Barque Smokehouse
Location: 299 Roncesvalles Ave.
J says: This was a brunch trip. I had the Barque Benedict which features their smoked brisket. The brisket is insane. What was more surprising was, perhaps, that the poached egg was one of the fluffiest poached eggs I've had in recent memory. The cornbread fell apart easily under the sauce, and the salad was entirely superfluous, but the meat, eggs and sauce were so incredibly good. Plus, I stole a few of A's bacon bits and two of those contained more smoke and flavour than an entire package of store-bought. This place has meat that you want. Rating: JJJJ
A says: Barque is currently something of a hot spot for Toronto meat lovers and we expected it to be busy when we arrived in the middle of Sunday brunch madness. The place was packed and the line for a table was literally non-stop the entire time we were there. The space is nice and very kid-friendly, although it did start to feel a bit cramped. We were lucky to get 2 spots at the bar right away and despite the crowd, still got fast, friendly service. I got the French toast - 3 slices of lovely thick bread, topped generously with ricotta, candied almonds and smoked candied bacon bits, drizzled liberally with honey. It was really really good. These are not your average bacon bits. This is not your average French toast. Barque takes the usual items on a brunch menu and does unique and delicious things with them. You should go. And take us with you. Rating: AAAA
Average Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥