ARTS & CULTURE
Monday, December 1, 2014 21
Jurisfoodence
» continued from page 10
LLBO licensed
K ate: They do serve alcohol, but a cocktail will cost
you at least $11, and a pitcher for the table is nearly
$40. I was definitely feeling too broke to order one,
but apparently they put bacon in their Caesars, which
sounds like it might be delicious, but possibly really
disgusting…
K arolina: Nothing to report on this front, since I
didn’t order any drinks. Next time.
The Food
K ate: A few people have questioned the fact that I
seem to always get the “standard breakfast” at these
brunch places; my response is that, if they can’t do the
basics right, they cannot possibly be the best brunch
spot in Toronto. That being said, I got Big Crow’s version of the standard breakfast, and it was great: two
big pieces of thickly-cut barbequed bacon, three fried
eggs, a piece of bread that was grilled on the barbeque,
and a grilled potato with blue cheese ranch and green
onions.
I wasn’t into the potato, but I think this is more of a
subjective opinion – I don’t really like ranch, and the
blue cheese was a bit much in the morning; however,
objectively, I think it was done well. The grilled bread
was delicious and the eggs were eggs, but the real
highlight was the bacon – I am so happy I am no longer
a vegetarian and was able to enjoy it. In all seriousness, the bacon at Big Crow was like the best I’ve ever
had; no matter what you get, order a side of bacon. You
won’t regret it.
K arolina: I ordered the coal baked brie, which
arrived with the tinfoil peeled back to reveal a perfectly warmed and generous helping of the cheese,
accompanied by rapini slathered in a delicious sweet
chilli and garlic glaze and two massive, toasted slices
of ciabatta bread, doused in olive oil. Apparently Rose
and Son’s greasy spoon-esque cooking methods are
not lost on its little sister.
Though sinful, the food was delicious. The chilli
rapini had a bit of a kick without being too spicy for
the early hour. My love affair with carbohydrates was
well attended to. Warm, freshly toasted bread, crispy,
but still soft in places, is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
Add some quality olive oil and it just might’ve carried
the meal on its own. Luckily, there were no weak spots
to compensate for.
My only complaint is that the rapini, though not
undercooked to my taste, was tough and the dull
knives just couldn’t cut through it. But I suppose no
one’s all that concerned with etiquette at Big Crow,
which the owner has described as “less than casual,”
so I gave up and chowed down on the rapini with
reckless abandon.
K ate: Your description of the bread and olive oil
reminds me of that time we went on a bike tour in
Chianti, Italy while on exchange, and all we ate was
bread dipped in locally made olive oil – amazing.
It is also noteworthy that Big Crow has a brunch
dessert menu; it sounded delicious, but considering
that I think I only ate half my meal, I just couldn’t
hack it.
K arolina: And as Karolina sat in her darkened room,
illuminated by a single ray of light emanating from
her desk lamp, dressed in the same sweatpants she
had worn for the last 24 hours, subsisting solely on