the federal

great brunch! it can get quite busy on the weekend but worth the wait. great vibe and music. food can take a while but in no way a deal breaker. try the eggs federal!

finally, the only slightly disappointing dish of the night, the chicken and waffles, which is also starting to see a menu resurgence similar to mac ‘n’ cheese or poutine-topped-with-some-variety-of-braised-meat a few years ago. the chicken was perfectly crisp and the fresh mint on the plate was a really bright and playful touch, but the waffle was a little on the stale side. given how rapid-fire all the dishes came out to the table, i would have been happy waiting a few minutes for a fresh one, but oh well. one a- on an otherwise stellar report card still deserves a spot on the fridge for months.

visited this place for breakfast during our annual trip to tiff. food was amazing with some interesting twists. i had an omelet with squash, kale, sage and chèvre. one of our party had gazpacho. service was also top notch. definitely a place to revisit.

gord and i had supper this evening at the federal.

gord had mac & cheese with bacon. he liked it and said he'd get it again. i tried a couple forkfuls and it was good.

i had a burger (minus cheese, lettuce and onions) and fries. the patty is made in-house and was tender and tasty. the bun was soft, which i like. the fries were fun. i'd get it again.

our servers were quick and friendly.

stopped in for lunch and can say it was the best decision i made today as far as food goes. our server yvette was great! not once did i have to ask for a refill nor sit twirling my fingers hoping to grab her attention for assistance. i ordered the smokehouse burger and the mac n cheese. amazing!!!

i had 3 meats added to the mac for $1 each. pulled pork, ipa short rib and chorizo. the flavor of the cheese alone sold this dish but the meats made it an omfg dish lol. high five to the chef and owner because there's a hefty generous portion of meats added for the small cost that will leave you stuffed. not to mention the meats are just down right flavorful and tender. ($1 each on tuesdays. otherwise $2 for the meats)

next up was the smokehouse burger that's a bbq fans dream. a beef patty topped with smoked cheddar, smoked turkey, bbq pulled pork and peppered bacon...what more can you ask for in a burger? the mixture made for a awesome taste and a very juicy burger. meats galore!!!

the place itself was nice in the inside and has a great bar that's caught my full attention as far as coming back on a weekend to check out the nightlife there. don't pass this one up, had a great lunch here and anticipate more great things from this place in the future.

visit date 4/14/2015

we drove a good one hour to get to the federal bar from los angeles, and it was worth the night trip. the line was long to enter the club, but we got into the restaurant pretty easy with our prior reservation. the exterior of the building is classic and grand, and the interior is just as impressive. dark wooden walls and ceiling and leather furniture created the upscale ambiance of this restaurant. the food tasted impeccable, i couldn't get enough of the savory flavors, highly recommended!

i really enjoyed my cubano sandwich. the smooth and ripe avocado really tied in all the flavours of the roast pork, ham, and cheddar all together. it was a very flavourful and scrumptious sandwich that you eat with two hands (otherwise it was very easy to have the ingredients fall out). it was incredibly tasty! the greens were fresh and the potato rösti went well with the sandwich.

long beach, long beach, long beach - you are a treasure chest of restaurants, plenty of which are in close proximity to another, making it difficult to decide on where to go when a nearby sign so temptingly calls out with, "amazing food here!" that being the case, we've visited the federal bar several times before, starting in 2013, because it's guaranteed to be a fun time from the old bank and era decor to the craft beers to the hearty, satisfying food. however, with so many other joints popping up in orange county over the years, it's been a while since our last visit so we jumped on the opportunity to see what's new on their lunch menu when an invitation came.

a busy spot that was recommended to me by a friend who mentioned that "...it has the best burger". a bold statement but always looking for good spots in this hood. the four guys burger did not disappoint. it had a very familiar taste to it (wink, wink) with its pickles, mayo and mustard combo - just a healthier version of it. the burger was accompanied by a simple salad topped with picked onions. now the place can be busy and its small so if you have a group bigger than four expect to wait.

this is probably my most favourite brunch place right now. i've been here a handful of times and have always had a wonderful culinary experience.
i love the eggs federal so much that i always stick to that everytime i come here. it's poached eggs, mushroom tarragon cream, bacon or kale on an english muffin. this combination is from heaven. i can't tell you enough how extremely delicious this is. everything goes so well together and it's not heavy. i'll give you a tip...get bacon and add the kale for $1 extra. totally worth it.
my date had the vegetarian omelette and he said it was probably one of the best he's ever had. the sweet sauage was incredibly savoury and worked well as a side.
we also shared the cauliflower soup, which was the soup of the day. it totally hit the spot. hearty and delicious. something that reminds you of your mom's and brings back the warm fuzzies :)
be prepared for a bit of a line up when you arrive but it's totally worth the wait. i'll definitely be back soon.

this place was recommended to me and i'm glad i listened :)

cute little spot with polished wooden tables and an overall cozy decor. ordered the four guys burger and my coworker ordered the grilled cheese with bacon. i love that instead of fries the side is potato rosti (reminds me of the rosti i would always get at richtree growing up) and greens which was essentially mixed greens topped with pickled red onions. 

although it was a bit of a long wait at a time where the restaurant was not busy, it was worth it. my burger was exploding with flavour and the bacon on top was cooked perfectly. the pickles and special sauce created a delicious concoction similar to a mcdonald's big mac but gourmet, yummmmmmmmm. the grilled cheese proved popular too and we left feeling full and satisfied.

great little place for brunch, a saturday go to for my girlfriend and i. always order the federal breakfast with bacon, while she orders the same with kale, alongside the awesome ceaser served with a dorito!

located on dundas st west and gladstone, the federal serves up brunch everyday from 9am to 3pm.

while they are primarily known for their brunch service, they also offer an evening menu from 6pm tuesdays to sundays. since brunch is their specialty, that’s the meal we came for. the four of us arrived around 11:30 on a sunday and thankfully only had to wait 10 minutes before being seated (i think we got lucky… short waits during prime brunch hour in the city doesn’t seem to be the norm).

the space is quite small so groups of two are definitely your best bet. the tight space features exposed brick walls, a bar at the back and the usual hipster décor. 

the federal’s brunch menu consists of several sections: soup & salad, eggs, sandwiches and “un-savoury”. on the beverage side of things, they offer brunch cocktails (from 11am), a selection of beers and house-made pop. oh, and bonus points for bottomless coffee for $2.50! 

i decided to go with the eggs federal – poached eggs, bacon, english muffin, mushroom tarragon cream ($14). you have the option of substituting the bacon for kale… but i think you all know me better than that. the toasted english muffin was topped with bacon and perfectly poached eggs. while the mushroom sauce was tasty and made for a nice take on a benny, my preference is still hollandaise sauce (nothing beats a buttery hollandaise!). 

the accompanying sides were quite enjoyable. the arugula salad added a nice freshness to the heavy dish and i loved the addition of the pickled red onions. i also loved that the benny was served with rosti – which tasted amazing with their house-made ketchup.

mike ordered the cubano – roast pork, cheddar, ham, avocado, dijon, pickled red onion & dill pickle on sourdough ($14). it wasn’t traditional by any means but it was a damn good sandwich. the roast pork was wonderfully moist, the pickles and pickled red onions were plentiful and the avocado added a nice creaminess. a must-order in my opinion! 

mike and i also shared a half order of belgian waffles – served with lemon cream, fruit & maple syrup ($10 or $6 a half order). unfortunately these were pretty mediocre. i found the waffles to be on the hard side and just not very memorable. le petit dejeuner is still the place to get some of the best belgian waffles in the city. 

one of our friends ordered the sausage waffle sandwich which is a secret menu item. while i didn’t try any, he didn’t have any complaints and seemed to enjoy it. 

despite the waffles, we still had a great brunch experience. the federal is definitely a great brunch option in the dundas west area. 

at a glance:

• serving up brunch everyday from 9am to 3pm

• evening menu offered tuesday to sunday from 6pm

• located on dundas st. west (one block east of dufferin)

• small space filled with mostly two-tops

• must-order: the cubano

ratings (out of 5):

• food: 4 stars

• service: 4 stars

• atmosphere: 3 stars

great brunch spot but extremely busy on the weekends. worth the wait once you get a table. the eggs federal and gold standard are both amazing if you're a bacon and eggs kinda person.

came here an somehow there was no line! a shocker, since i am always prepared to wait around a half hour for a table here. eggs federal is the star of the menu, if you're too hungry to think, just order this. the tarragon cream is delicious!

i love mimosas with my brunch, but here they do a drink called broken flowers, which is a nice change of pace from standard brunch drinks.

i've never had bad service here. i think maybe once i waited a bit too long for a coffee. but the staff is so friendly, and this place is always packed. i'm putting the federal in the 'win' pile.