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| - My sister invited me to eat brunch at the newly opened Saturday Dinette in between grocery shopping. It wasn't so long ago that this corner location at Gerrard and Logan was a hip yet basic diner called Hammersmith's. And it was a long time ago that this was the Logan Grill, a place that never kept regular hours so I always wondered if it ever opens whenever I pass by it on the walk to school way back in my teenage years. A man sitting next to me recalls the time the Grill was open, where he was a regular there could chill for hours all morning alone in a booth.
Saturday Dinette maintains the floor plan and white walls of its predecessors, though the bar counter has been remodeled and now serves alcohol. he walls are decorated with facial motif paintings by illustrator Stephanie McKay. The open rear kitchen bustling with women at work. Some of the kitchen staff come from a YWCA training program, here to learn on the job alongside chef/owner Suzanne Barr. I asked about this to a waitperson, who remarks, "We are very into community involvement and giving people a leg up on life."
I didn't know what to expect from this cozy and very hip, 'feminine moderne' diner, scanning the daytime menu where food makes up a small chunk. I just went for the burger ($12), and another waitperson was kind of second-guessing herself. "I think that's half lamb, half beef... like, it's two patties, with the lamb and beef mixed in together." You sure? Sign me up for one! Wasn't even expecting a two-patty burger at a place like this, never mind a big burger.
The 80/20 refers to the ratio of beef to ground lamb (it doesn't say anything about it on the menu though) in the two tender-loose patties they give you in an oversized bun. With the addition of a house mayo and a relish of diced beets and zucchini, the burger is so damn exploding with juicy flavours, you will forget there is such a thing as ketchup or pickles. Highly recommended, highly out of this world. With a focus on fresh modern takes on comfort diner fare, served in dainty cups and dishes, there's no fryer in the kitchen, so you can forget about fries on the side as well.
The community investment theme seems to extend well to the diner's hospitality, where they made us feel more than warm and taken care of in our dine-in. It's hip but mature, beatnik modern but classy, romantic yet totally chilled out, and certainly gives the Gerrard area more vibrancy than it has ever seen before, where the Leslieville and Riverdale crowds can hang out for an evening. I'm more than surprisingly impressed; I'll be poking my head here more often when I can.
{TTC: the 506 all the way to Logan Avenue.}
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