ladies who brunch

When the power of Facebook is used for the purposes of good (rather than evil, in the form of say, massive procrastination or album/wall post lurking), this is the kind of magic that you hope for.

I'd be hard pressed to imagine that our scrappy childhood group of best girlfriends, riding bikes into ravines and saving our allowances for hot lips from Macs Milk, would nearly two decades later be sitting in a lovely restaurant downtown, chatting about making each other mix tapes (in 1992, I might add) over a very grown up brunch.

For your Friend Finder button, Facebook, we salute you!

Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar was a great meeting spot, easy to get to for those coming in from out of town. We'd all tried meeting for a few casual dinners before, but have since decided that brunching, with all its Sunday lazy-day connotations, is definitely the way to go. (Carrie Bradshaw and the girls would be so proud!)

After hemming and hawing over the delicious sounding menu (your choice of not one, but two of the small sized mains for $20; decisions, decisions) we finally placed our orders and got down to the business at hand; catching up and good ol' fashioned girly gossip.

Pistachio Sticky Bun and Chocolate Brioche with House-Made Marmalade and Creme Fraiche: After

So I'm afraid that this picture doesn't do the warm butter-scented plate justice, basically because the cute sticky bun was so darned tasty that we all tore into it like the pastry savages we are. The rich muffin-sized, molten chocolate-filled brioche fared a similar fate, this time torn and smeared with zesty orange marmalade before scarfage.

Ham Ragout on Soft Polenta with Organic Egg

Of the five of us, four ordered this "eggs and ham" dish. For the first time since we sat down, it was at this point where nothing was heard save the satisfying sound of egg yolk poking (one of the best sensations ever, I think) and cutlery being used to shovel the salty pork and creamy pudding-like polenta into our faces.

Sheep's Milk Cheddar and Apple Sandwich on Raisin Bread

These came with spicy house made pickles. The apple and cheese sandwiches were done "en Carozza", or "in carriages", that is, dunked in beaten eggs and pan fried...like having raisin bread french toast and a grilled cheese sandwich at the same time! Totally genius.

Warm Tartelette with Smoked Cheddar, Roast Garlic and Cured Tomatoes

I didn't actually eat this one; all I know is that this smelled and looked like a heavenly little quiche. I swear I could hear the light flaky crunch of the tart as A cut in with her fork to reveal the soft, eggy innards.

We were definitely on a roll now, and we're not even talking about the food! We covered J's growing baby bump, names we liked (Madeleine, Audrey - of course) and those we were wary of (Joachim, Elody, anything that ends with an i), Earth Hour, plane crashes, our parent's old houses, muffin tops, A's dinner party that nearly ended with her bookshelves catching on fire, all in between bites of our lovely, mostly ladylike brunch.

Sheep's Milk Yoghurt with Preserved Fruit and Granola

One of my favorite things for breakfast is yogurt and granola. This version was super yummy because I'd never tried sheep's milk yogurt before. It's quite tangy and thick, which made it very easy to eat with the sweet poached pears and crunchy walnut granola. I think I could eat this every morning, actually.

Walnut and Raisin Bread Pudding with Chantilly Cream

Now this crazy little number was what put us over the edge. Mmm, bread pudding. There's nothing quite like a slab of dense, custardy, caramel soaked goodness to put you straight into a food coma. Good thing we had plenty of coffee and sparkling conversations about boob jobs and sports to keep things lively!

Thank you, lovely ladies for a great afternoon... until we brunch again!

Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar
9 Church Street
416 362 1957