THE MORNING AFTER: Chris, Tomas & Friends' Guide to Breakfast in Toronto

MAGGI'S (400 College St.)

WE THREE KINGS: Chris, Aaron & Austin

RATINGS:
FOOD: 3+
PRICE: 2+
SERVICE: 4
AMBIANCE: 3


ALL-DAY BREAKFAST: YES
COFFEE/ESPRESSO BAR: YES
COFFEE INCLUDED: NO
FREE REFILLS: YES
LICENSED: NO
HP SAUCE: YES
PATIO: NO
BOOTHS: NO
OPEN-KITCHEN: NO

35 simple steps to having a sluggish but all together not too shabby thursday like this guy:

(*me pointing at myself with my thumbs all awesome like)

1) Jump in the shower
2) Throw on the standard flannel+hoody+jeans combo
3) Grab a coffee at Big Bee
4) Smoke a cigarette
5) Catch a ride to work
6) Pour yourself a coffee
7) Put on some Every Time I Die
8) Check your email / facebook
9) Look for work to do to no avail
10) Watch Tom Waits interviews on YouTube in chronological order beginning in 1977
11) Pour yourself another coffee
12) Smoke another cigarette
13) Ask people for something to do to no avail
14) Check your email / facebook again
15) Tweak out a new profile photo using an unfinished sketch of yourself
16) Eat breakfast at Maggi's
17) Grab the new Now mag
18) Listen to some Dropkick Murphys
19) Pour yourself another coffee
20) Go over some typesetting for Aaron
21) Go for a cigarette and end up with Michele, Andre, James and a D-SLR
22) Photograph everything other than what you set out to
23) Take a pee
24) Check your email / facebook again
25) Retouch one of the photos taken earlier for Michele
26) Email directions to your place from the 400 for your brother
27) Meet Sarah downstairs
28) Hit up the LCBO
29) Drink some beers at Kevin's
30) Get offered a decent paying freelance gig
31) Accept a decent paying freelance gig
32) Go to the Protest the Hero listening party
33) Get right knackered on $6 Buds
34) Head to Sneaky Dee's for a King's Crown and Mo Drizzies
35) Somehow find your way home and crawl your drunk ass into bed

What the fuck am I getting at? Nothing really, aside from quenching the instinctually voyeuristic appetite of the human psyche and stating #16 in a creative, yet extremely pointless and drawn-out manner. Walk into any shop along College between Spadina and Bathurst and you've got a 50/50 chance of finding either breakfast or computers. At Maggi's you'll find breakfast.

STANDARD BREAKFAST:
3 eggs
bacon, ham or sausage
multigrain or white toast
garlic fries
$6.95+tx.


THE FOOD: Just like our "Tree dem Mo Drizzies!" at Sneak's later in the night, the eggs at Maggi's come in threes. (I ended up with 4 though, but that's completely beside the point.) Actually, I don't really have a point. The food was good. That's a point. This one time, myself and some buddies from Spanish were heading into Sudbury for ride night and so as not to lose one another, Steve, in all his french glory asked us if we should have a "meet point". Then I told him "I've got a meat point." and he asked where it was... lol.

THE PRICE: $6.95. The same price as Kos but with tastier food. The same price as Mitzi's, but not quite as flavourful. The same price as Bloor Jane but coffee's not included. The same price as Caddy but with no kick arse patio.

THE SERVICE: Any dude that brings me coffee and links me up with not only a pen, but a notepad and a smile is pretty much the coolest dude in the history of ever. Were it a pretty lady, a 4+ may have been in order.

THE AMBIANCE: The Hollaback Nickelback playlist aside, Maggi's is pretty okay. The puke...i mean peach coloured walls may not be the easiest on the eyes, but if you get there at just the right time , with just the right sky, you get a window full of balmy pleasure. As far as the remainder of the place goes, it's a touch run-down, but all it really needs is a fresh coat of paint and a dash of awesomer.

With a fittingly disheveled demeanor, walls littered with art and a medley of assorted cushions, Maggi's fits right into the Yasi's / Mitzi's mold without even mentioning the pattern in names. Maggi's edge; it's location could not be any better and recieves ten times the traffic as it's side-street sisters. It's foible; they don't put quite the same effort or welcome experimentation into their grub as their character laden counterparts, sticking to a pretty conservative (however savory) breakfast fare. All-in-all, Maggi's is worth checking out if you're in the area for reasons other than RAM; because Aunties and Uncles aside, it's better than alot of the joints on the block.