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| - I've lived in the east end of the better part of a decade now, and I only tried Lady Marmalade for the first time ever last week. I'm a bit anti-queue, even though a lengthy line-up usually means that something special is waiting beyond the anxious crowd. However, I found myself with an ultra-rare weekday off (I don't have the guts or patience to try for a weekend) and decided it was finally time to give Lady Marmalade a go.
First discovery - this place is jumping, even on a weekday. We arrived around 10:30AM and got the last table-for-two that was available (and the ever-ubiquitious lineup began to form shortly thereafter). Service is friendly but quick and to-the-point, because they are obviously trying to move as many plates as they possibly can to keep up with the throng of people who just want to get their breakfast on.
I opted for the bread pudding, and the husband ordered the breakfast poutine. We were served our food within minutes of placing our orders, and the serving sizes were hearty and filling. The food was good. I mean, it wasn't as incredible as I had expected given the hype, but it was still good. The bread pudding wasn't really what I had expected, given that they indicate on the menu that the dish is their interpretation of french toast. Don't get me wrong, it was very delicious (I ordered the lemon-raspberry variety), but other than being served with maple syrup, it didn't really scream FRENCH TOAST to me. Plus, the maple syrup felt like a bit of an unnecessary afterthought to make a dessert dish seem more breakfast-y. The raspberry coulis on top spoke for itself, and I wouldn't have missed the syrup had it never appeared on my plate.
It's pretty inexpensive for a nice brunch, which is nice considering it is a cash-only establishment. And given the perpetual crowd, I imagine it's not the kind of breakfast place where you can get away with ordering free refills of coffee and gab away the day. As soon as we were finished, the bill arrived, was paid, and we were out the door within 30 minutes. Not quite what I had expected.
Overall, everything was fine. There wasn't anything particularly spectacular about the food or the service, it was just fine. Nothing to really rant OR rave about, and definitely not enough to encourage me to start braving the weekend line-up.
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