SCHOOL

Every year I visit the One of a Kind Show with two of my favourite people, the Best Friend and the Fiance. It’s a tradition that I adore even more, now that we’ve added brunch to the outing. This year, the three of us stopped by School to fuel up for all the shopping ahead.

Atmosphere: School was a popular place to be on Saturdays. There were two groups of 10 in front of us and I was worried about the wait. Our trio was able to squeeze into spots at the bar, which helped. If you’re coming on a weekend, reservations are a good idea.

The “school” theme doesn’t scream at you through the decor but with cute, subtle touches. Clocks decorated an exposed brick wall and were all set to 3pm, when school lets out. My friend is a high school teacher and got a kick out of the cocktail names (ie. Hot for Teacher). The bakery counter at the front of the restaurant was loaded with tempting baked goods, perfect for a takeaway coffee and snack.

Service: With a queue of diners waiting, the host used an iPad app to manage the wait. Groups could leave their phone number, the number of guests and would get a text message when their table was ready. The table would then be held for a set amount of time. The app also kept track of whether or not all the guests had arrived to prioritize the queue. We ended up waiting less than 30 minutes and was served by the bartender who was friendly and efficient.

Food: Right off the bat, we decided to split three entrees and managed to order the heaviest ones off the Weekend Brunch Menu. The three dishes were the Golden Hashbrown Poutine, Fried Chicken with Waffles and Super Cheesy Bacon French Toast.

Of the three, my favourite was the French Toast and there was no weak plate. Based on looks alone, initially though the hashbrown would disappoint, instead it delivered. The sunny side up egg was perfect, the gravy savoury and the tomato jam had a great balance of sweet and sour. Each bite was rich and filling. I do like my hash a little more crispy.

With the fried chicken and waffles, the waffles were soft but not sweet, which was perfect with the juicy fried chicken. I liked the buttermilk batter with a light mix of spices that was perfect for dipping into the Tobasco-Pepper honey. My pick was the Cheesy French Toast and it was a good one. There was loads of melted Cheddar Jack on the thick cut French Toast. I love the combo of syrup and cheese. I appreciated the lightly dressed mixed greens that was served on the side. All three dishes were heavy, and the salad was a refreshing break in between bites.