the federal

visited thisplacefor 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 aplaceto revisit.

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!!!

theplaceitself 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 thisplacein the future.

visit date 4/14/2015

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 theplacecan be busy and its small so if you have a group bigger than four expect to wait.

this is probably my most favourite brunchplaceright 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.

thisplacewas 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 littleplacefor 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 theplaceto 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

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 thisplaceis always packed. i'm putting the federal in the 'win' pile. 

i made the decision to check out the federal because i like mushrooms. simple as that. also, i am a big fan of eggs benedicts. when i read in a review that the federal offers an eggs benedict with a mushroom sauce on their menu, i had to try it. regina and i arranged to meet here for brunch on a weekday, and i almost walked past the restaurant. it is a tiny but cozy space. regina was already here when i arrived, and we were the only 2 people in the place. as soon as i sat down, i began to look around and took some pictures. the guy at the counter did not seem happy with this. first thought, the attitude better not continue during our brunch. if it does, the food better be pretty damn spectacular to overshadow this bratty attitude. started out with coffee. free refills, so that was a good start. i loved the seating. seemed like a greatplaceto hang out with a coffee and book. i would not however, because even though the seating was great, the vibe

a dose of bad customer service served up with your eggs. with all of the great reviews i'd read about thisplaceand the tantalizing food photos, i didn't expect a sunday morning scolding from the manager/owner of this joint. lesson learned: make sure you arrive with your full party before hoping to get seated for breakfast and parties of one beware! instead of the owner taking the high road to make his customer feel welcome he chose to serve up a guilt laden lecture on how my seemingly selfish request to be seated for 5 minutes on my own before my friend arrived, (after standing for 20 minutes at the bar and being asked to grab my own sugar from the service pantry) would cost the couple who had been waiting at the door for all of 5 minutes, precious ordering time. no matter how good the food might be, no one should be made to feel like a rotten egg first thing in the morning.