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| - I have a doppelganger, and she is a professional food writer. This Yelp review is dedicated to Gizelle Lau. Thank you.
Came here for brunch, party of four. They don't take reservations for brunch, but we were able to snag a table, no problem. As we perused the menu, we admired the rustic decor and quirky light fixtures. Our server brought us water and told us about the specials, which included a salmon eggs benny and homemade red fife donuts dusted in sugar.
We ordered the donuts to share. They were delicious, bite-size wonders... Like really fancy timbits! We were pleasantly surprised when the server brought out a basket of pastries on the house. It included mini croissants, a berry scone, muffin, and ginger snap cookies. Everything was warm out of the oven and divine. They were served with some fresh fruit preserves. I only wished there was a bit more, because it came in a tiny dish that was a bit tricky to share between 4.
For mains, I went with the smoked whitefish dill crepe, which was served on a wooden slab with creme fraiche, hen of the woods (mushrooms, not poultry!), and some caviar garnish. It was a small portion, so I'd suggest ordering it with a side or a starter. The crepe was just lovely. It was light and flavourful without being overpoweringly fishy. I had a bite of my DC's confit pork belly -- melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Other DC's had the eggs benny and duck confit on cinnamon bun bread pudding. Both looked amazing and received thumbs up from my DC's.
At this point, we were pretty full and all agreed that this was the best brunch we've had in a long time (and we go out for brunch a lot!). The dishes are creative and interesting, while ingredients are organic and locally-sourced.
Our server cleared our plates (which we had all licked clean!) and set out new cutlery. This was a bit puzzling, but we didn't think much of it. Then she returned with another dish that "the kitchen sent over" for us -- bison pemmican (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican) pasta. They were like dumplings in a light broth with kale, almonds, elderberry, and popped red fife (a heritage bread wheat). Omg, this was amazing... The red fife really added a unique flavour and texture, and the pasta itself was comfort food for a cold, wintery day. It turns out that this is a starter from their dinner menu. Get this if you are here for dinner in February, before the menu changes next month!
Now, we were reeeally full after such a satisfying brunch. Our server comes back: "I hope you saved room, because we've got dessert coming!" We thought they'd send over one thing, but they actually brought out all 3 of their dessert options: screech cake, a gelato trio, and crème brûlée. They were all fantastic, but the latter was the winner for me.
The whole situation was quite mysterious, until the sous chef came to our table to ask how the food was. Then he looks at me -- "you're Gizelle Lau right?" Uhhh... Although part of me was thinking, 'for food this incredible, I can be whoever you want me to be'... my conscience got the better of me and I told the truth (we googled her promptly, and found that she is a food writer who contributes to Toronto Life, WHERE, and other publications). I felt like I had disappointed everyone... but as a consolation, I left a "You've Been Yelped" card on the table and am writing this review. We left a big tip and apologized about the identity confusion as we left. Perhaps it was the fact that I was snapping pics on my phone and talking to my friends about star-ratings (as I was planning my Yelp review) that threw them for a loop. Maybe my friends should start calling me 'Gizelle' in public.
That said, I honestly would've given Keriwa Cafe 5 stars even without the sweet freebies! And although, we were given special treatment, I did see the sous chef go to other tables to chat and ask how people liked their food. You can bet we'll be back soon to try their dinner menu!
(Update: looks like the real Gizelle liked it too! http://www.postcity.com/Eat-Shop-Do/Eat/February-2012/Cheap-Eat-of-the-Week-Keriwa-Cafes-brunch-basket/)
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