Ratings:
Critic’s pick
NNNNN Brunchalicious
NNNN Eggs ‘traordinary
NNN Quiche me quick
Prices:
$ Under $15 per person (minus alcohol)
$$ $15 to $20 per person (minus alcohol)
$$$ Over $20 per person (minus alcohol)
Patio
BELLA’S BISTRO at Free Times Café
(320 College, at Major, 416-967-1078) One of the last hippie holdouts in town, Judy Perly’s cozy eatery offers a first-rate Jewish-grandmother-style $19.95 all-you-can-eat (and eat and eat and eat) Sunday spread that can make you feel like a mensch no matter what your ethnicity. Bonus: live soulful klezmer soundtrack. Best: blissful blintzes stuffed with lemony ricotta, sided with cinnamon-spiked apple sauce and smooth sour cream cookbook-correct latkes and house-made gefilte fish fluffy scrambled eggs loaded with sweet lox authentic pickled beet and herring salads St. Urbain bagels dreamy chocolate poppy seed cake recently squeezed orange juice and okay coffee, too. Open Sunday 10:30 am to 3 pm (under 12 half-price, infants free). Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: bump at door, otherwise barrier-free but crowded. Rating: NNNN $$$
Aunties And Uncles
74 Lippincott, at College, 416-324-1375. Now in its 11th year, Russell Nichols’s neo-mod hole-in-the-wall attracts a budget-conscious crowd that appreciates value as much as style. Cast-off kitchen furniture and diner kitsch set to a stomping soundtrack of 60s beat groups and 70s soul make scooters optional. Best: Breakfast Pockets, Micalense onion focaccia spread with nippy Dijon stuffed with fluffy scrambled eggs, peameal bacon, cheddar cheese, tomato and caramelized onion sided with smashed sweet potato home fries classique croque-monsieur served with dill ‘n’ Dijon potato salad or organic greens Belgian waffles with maple syrup while they last. Open daily 9 am to 3 pm. Cash only. Unlicensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN $$
Also in the area…
Boom Breakfast
808 College, at Ossington, 416-534-3447. With its all-day breakfast lineup and modern diner decor, this busy storefront resto has the buzz of a frantic Fran’s. Start forming an orderly queue now, since on Monday (March 30), two eggs, home fries and toast go for just 99 cents! Other locations: 1036 St Clair W, at Glenholme, 416-657-3447 174 Eglinton W, at Lascelles, 416-485-3447. Open daily 6 am to 4 pm (College) 7 am to 4 pm (St Clair, Eglinton). Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement (College, Eglinton) barrier-free (St Clair). $$
Langolino Wine Bar
50 Clinton, at College, 416-530-4710. The specialty of the house at this charming Little Italy wine bar goes by the name “Fabulous George” and translates as a toasted multi-grain triple-decker piled with peameal, Brie, havarti and tomato, mesclun on the side. Open Saturday and Sunday 11 am to 4 pm. Reservations accepted. Licensed. $$
Sneaky Dee’s
431 College, at Bathurst, 416-603-3090. Known by habitués as Sneaky Disease, this graffitti-splattered boozer attracts a student crowd for ridiculously inexpensive all-day $3.25 breakfasts. Open Monday to Friday 11 am to 4 pm, Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 4 pm. Licensed. Access: short step at door, washroom on same floor. $
