A Taste of Brunch: Origin

It always seemed to me that there weren't a lot of breakfast places in Toronto but the problem was that I was never really looking for them. In April there was a feature in Now magazine reviewing around 100 places in the city. I then started to pay more attention to weekend brunch spots. There were little signs decorating the windows of restaurants advertising brunch and food displays that passersby would pause to salivate over.

Origin is a restaurant I regularly pass by and they have often had brunch advertized on the weekends. I've read a number of reviews on Origin and each of them mentioned the deviled eggs. This piqued my curiosity.

I'd say they lived up to expectations. The presentation was fantastic, the bacon was crisp and the little crispy rice balls were intriguing.

I also ordered the Ranchero eggs. It was love at first bite. My initial fork full had plantain, salsa and egg on it. I didn't initially realize that the ingredients between the plantain and the eggs were not layered but sectioned off and almost finished the salsa before I had dug into the beans. The entire thing was delicious. I've never had this type of dish before.

I enjoyed the brunch so much that when it came time for dinner my lack of desire to cook resulted in me returning to Origin for my second meal of the day.

I had already decided to order the duck wrap and was placing the menu back on the table when the woman at the table next to me leaned over and suggested, I order the duck wrap. She pointed to her empty plate and said it was delicious.

The woman was right. It was delicious. There was a bit of crunch in the dish and I'm not sure if it was coming from the meat or from a crumb mixture that was sprinkled on it. There was also a bit of heat but only someone that barely eats spicy food would be apt to notice. I love cilantro and enjoy hoisin sauce and could taste those ingredients as well.

I watched some of the dishes be served at the other tables. One of the dishes that caught my attention was a beet salad. The greens were nicely arranged on the plate with a large perfectly round beet perched in the center.

I love the creativity in presentation at this place and I love the flavour and textures the food has. This place is now on my favourites list. I'm not sure why it wasn't on it sooner.