It was the small details I fell for: tiny slices of green onion, fresh orange juice, perfectly cooked eggs, delightfully thin porcelain plates, and nicely designed flatware were the surprise touches. And who can fault a chef when he packs those preserves away so nicely...
Although Jamie Kennedy did not prepare our plates (he apparently was there earlier in the morning) he did remarkably well finding this location and putting up a nicely designed interior and destination for us eastenders that has obvious thought put into the food. The plates were tasty, but my expectation was a lot higher than I will rate the meal at Gilead Cafe. The wait was exceptionally shorter than at Lady Marmalade, and I didn't see a single stroller.
Looking back, we may have chosen our meals incorrectly. We weren't hungover but ended up with two plates with nary a green to be seen. Also, my 'bacon rosti' dish had a fraction of the bacon I would have expected given its placement in the description, but the eggs were melt in your mouth indulgent with just the right amount of cheese. His 'boris' plate of french fries, sausage, fried eggs and chilli sauce was somehow pleasing but too far down the wrong side of the scale. The orange juice was strangely light tasting - I almost thought Tang?! no couldn't be... I'm going to guess it was not standard juicing oranges but a strained clementine or mandarin juice. (you can view the full brunch menu here)
A funny highlight was looking across the lane way into a condo to see a couple doing their own Sunday morning thing at the kitchen table. (They had a very attractive heaping bowl of pears and oranges and stainless steel appliances.) The surrounding Corktown neighbourhood was very quiet and there were hardly any signs of life; I'd like to come back in the summer although I don't see the cafe having a place to setup up a patio. I do appreciate the option to linger here with a laptop on a quieter day and order a coffee and snack.
