brunch – Michael Eats

A Decent Breakfast Sandwich at Eggslut

Published on June 23, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 545 King Street West, Toronto
Website: https://eggslut.ca/

Hot take alert: whenever I eat a trendy breakfast sandwich in the GTA, I always ask myself the same question — is this better than a McMuffin? An alarming number of times, the answer is no. No, this fancy breakfast sandwich that costs several times as much as a McMuffin… does not actually taste better than a McMuffin.

Eggslut opened in Toronto recently to a whole bunch of hype. The most popular sandwich on the menu seems to be the Fairfax, so that’s what I went with: “cage-free soft scrambled eggs and chives, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and sriracha mayo in a warm brioche bun.”

It’s fine. The soft scrambled eggs are perfectly cooked, with a luxuriously rich, creamy texture. The sweetness from the caramelized onions and pillowy brioche bun helps to balance out the saltiness of the eggs. It’s tasty.

But the bun is so, so soft, and in the absence of anything that isn’t squishy in the sandwich, the texture is one-note mush.

Contrast this with a Sausage ‘N Egg McMuffin, where you get a nice balance of textures — light crunch and chewiness from the toasted muffin, softness from the egg and cheese, and meatiness from the sausage. The Fairfax is clearly using better quality ingredients and cheffy technique, but the McMuffin is more satisfying.

(Not to mention that the McMuffin costs about five bucks, whereas this costs fifteen and absolutely does not feel worth the splurge.)

I should mention that I also tried the French Toast Sticks (“house-made brioche French toast dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with maple custard”), and they were actually pretty amazing. The French toast is pleasantly custardy, with a perfectly crispy exterior and a nice punch of flavour from the cinnamon and sugar. The creamy custard on the side complements it perfectly.

It’s kinda hilarious that the menu calls this a side (it’s straight-up dessert), but whatever you call it, it’s delicious.

A Delicious Brunch at Emma’s Country Kitchen

Published on May 23, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 810 Saint Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: https://www.emmascountrykitchen.com/

Emma’s Country Kitchen has been serving up brunch for a while. I’ve been wanting to check the place out since seeing it on a 2015 episode of You Gotta Eat Here, and yeah, they’re still around and kicking. Even more surprising: the place is still hopping. I showed up at about 10:00am on a Saturday, and it was a half hour wait to get in.

I tend not to go to brunch places all that often, because it’s all a bit boring, and it’s generally all stuff you can make at home relatively easily. But when it’s as good as it is here? Yeah, I can’t do that at home, and I doubt you can, either.

It’s worth braving the crowds. Everything here was stellar.

In particular, the cinnamon bun pancakes (“Stack of light and fluffy buttermilk pancakes swirled with caramelized brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Served with whipped brown butter and real maple syrup”) might be their most well known dish (it was featured on that episode of You Gotta Eat here all those years ago), and for good reason.

Seriously, I think these might be the best pancakes I’ve ever had? They were nice and fluffy with just the right amount of density, they’ve got a nice tang from the buttermilk, and the caramelized brown sugar gives the pancakes a nice crispiness in spots and a delightful amount of sweetness. I didn’t even use the syrup on the side — the level of sweetness here was restrained, but perfect.

The brown butter on top gives it a nice creaminess and a mild salty pop that offsets the sweetness of the brown sugar. Good lord these were good. I could eat about a million of them.

I also tried the Breakwich (“Freshly baked buttermilk biscuit topped with over easy egg, melted cheese and choice of sage and onion sausage, house cured bacon or griddled tomato”) and yeah, that was stellar, too. You can choose your egg, cheese, and meat: I went with scrambled, spicy pimento cheese, and sausage.

The perfect biscuit was the highlight, but everything here was very, very good. In particular, that pimento cheese has a nice kick and a satisfying zippy flavour. I want this stuff on all my breakfast sandwiches from now on.

Finally, I tried the Emma’s BLT (“Freshly baked buttermilk biscuit, 2 pieces house cured bacon, fresh tomato, baby arugula and roasted garlic mayo”). You can get this with a biscuit, or a toasted rye bun. I went with the bun since I was already having the biscuit.

This was the least exciting of the dishes I tried, but still quite tasty. I’m pretty sure I’m going to dream about that thickly-cut house-cured bacon. It’s fantastic. But then everything here is fantastic, so why shouldn’t it be?

Stellar Diner Food at Susie’s Rise & Dine

Published on April 22, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 539 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://susiestoronto.com/

The crowds at Susie’s Rise and Dine are no joke — the first time I tried to visit, I told them I didn’t have a reservation and was told the wait would be something like two hours. Clearly, reservations are advised.

It’s in the style of an old-school diner, with the menu mostly consisting of brunch and diner standbys (with the occasional item having a bit of an Asian twist).

I tried a couple of things. First up: the tuna melt (“Japanese tartar sauce, malt vinegar pickled celery, sour cream & onion kettle chips, American cheese, served on griddled rye bread”). I wasn’t planning on ordering this, but the waitress said it was her favourite, so sure, why not?

The waitress was 100% right. Good god, that tuna melt. It’s almost certainly the best I’ve ever had. I know that it looks pretty standard (I mean, there’s not much you can do to gussy up a tuna melt), but trust me, it was obscenely good.

The contrast between the perfectly crispy bread and the creamy tuna (not to mention the extra crunch and flavour from the chips) is perfect, and the whole thing has an addictively zippy flavour that just works. It’s so satisfying.

Next up: The Big Trouble Breakfast Sandwich (“soft scramble, char siu glazed sausage, crispy hash brown patty, cheese, scallion milk bun”).

This was good, but after that mind-blowing tuna melt, there was really nowhere to go but down — and yeah, that’s where this went. All the components are quite nice and it’s an above average breakfast sandwich, but none of the flavours really pop and it feels like it’s missing something.

Some pickles or a sauce with some zip to it would really perk things up (though the sausage was quite light on the char siu glaze; it’s possible that more of that might have added the flavour that the sandwich was missing). Still, I didn’t dislike eating it, that’s for sure, but it couldn’t help but be a bit of a letdown after the tuna melt.

Unique Thai Brunch at Le Lert

Published on January 9, 2026 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 27 Carlton Street, Toronto
Website: https://lelert.ca/

I like brunch — we all like brunch — but sometimes it can get a bit boring. Enter Le Lert, which has a fun brunch menu with a Thai twist.

There’s some tempting stuff on the menu, but I went with the omelette over rice, which you can get with northern style sausage patties, grilled pork jowl, pan-grilled striploin, roasted chicken thigh, or grilled mixed mushrooms.

I got the grilled pork jowl, though I was able to try one of the sausages as well.

It’s tasty stuff. The perfectly-cooked omelette and the fluffy rice make for a great combo, and the unctuous pork jowl is tender and flavourful. As for the northern style sausage patty, it’s just as good, with a great lemongrass-infused flavour. The plate also comes with a little bowl of a thick, zippy sauce that does a great job of jazzing everything up. It’s tasty stuff.

Tasty Brunch at Gateau Ghost

Published on December 1, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 974 College Street, Toronto
Website: https://gateaughost.com/

Gateau Ghost is a charming brunch spot and bakery with a Korean twist (the menu features a variety of brunch standbys that are tweaked with stuff like bulgogi, kimchi, and Korean fried chicken).

I went with Owen’s Sando: “focaccia, caramelized onions, cabbage, jalapeño & cilantro, teriyaki pork shoulder OR teriyaki tofu.” (I went with pork shoulder, of course.)

It’s a solid sandwich with a great balance of flavours and textures: it’s sweet, savoury, crunchy, creamy, and chewy. In particular, the sandwich does a really great job of balancing out its sweet and savoury flavours, and it’s quite satisfying.

That’s not to mention the focaccia, which is clearly fresh and suits the sandwich perfectly. It’s a sloppy, overstuffed sandwich, but the bread holds up to it nicely without overwhelming.

The sliced pork shoulder is a bit on the dry side, which holds the sandwich back from greatness, but otherwise I liked this a lot.

You can also get a salad or fries for a four dollar upcharge; I went with the salad, which looks like the typical vinaigrette-dressed mixed greens you’ll find a place like this, but is actually a big upgrade from the norm, with a punchy zestiness that really works.

As for the bakery side of the equation, they mostly specialize in madeleines that come in various flavours. I tried the opera madeleine, which takes the coffee-and-chocolate infused flavours of an opera cake and crams it into a madeleine. It was really good.