A Great Breakfast Sandwich at Kitten and the Bear

Kitten and the Bear
Location
: 1414 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.kittenandthebear.com/

You wouldn’t think that Kitten and the Bear — an unassuming little bakery that specializes in scones — would serve one of the best breakfast sandwiches in the city, but hey, what do you know?  They do.

They’re actually one block over from the breakfast sandwich amazingness of Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee, and they serve a breakfast sandwich that’s pretty much just as good (but with substantially less hype).

Kitten and the Bear

There’s just the one breakfast sandwich on the menu, the Egg & Cheese on a Scone: “Fluffy egg and aged cheddar on a fresh herb scone.  Add peach & red pepper savoury jam or hot honey!”  I went with the jam, which they make in-house.

Everything here just works: the sharp, gooey cheddar; the silky egg; the nice contrasting sweet and savoury punch of the jam; and especially, the amazing scone.

Kitten and the Bear

I mean, the place specializes in the stuff, so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that the scone is stellar, but it really is.  It’s delightfully buttery, with a nice crispy exterior, and an interior that really nails the fluffiness and substance that you want from a scone.

The quality of the egg, cheese, and jam is high enough that this would be a great sandwich even on lesser bread, but that scone really takes it over the top.

A Pleasant Cheesy Scone from Prairie Boy Bread

Prairie Boy Bread
Location
: 201 Geary Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/prairieboybread/

I mainly came to Prairie Boy to try the double-fermented multigrain sourdough, which Toronto Life recently called one of the best loaves of bread in the city.  And yeah, that’s a serious loaf of bread; it’s dense, hearty, and has a delightfully aggressive sourdough flavour, with a sour tang that’s almost too intense (tang for days!).   It’s very good.

Prairie Boy Bread

(Alas, I completely forgot to take a photo, so you’ll have to use your imagination; it’s round, rustic, and seriously seedy.)

I figured I’d try one of their pastries while I was there, so I went with the cheesy scone.  I wish they had heated this up, or served it fresher, because it was a bit clammy.  But aside from that it was quite tasty, with a nice buttery flavour and a good amount of cheese.

Prairie Boy Bread

Also, I don’t think this bakery has any affiliation with the sadly departed Prairie Girl Bakery, but man, remember that place??  Because I do.  RIP.