Brunch with Mom

Another in the series of brunch with Mom. As my regular readers will no doubt know, my mom doesn't drive downtown, and rarely ventures onto the skytrain either. As a result, she doesn't get to come eat where I work very often. A few weeks ago, I decided to take her to Joe Fortes for brunch. She loves seafood, abhors meat, so this was indeed a perfect location for her.

The moment we sat down, we were greeted with a bread basket, accompanied by the usual oil and vinegar dipping.

One thing that I always look for (and crave) is warm fresh bread. I just love it when a restaurant goes the extra mile and does that for you. I know you're already giving me something for free, so who am I to ask for it to be hot, right? But places that do this? I love the added value there. So thank you!

What was unique about this dish though, was the oil. This wasn't your average extra virgin olive (EVOO a la Rachel Ray). They use lobster oil, made in-house. The acidity in the vinegar serves to enhance the flavour of the oil, so good!

As I mentioned before, the mom isn't a meat fan. So it comes as no surprise that she would order the Fortes Benny. It's their smoked salmon benny, served atop the traditional English muffin. It came with a side of hash as well.

We liked that the server asked how my mom would like her eggs cooked, rarely been asked that for eggs benny. Love the sprinkling of dill on top, don't you? The eggs benny themselves were amazing but we were a bit disappointed in the hash. They were just chunks of potatoes, without anything added to it, I would preferred the addition of some diced onions. And it seemed as they were undercooked, well, cooked, but not crispy.

I decided to get the Lobster and Shrimp Club House, after seeing one arrive at the table next to me. I asked for the brioche toast to be double toasted, so it's a little darker that you would expect. The filling was a combination of lobster meat and baby shrimp, in a light mayo dressing, mixed with celery for crunch and parsley for freshness. I opted to skip the mayo on the bread, and didn't miss it at all.

Add some fresh lettuce and tomatoes, and you've got yourself an amazing sammy. I rarely get clubhouses, but this one is changing my mind.

One thing that I really enjoyed about this dish was the generous portion of greens that they served up with it. Just lightly dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette, and topped with a lot of finely diced tomatoes. Such a treat! For the prices (almost White Spot-like), you're getting an amazing value here, and very white glove service.