After a long blogging-hiatus we found our way to Lady Marmalade in Leslieville on Queen East. We’d been warned by Karina’s sister, Stace, to get there before 9:00 (AM!) if we weren’t interested in waiting endlessly for a table. The consensus was that 9:00 did seem a bit early for a Saturday, but we made it to Lady by around 9:45 and, even with two parties ahead of us, were sitting by just after 10. Although we must warn: by the time we left around 11:30 the line-up was clean out the door, past the entire storefront, and who knows how far down the block.
The atmosphere at Lady Marmalode was a combination was fun and make-shift– neither in a way that we hadn’t seen before. The lime green wood-panelled walls were cascaded with local art and the floor plan was decorated with an eclectic smattering of 1950’s-style kitchen tables and vintage chairs. The lay-out was really spacious and so we never felt like we were listening to other people’s conversations or eating off of strangers’ plates. For better or for worse. The music was a mixture of indy tunes (most of which we’d never heard before) and generally the mood was upbeat, boisterous and cheery.
One of the factors that made Lady so great was her mixed crowd: young families, middle-agers, post-middle-agers, and singles alike filled this one neighbourhood joint. There was a low-hanging chalk board and kids books near the door along with a selection of different newspapers.
Another exciting thing about Lady was the kitchen’s skill in preparing drinks. Mark ordered the mango lassi which was blended with mint leaves and, unlike many-a-lassi, it was not too sweet. The same went for Karina’s chai latte and Leora’s
The food was all good although some orders were more successful than others. The most successful order all around was one of Lady’s many interpretations on eggs benny which included bacon, aged cheddar and mango in a lemony hollandaise. This dish was fabulous. The hollandaise was perfect and generously ladled over the dish, and it seemed like the mango was either baked or carmelized. Whatever it was, this dish really worked. It was also garnished in fresh chives which added a nice touch.
The huevos rancheritos was a bit of a disappointing order. It came with soft scrambled eggs, black beans, guacamole, whole wheat tortillas and a chipotle salsa. The dish did not stand out and the salsa was too watery.
The poached egg BLT with chipotle mayo, roasted tomatoes, bacon and avocado on whole grain bread was good but not spectacular. The chipotle mayo had kick and the flavours worked well but because the sandwich couldn’t be picked up it ate more like a benny.
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