Bonjour Brioche

Zeenoixy joined me for lunch on Friday at neighbourhood haunt, Bonjour Brioche. I was anxious about taking a day off from CSIS and was in need of a distraction and from what I’ve heard the baguette at this joint would be just the ticket.

The thing is, I’ve never been a really big baguette fan. Probably because I’ve never been to France. I was convinced that Bonjour Brioche would make me a convert and I was right. The baguette transcended all of my expectations. The other aspects of this place that get a lot attention are the long waiting times and the poor; some would even say surly service. We would have preferred a seat on the small patio that sits along Degrassi Street but it was full and we were relegated to the small, overheated indoor seating area. I ordered lemonade to beat the heat and was disappointed that it was of the “Snapple” variety and not freshly made. What I was hoping for was something homemade like we experienced at Balzac’s coffee shop in the Distillery District the week before. That was fantastic! It would have been nice if I were given a glass of ice to go with the lemonade as well, but no, no ice for me. The service was not a bad as I had come to expect after everything I had heard though and while the servers were not falling over themselves to be friendly or helpful I certainly didn’t feel abused.

For my main course I went with one of the many tarts that was on the menu, a bacon, tarragon and butternut squash tart in fact, which came with salad and baguette. The aforementioned baguette was worth the trip alone and the salad dressing (a basil vinegrette) was magnificent. I purchased a bottle of it to take home and try. Hopefully Zeenoixy will work her food diagnostician magic on it and we’ll be able to make a reasonable facsimile of it ourselves. The tart on the other hand was disappointing. Too eggy, like a mini quiche. I don’t go for all that egg. The tart that Zeenoixy ordered had gorgonzola cheese in it, which helped balance the egg a little bit, but still, I wouldn't go for that again.

If I wanted quiche I would have ordered quiche!

I just imagined myself sitting in a French bistro, surrounded by quiche yelling that out like Tom Cavanaugh in that old Labatt’s commercial.

I pillaged the take out counter on the way home and have to say the baguette didn’t seem to translate. I think it may be one of those things that needs to be eaten FRESH. I mean seriously fresh…right out of the oven! So from now on I will eat my baguette there, on the premises. Also brought home an almond croissant (fair, but not as good as the one from Balzac’s), a giant macaroon (again, fair) and some actual brioche, which really was rather bland…and stale tasting later that day. The second brioche went au revoir in the trash bin before we even sampled it.

I will be back for more of that baguette though, even if you’re not in the neighbourhood it’s worth the visit to Leslieville…or South Riverdale…or the Film District or whatever they’re calling us now.

Remember that they only accept cash and keep an eye out for the autographed photo of Bill Cosby on the wall, a pleasant anomaly. It might also be worth noting that Bonjour Brioche is not affliated with Hello Toast, the pleasant breakfast haunt at Queen and Pape.

Bonjour Brioche
812 Queen St. East (at Degrassi, just West of Broadview)
Toronto, ON
416 406-1250