Found a new breakfast spot for #FoodPornFriday

The Lunch Reporter gets credit for today's #FoodPornFriday post. Cathy not only shares the amazing food she's found and eaten over on Facebook but also supports all of the local places by sharing their content. It was one of her shares, that got me to try Potka's Kitchen

Potka's Kitchen is a small greasy spoon located in the middle of an industrial park out in Tecumseh off Highway 22. It's the same plaza you will find The Sushi Bar. The actual address is 480 Advance Blvd, unit number 235.

They only do breakfast and lunch and close every day at 2pm. They do open early, at 6am and if you can get there that early (before 7) you get a sweet buy 1 get 1 half off discount on your breakfast.

Before going I had heard that the things to try were their breakfast skillets and their pierogies. As we went early in the day both my wife and I opted for skillets.

I got the corned beef and swiss skillet and my wife got the Reuben skillet. We were both very impressed. It's eggs how you want them on top of hasbrowned potatoes grilled with onion and lots of sweet peppers. Also includes a bit of fruit and your choice of toast.

The prices are extremely reasonable. Skillets are under $10. 2 Pancakes can be had for under $5, A greek Omelette is $8, etc.

We were both very impressed and looking forward to going back.

A #FoodPornFriday post that's close to home

If you've been reading my #FoodPornFriday posts for a while now you have probably noticed a lot of breakfast pictures. There's a logical reason for this; we eat out for breakfast more often than any other meal. Part of the reason why this is, is the fact that breakfast tends to be significantly cheaper than any other meal. Another part of it is that I love starting the day with nice big breakfast. If I've got "the blows" when I'm getting back into the van at the start of the day, then it's a good day. 

Due to this, I'm always on the lookout for new places to go for breakfast. Personally, I'm a fan of traditional breakfasts. Give me a plate of bacon, eggs, and potatoes and I'm happy. If not that then an omellette stuffed with as many kinds of meat as I can order and at least one type of cheese. Sometimes I will get that in some kind of bowl form. My wife, on the other hand, isn't actually a big egg fan. She's been known to order Salmon Benedict and ask them to hold the eggs. She likes lots of veggies, spinach, fruit and fish, particularly salmon, with her breakfast. 

What's awesome, is when I find somewhere that makes both of us happy. What's even better is when that place is within walking distance of home. We found both in Louis' Restaraunt. 

Louis' has been at 4728 Wyandotte St. E. for as long as I can remember. It's a tiny little place that looks like a greasy spoon that's been there forver. At least since the 70s (I looked it up, this place has been there as long as I've been alive). I first ate at Louis' when I was in High School (Brenna is just down the street) after a particularly difficult exam, when I just didn't feel like going home and facing my parents. I remember getting bacon and eggs and it was good. That's about it. 

We have lived in the Riverside area for over 10 years now and for some reason, we never went back to Louis'. It's the kind of place that for years has had an "All day breakfast special" sign in the window (with a price that has gone us slowly over the years). It's the kind of place you go to for bacon and eggs but not much else. So the kind of place I should love but my wife wouldn't like. Which is why it took us so long to go back.

If I remember correctly, what made us give Louis' another try was that we tried to go to Etta's but they were closed and we were on a time limit. Louis' was in the neighborhood. I do remember we weren't expecting much and boy, were we wrong. 

I don't know if Louis' was always amazing and had a lot more than good bacon and eggs, or if I just didn't know how good they have been all these years since high school. What I now know is that this place has amazing high-end breakfast at low-end prices. 

It ends up the Louis, the original owner sold the restaurant to his daughter; Voula, who owns and runs it to this day. My guess is that she's the one that added things like Gyro-Waffles, Banana Bread French Toast, and Hot Greek Omelettes to the menu. All the traditional stuff is still there as well. You can still go in and just get bacon and eggs, but I highly suggest you check out the daily specials, that's where the good stuff hides. Like the Eggplant Benedict, you can see pictured at the top of the page and that my wife loved. They don't just do breakfast either, Louis' serves a mix of greek and traditional diner food. They are only open for breakfast and lunch closing at 3pm every day. So despite the fact I badly want to try their Hot Hamburger for dinner, it's not an option. 

Besides a great menu with great prices the other thing you will find a Louis is friends. Sure they may not be friends yet, but once you are back once or twice they will feel like friends. The owner is one of the most forthright, open and genuinely friendly people I have ever met. After a couple visits you will walk in and it will feel like home. 

Pro Tip: This fits in with the friendly nature of the place. Don't be afraid to order items not on the menu. Especially if you had a special there and it's not listed when you go back. Sure some items may be truly limited time due to ingredient supply but I've found Voula is more than willing to make you anything you've had there before and sometimes even things you may have had somewhere else. My personal "secret menu" item is the Meatlover Omelette (pic up there on the right). 

#FoodPornFriday featuring Etta's Greeklish Eatery

Okay I know it can't be good for me. There's no way anything with this much meat and cheese is really good for anyone, but I don't care.

Today's #FoodPornFriday post features one of my favourite local breakfasts. This cholesterol killer is the Meatlovers Casserole from Etta's Greeklish Eatery. IT's a massive bowl of bacon, ham, sausage, fried egg and grilled potatoes covered in cheddar and mozzarella cheese. by massive, I mean even this big dude can't usually finish a bowl. There's probably enough food to feed a family of four here. I've never left Etta's without leftovers, and that's not a bad thing.

You can find Etta's at 5975 Wyandotte E in the heart of Riverside. I strongly recommend going for breakfast, though they are open all day and serve a great lunch and dinner. I'm just partial to their breakfast (and not just this casserole).

#FoodPornFriday Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast from TOAST

I really don't know what I can say for this #FoodPornFriday post. This Cinnamon Toast French Toast from TOAST on Erie Street pretty much speaks for itself. 

The actual toast is coated with ground cinnamon toast crunch cereal. There are almonds and oats on there. Even the whipped cream isn't your average whipped cream but is instead vanilla whipped cream.

I do have one warning about this one, though it should be obvious at this point: this breakfast is sweet. Okay, more like SWEET! Which I have to admit went really well with TOASTs great coffee.

The most appetizing French Toast ever! #FoodPornFriday

No clue what happened last weekend. I totally missed Friday. It was like it didn't happen. I guess working 6-7 days a week does that. Of course that also meant that I missed #FoodPornFriday. Sorry about that.

To make up for my mistake here is some of the most appetizing French Toast you will ever see.

For my oldest's birthday we let her pick somewhere to eat. The problem was that I was working afternoon shift at the time, so it had to be somewhere for breakfast or lunch. She picked The Twisted Apron (my kid has good taste). This beauty was the special of the day: Apple, Bacon & Brie Stuffed French Toast.

I wish I could tell you tasted as good as it looks, but I can't. That's because it wasn't my meal. I got my usual Breakfast Poutine (which was awesome). This french toast was what my wife ordered and the fact she wouldn't even give me a bite to try it should be a good indicator on how much she liked it.

Twisted Apron has been a favourite of ours since they opened. The food is always amazing, the service great, the atmosphere relaxed and the prices reasonable. It has the added bonus of a great craft beer selection though that didn't matter much for this particular trip.

Today's #FoodPornFriday is A Dog's Breakfast

If you follow me on Instagram you've already seen a cropped version of this #FoodPornFriday picture. This amazing breakfast is the Sausage Wrap from A Dog's Breakfast.

A Dog's Breakfast is a new place that only recently opened up on Maiden Lane downtown at the previous location of Matryoshka which I reviewed back in 2014. It's a breakfast brunch place that looks like it may also sell hot dogs. I say may because every time we've been there they only have a partial menu.

My new favourite thing to do on a Saturday is to go downtown and hit the Downtown Windsor Farmer's Market and then after browsing the stalls at the Market hit up A Dog's Breakfast with my wife and kids. Every single time I order the same thing, what you see here: The Sausage Wrap.

This is a Robbie's Sausage (the best in the city) wrapped in puffed pastry with candied apples and some form of salad that even I liked. Along with it (and all other breakfasts) you get some amazing chorizo hash. My only complaint is that I wish you got a lot more hash. Though I have to admit seeing portions that aren't so big even I can't finish them is a nice change of pace. 

So next time you are downtown, especially if you are hitting up the market on Saturday stop in to A Dog's Breakfast. You won't be disappointed. 

The Big Dude is back for #FoodPornFriday featuring Etta's Greeklish Eatery

The Big Dude is back! Just in time for #FoodPornFriday

For the past year (plus a few months) my day job went a bit nuts. I was working an insane number of hours and just didn't find time to update this blog (as well as my other gaming related one The Windsor Gaming Resource). Well things are finally starting to slow down and that means more time for the things I love. Like gaming and great food.

In celebration of my return on #FoodPornFriday I give you The Meat Lovers Casserole from Etta's Greeklish Eatery. Homefries covered with ham, bacon, prosciutto, sausage, 3 scrambled eggs and enough cheese to make this a very happy Big Dude.

Not the cheapest breakfast at $12.50 but so good, it's worth it. To be honest I think there's probably more than enough food here to split this between two people, which makes this a very reasonable meal for two.

You can find Etta's in Olde Riverside at 5975 Wyandotte St. E. 

#FoodPornFriday Breakfast Poutine from the St. Joachim Diner

My wife and I have been meaning to try the St. Joachim Diner for a couple years now. It was featured on You Gotta Eat Here and I've heard nothing but good things. The problem is that it's not really close to home. St. Joachim is about an hour drive for us. That's a long way to go just for food. 

What finally changed that is that I learned that there is an outdoor farmers market in Belle River on Sundays. The same day as the farmer's market at the Riverside Sportsman's club. Now if I start out from my house and head out to Tecumseh, I'm about half way to Belle River. Then if I continue on to Belle River, it's really not all that far to St. Joachim. Sounds like a good way to spend a Sunday morning eh?

Well that's exactly what we did last weekend and it was awesome. Got some great cheese, baked goods and vegetables at the farmers market and found out exactly why the St. Joachim Diner has the reputation it does. 

The place looks like it's right out of the 70s. The outside looks, well, lets just say I wouldn't stop there if it hadn't been strongly recommended. But man the food is good! The portions are huge. The menu has a great selection of items. They were great with the kids and have a great kids menu.

That huge picture up there is their version of Breakfast Poutine, which was only $9.50 for that huge plate of food. That is a plate of fresh cut home fries topped with bacon, ham, sausage, tomatoes, green onions, montreal style cheese curds, and a poached egg, all smothered in hollandaise.

The real shining piece of the dish was those fresh cut home fries. They were amazing. They reminded me of the Irish Nachos from The Kildare House (which they may or may not still serve, but I used to love). I strongly suggest whatever you order for breakfast you get something with those fries. The rest of it was amazing as well, but the fries made the dish.

My wife got the Fish Taco which really wasn't a taco, but rather a Naan wrap. She noted that it was amazing and one of the best things she's eaten. Ever. That after our great food filled trip to London last weekend.

We went for breakfast but will be heading back for dinner at some point. I really want to try the burgers that got them on You Gotta Eat Here. Especially The County Road Pizza, which is a Burger not a pizza. Here, just read this description: 7oz. burger with panko fried mozzarella, sauteed pepperoni, bacon and tomato sauce on a fresh baked bun, served with breaded mushrooms and creamy dill dip. 

Seriously if you haven't checked this place out yet and you are in Windsor Essex you need to fix that or you are doing yourself a disservice. I expect to be back many times. I expect that our 'farmer's market tour of essex county ending at the St. Joachim Diner' will become a regular Summer Sunday outing for us.

#FoodPornFriday is back with a Toad in the Hole from The Early Bird

It's back. #FoodPornFriday is back! No clue if I'll be able to keep this up with my current work schedule but I'm going to try.

This beauty is the most unique Toad in a Hole I've ever seen. It was what my wife ordered when we checked out The Early Bird in London Ontario last weekend. Normally a Toad in the Hole is just a piece of toast with a circle cut out of it and an egg fried in that hole. Not this one.

The Early Bird's Toad in a hold is a Fresh egg fried in a toast ring, thick sliced tomato, pan seared with garlic and herbs, organic pea tenders, baby arugula, chevre cheese and crisp avocado tempura.

Not really my kind of food but I had to admit it looked impressive. My wife said it was one of the best breakfast meals she's ever had.

Best breakfast I've had in Windsor in quite some time

Meat Lover's Bowl form Donna Mae's Diner

Yesterday was "Birthday Day." It was the day we celebrated my youngest daughter's birthday along with my wife's birthday. The day started with eating out for breakfast. I personally, wanted to go to Route 42, but my wife wanted to go to Paul's Kitchen and since the day was in her honour she won out.

Now I love Paul's, a lot, but it's small and often very busy. So busy that, most days, there's an extended wait to get a table. Yesterday was one of those days. Our kids, like most, aren't the most patient and I'm not a big fan of waiting in a waiting room with them for anything, so we decided to leave.

On the way to Paul's I noted that Donna Mae's was back at it's old location on Eugenie. We hadn't been to Donna Mae's since my oldest was in a high chair and all I remember is that they didn't have high chairs but had really good oatmeal.Instead of driving half way across the city we decided to give it another try.

I'm so glad we did. The breakfast we had yesterday was not only one of the best looking and tasting breakfasts we've had in some time, it was also very reasonably priced. For the four of us the entire meal, including tip came to under $28. The most expensive item was my meat lovers bowl (pictured above). It had fried cubed potatoes with bacon, sausage and ham on top. This was coated in fresh shredded cheddar and mozzarella and topped with an egg cooked how I wanted. I opted for "over medium" and they were cooked perfectly.

At the end of the meal both my wife and I noted that this was one of the best breakfast's we've  had in some time. I thought it was a pretty great way to start off "Birthday Day".

Mrs. Jones Cafe & Cheesecake Co. it's not just their egg salad that's the best in the city

Photo from windsorite.ca (forgot to take one of my own)

A couple weeks back as part of a #FoodPornFriday post I featured the amazing lunch I had at Mrs. Jones Cafe & Cheescake Co. 

At the time, I noted that Mrs. Jones (no, I'm not typing up the full name every time, I'm sure you know where I'm writing about) really deserved a full blog post. Well here you have that blog post.

Mrs. Jones is a rather small cafe located at 5880 Wyandotte Street East, in the heart of the Olde Riverside neighborhood here in Windsor. By rather small I mean tiny. The entire place only has 7 tables and 2 of those only seat 2 people. While this can be a problem actually getting a seat, it does lend itself to a very private, personal and comfortable atmosphere. 

The front 3/4 of the cafe is where all the seating is with the back 1/4 being the display area for all the tasty treats and the actual kitchen. The kitchen is right out in the open and you can tell Mrs. Jones has nothing to hide. Actually if you need to use the facilities you have to basically walk through the kitchen. This adds to the comfortable homey feeling that surrounds the place. It feels like you are just visiting the Jones house for a meal.

The menu (which doesn't seem to be hosted online anywhere) contains a bunch of comfort food. There's a focus on breakfast and lunch items but they do have a few dinner items as well. Though, if you want to go there for dinner, you will have to eat early as the latest they are open is 4pm. Along with the usual menu items there is always a quiche of the day, a phyllo wrap of the day and at least one soup of the day.

For breakfast I usually do a "make your own" omelet. I don't know what they do at Mrs. Jones that is different from other places but man do they make a good omelet. My personal favourite is mozzarella and crisp bacon.

Lunch is what I really love from Mrs. Jones. They have two special deals: the Mrs. Jones and the Mr. Jones. Both of these are flat priced combos. The Mrs. Jones lets you pick any sandwich, phyllo or quiche and pair it with soup or salad finished off with a fresh baked cookie. For a bit extra you can upgrade that cookie to a piece of cheesecake. The Mr. Jones is similar and I think it includes a pot pie in the combo or maybe a burger. I'm sorry but I don't actually remember and I always personally order a Mrs. Jones. Did I mention I can't find a menu online?

The reason I always order a Mrs. Jones special is because this place has the best egg salad I've ever had. Seriously, this stuff is amazing. It's a lemon dill egg salad which you can get on your choice of bread, toasted or not, with or without lettuce and tomato. I can't get enough of this sandwich. Actually if Mrs. Jones wasn't currently closed I think I know what I would be doing in about an hour from now.

My wife is a huge fan of the phyllo wraps and I can't remember the last time she ordered anything else. Though she does tend to mix up the sides. I've been very tempted to try the pot pies. Every time I see someone else order one they always look so good. But ordering that would mean I miss out on my egg salad.

Okay so all this talk of sandwiches, soups and salads skips over the whole second half of Mrs. Jones Cafe, the Cheesecake Co. part. We've been going to Mrs. Jones for about five years now and you know what? In all that time we never actually tried a piece of cheesecake. Every time we went in and got our Mrs. Jones special we always got a cookie at the end. They were damn good cookies. Sometimes we would save them for the kids but most of the time they got eaten right there. This changed a couple weeks back. The waitress pointed out the ability to upgrade the combo to include a piece of cheesecake. My wife and I debated it for maybe half a second and agreed. I ordered Pumpkin Spice cheesecake and my wife got Teramisu cheesecake.

OMG. Why did we wait five years to try this cheesecake? It was amazing. Really amazing. I never thought anything would top the cheesecake from Ye Olde Steak House but Mrs. Jones did, by far.

Mrs. Jones sells over 100 different kinds of cheesecake. Most of these are made to order but they also have a display set up with a wide variety of styles and types you can order right then and there. In addition to cheesecake they also do a bunch of other confectioneries: cookies, cake pops, muffins etc. Seriously though, skip all that and just get some cheesecake. Don't make the mistake we did and settle for cookies for far too long.

The one thing I haven't mentioned yet is price. This is mainly due to my bad memory and failure to find a menu online. The one thing I know for a fact though is that Mrs. Jones is extremely reasonable. Especially for the quality of food you get. I think the Mrs. Jones special is just under $8 (before cheesecake upgrade) and I think our bill last time we were there was about $28 for the wife and I (and we both did the upgrade). I apologize for not having better numbers on me. I'll try to come back and update this post when we go back there next time.

So overall this little place in Olde Riverside shouldn't be overlooked. It's a fantastic cafe with amazing comfort food and even better cheesecake. The only complaint I have is that it's so small it's sometimes hard to actually get a table.

Found somewhere new for breakfast

Great photo used with permission from Eyes on Windsor

We had big plans today. Today was the day I take the kids to HighJinks in reward for a good report card for my oldest. Before that though we needed groceries. Even before that, we needed breakfast. That's where Matter of Taste bar & grill comes in.

I first heard about Matter of Taste on the Eyes on Windsor blog, where I read a rather positive review. I've been meaning to try it for a couple weeks and it worked out that this morning it fit in with our plans fine. So we headed over to 1158 Lauzon Rd. Now I knew that this place replaced Thai Palace which has moved across the road, but it was still a bit of a shock seeing it. It just looked odd. Thai Palace has been in that spot as long as I can remember. Most noticeable about the place was the big Now Open sign and a sign out front looking for a Broasted Chicken cook.

Photo from windsoriteDOTca's Pinterest account.

We went in after finding the proper door (the place has like 4 doors leading into it only one of which is the actual door, all the others have signs and arrows pointing you to the real door). Inside the place was kind of odd looking but inviting. It was obvious that the space used to be a couple of different places, where an arch had been put in a wall between them making this place larger. The thing is that each of the spaces was done up in a totally different style. The first half had a Thai style arch and white walls and lots of large tables, the second half was all stonework with a huge bar and wine on the walls. There were a couple of big screen TVs on the stonework side one of which was just on one of those Cogeco music channels. It was kind of like the place wasn't sure if it was a Dinner, Family Restaurant, Fine Dining with a huge Wine Selection or Bar & Grill. As I said it was a bit odd.

I love places with kids menus with activities on them

We were seated quickly and given menus, which included kids menus with activities. The kids were each given their own individual box of crayons and immediately went to work coloring. The menu was one of those, home cooking we have everything you could want kind of deals. The kind you have seen in family restaurants for years. You know, the usual mix of burgers and chicken, hot and cold sandwhiches, a selection of Italian favourites and, the requisite seafood section. The seemed to be really pushing the Broasted Chicken which had a section all it's own. Prices were all extremely reasonable with most of the items being under $10 and the most expensive item topping out at $15 for a Fisherman's Platter. The kids menu is fantastic, for only $4.99 you get the choice of 8 items that aren't all junk food and that $5 includes a drink and desert as well as a pick from the Toy Chest (I haven't seen one of those since Big Boy).

Look at the size of these kids "silver dollar" pancakes!

Well we were here for breakfast so my wife and I ordered omelets and we got the kids silver dollar pancakes. You know silver dollar pancakes right. Those small little discs of cooked batter. Do you see that picture there on the left? That's what we got, for one of them. We had two plates this full. For $5 with a drink and desert and a toy!

It didn't take long at all for our food to come. Though we were served pancakes with no syrup and I had to steal silverware off another table or we wouldn't have been able to eat. I also hadn't received a re-fill on my empty coffee yet. Oh that reminds me. The coffee was good. Not great but good. For some reason it seems like, lately, no where has decent coffee anymore with breakfast. I know awesome places with awesome food where I never finish more than one cup of coffee. Matter of Taste did not have this problem.

My Farmer's Omelet

Where was I? Oh right the food itself. I was extremely happy with my Farmer's Omelet. It was one of the best omelets I've had in a long time. Ham, bacon and sausage along with hash browns folded into three eggs with marbled cheese on top. Toast on the side. That's it there on the left. Now my wife grabbed a Spinach & Swiss Omelet made with just egg whites. It looked fantastic, but she was sad to report it was just okay. Not bad, not good, but okay.

Overall our trip to the Matter of Taste Bar and Grill was a pretty good experience. The place has an odd look and doesn't seem to know what exactly it is or wants to be. The service wasn't the best and my wife found her food to only be okay. That was all completely offset by one of the best omelets I've ever had and the amazing deal and treat this was for the kids. I think we've found a new place for breakfast.