit that I discovered that Cora's offers special smoothies without yoghurt, which changes from time to time. The special smoothie is made with four different types of fruit - and in my case included mangoes, bananas, oranges and raspberries - certainly right up my alley. This smoothie tasted all natural - and I did not think that there was much, if any, extra sugar added to it.
This time we opted for the French toast with a mountain of fruit. Unlike during our previous visits, we had to wait for absolutely ages for the meal to arrive. Compared to the mountain of fruit that came with the waffle we ordered on our visit, the fruit appeared more like a molehill. Maybe they ran out of fruit? In fact, the amount of food on our plates was not exactly impressive either. When we dug into our food, we realised why the food had been delayed - it probably was the waiter who forgot it at the counter. The French toast was simply dry and cold and tasted of day-old bread with a hint of cinnamon. We simply ate it because we were hungry - but really had little enjoyment. My fiance had ordered some sausage as a side - and he found this so disappointing that he let most of it return to the kitchen untouched. On the other hand, the bacon I chose was crispy and delicious - simply irresistible. This final experience also put us off having our final breakfast here - as we just did not want to leave on a disappointing note.
***Prices and payment***
At Cora's, you pay on your way out rather than paying the waiter directly, which is probably done to speed up the process. However, it makes tipping extremely difficult. We felt horrible for not tipping - but we somehow did not want to leave change on the table, being that it is a crowded establishment and during busy periods people are literally seated in your place the minute you get up and leave.
For two breakfasts and two smoothies or juices, we always came away paying less than CAD$ 35 (approximately £17.50) for two people - a real bargain, as you are unlikely to require another large meal before dinner if you filled up here.
***The verdict***
Overall, I would strongly recommend you visit Cora's at least once. It is certainly worth having the waffle and trying one of their smoothies. The service is generally quick and efficient - and you should not hesitate to ask your waiter for advice on the menu if you are unsure about anything. They are more than happy to assist if you have to make decisions such as whether to have the custard on the side or on top of the waffle. Just steer clear from the French toast - but if you do decide to take the risk and have a better experience than we did, let me know. I'd certainly take the risk again.
***Further information***
www.chezcora.com
Summary: A must-visit restaurant for a superb breakfast, brunch or lunch.
|
Last comment:
 |
Bistro - 08.09.06 I've hunger pangs in my tummy now, thanks to those descriptions. Not for the French toast though. xx |
View all
10
comments
|
