Feeding Time

On Saturday, I went by College and Spadina for 2 reasons: to see some cats and eat a hearty breakfast. First, about the meal. I've noticed as I pass by The Old Laurel that they were advertising a "proper fry-up" (i.e., a full English breakfast). One of my pet peeves with your typical diner or brunch spot is that you have to choose between sausage and bacon. One place actually told me (rather disingenuously I thought) that they couldn't break up the standard servings. Well, if this place has the real deal, I won't have to pick.

Most of their English breakfast options came in at $15, but the actual fry-up was called The Full Monty. When it came out, it was indeed a full meal. I wasn't sure I could finish all the food, but I gave it the old college try. Everything was fried, of course, from the hash brown, to sausage, to the bacon, ham, and eggs. Even the tomato was fried. Then there was the proper addition of beans and black pudding. Finishing it all off was a couple of pieces of toast. The menu gave you a choice of fried bread, but I passed on that overindulgence. Everything was tasty, though a bit one note (i.e., fried). Amazingly, I wasn't overstuffed but this was a once-in-a-while meal, if you want to preserve your health.

As for the cats, well next door was Toronto's first cat café. But I was disappointed, to be honest. There was a small room by the window, closed off from the rest of the space via clear glass due to health regulations, where you can go inside to play with some cats on loan from The Toronto Humane Society. They should have turned that front space into a small "closed off" serving area, and made the remaining area a large cat-friendly zone along with the usual café tables and benches. As it was, most people were sitting around, waiting for their turn to go inside the "cat nook". So it wasn't a particularly inviting place and I can't see anyone visiting more than once out of curiosity.