Cafe Regalade

We were debating between Cafe Ragalade and Oakwood since they are very close to each other. We ended up choosing Cafe Ragalade because there was a 25 mins wait at Oakwood.

We wanted to look at The brunch menu but we couldn't find it on their website nor at the door. We got seated right away at Cafe Ragalade. The waitress attended to us right away and provided us with a brunch menu, an omelette menu and a regular lunch menu.

Some interesting pig decoration. The place was just quite packed too.

I ordered the Lyon breakfast from the brunch menu ($14) which has 2 soft boiled eggs, pearl onions, mushroom, spinach and bacon bits with red wine sauce along with salad and pan fried potatoes on the sides. 

The red wine sauce was so good. It held everything together. The sauce is very rich and sweet which came from the pearl onions. As a Chinese, I would' e had it with a bowl of rice. Nonetheless, it was still a very delicious dish and I enjoyed it a lot. I couldn't stop eating and finished the whole dish. 

The runny egg yolk

The potatoes is different than the usual pan fried potatoes because it's not greasy or oily. It's also not burnt. The flavour is not very strong with little seasoning of salt and herbs. Because the potatoes flavour wasn't as flavourful, it complimented the red wine sauce very well. 

I was surprise at the salad at first because the vinegrette was quite strong but once I misxed it together, it also complimented the red wine sauce well.

Boyfriend orders the Toulouse breakfast with 2 soft boiled eggs, sausage, bacon, and whit beans and also served with potatoes and salad for $14. Compared the 2 breakfast, I liked the Lyon better all because of the sauce. I liked the bacon of the Toulouse. The bacon is not dry at all. The sausage tasted like ordinary sausage. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this place and the price is reasonable considering its French food. It's simple and honest cooking. There aren't many ingredients and yet you can taste the complex flavours. I would like to come back and try their omelette. 

Ess-A-Bagel - New York City

I have to say this is the best bagel I've ever had. My boyfriend and I was looking for local eats when we were in NYC and we came upon this shop when looking at reviews online. When we looked from the outside, we were wondering if it was open. When we went inside, there was already a huge line up. They had a lot of staff and the menu looked complicated. We were trying to digest the menu and was glad that the line up was long so there was enough time for us to see how to order. 

Here's how to order: 

1. Pick the type of bagel ( and they have lots to choose from. They make their own bagels in house too. )

2. Pick the cream cheese you want. I chose the regular

3. Pick the meats. 

4. Pick Add - ons ( such a pickles, olives, peppers, eggs) 

If you don't like to make your own, you can also order combo sandwiches. 

Their cream cheese is to die for. I really wanted to buy the cream cheese and bring it back home. They have so many different kinds of cream cheese too. Boyfriend normally doesn't like cream cheese but he really liked theirs too. You can see they are very generous with the cream cheese. The table of 4 beside us, ordered a container of cream cheese and each got a slice of bagel and just ate it like that. Even though my bagel so was simple, it was so delicious. The bagel was toasted, so when I took a bite, you can hear the crunch. Because the bagel was freshly made, the bread was super fluffy. I really wanted to go back the next day, but boyfriend insisted that we should try something new since we are on a trip. If I could, I would come everyday to buy their bagels.

One thing I have to say is that I felt like I was so rushed when I was ordering because they were so efficient with the order and there was no way I could go back and change my order. I also would say they have ok service. You can't really compare the service to high-end restaurants, but they get their job done, which is what I care about at the end of the day.

I would say their prices are reasonable considering it New York and for breakfast. If I go back to New York in the future, I will try out their other cream cheese and find a way to bring some back with me.