The House on Parliament in Cabbage Town has for some time now been a foody fix for East Enders. A local watering hole and weekend brunch spot the HOP has acted as a Living Room for many Torontonians. The restaurant serves up over ten beers on tap and has a notoriously good pulled pork sandwich (which I read about on several websites before going, which I was recommended by my server and by two strangers in the restaurant while I waited as well as my dining companion).
I enjoyed my first meal at the HOP during a lovely Saturday afternoon in February. I arrived early to grab a seat by the bay window and noticed many a gay gossiping. One such pair were caught drinking champagne with their eggs and not even talking to each other. They spent their entire meal typing on their Blackberry’s. I wonder if they were deaf, blind or simply snobbish and indifferent. I obviously took a picture of them for your reference.
I took a look through the menu and smiled. The chef had organized the menu with the following titles:
Fork and Spoon
No Cutlery Needed
Utensils Optional
Silverware Required
We enjoyed the following:
Honey Garlic Chicken Wings with carrots and celary with garlic mayo for dipping.
Spinach Salad with chicken, warm goat cheese, candied pecans, caramelized pears, red onion confit, boiled egg in a honey dijon vinaigrette.
Eggs Parliament with two poached eggs on toasted english muffin topped with smoked mozzarella and crispy double smoked bacon, plum tomato chutney with hollandaise sauce served with homefries.
The old HOP recently closed down and after a few days of renovations the boy are back in business. You can find the new restaurant a stones throw from its predecessor, just south of Carleton Street on Parliament
#135 restaurant reviewed in Ontario since moving to Toronto in 2010.
