Sunday mornings in Charleston can be summed up in two words: bottomless mimosas! I have counted no less than a dozen restaurants offering this brunch special. Our house guest for the weekend, Kentucky Fried Muffy, decided to organize an outing to one such downtown location. That is how we found ourselves at Toast, ten strong, drinking mimosas on the sidewalk while waiting for a table.
My first piece of advice is not to show up with 10 people. If for some reason that isn't an option, try to avoid the South Eastern Wildlife Expo as the weekend you bring the aforementioned 10 people. Toast is far from a spacious setting, though the hour and a half wait was made bearable with flowing mimosas. The restaurant itself is very home kitchen in style, very welcoming, and staffed by incredibly friendly waitresses. This welcoming atmosphere helps when our party of ten becomes two tables of five.
To keep this post from stretching on a week, I'll focus on four dishes. First up is The Girl's sorority Big Sister, Army Wives Season 3. She went with the build your own omelet with home fries and a biscuit ($9.00). With your choice of three toppings, this massive fluffy pillow of an omelet is both light and filling at the same time. The home fries are some of the best I've ever had, crisp without being over cooked, and without any mush.
Another friend, the Svelte Fox himself, stole my original order and went with the Philly Breakfast Sandwich with home fries ($7.99). Served on thick cut toast, this is what Rocky eats for breakfast when he is tired of raw eggs. Steak, scrambled eggs, and cheese give you the type of hearty sandwich that you would never see at the Golden Arches. The steak is well seasoned and juicy, and the eggs are a beautiful soft scrambled. I am craving one as I write this.
The Girl, who has no voice and is communicating solely through text message, settles in on the Traditional French Toast, served with your choice of bacon, sausage, or country ham ($6.50). This plate is a good size if your only somewhat hungry, though after an hour and a half wait I found it a little lacking. Two pieces of toast and one large sausage sit on the sugar dusted plate. The french toast was very tasty, and the sausage was mild and satisfying. I just wish there was more of it.
After loosing out on the Philly Sandwich, I quickly settled in on the most expensive item on the menu, the Eggs Meeting Street ($8.99 for the single, $11.99 for the double). This tower of southern breakfast charm starts with a foundation of two fried green tomatoes, each topped by a crab cake, a poached egg, and Lowcountry remoulade sauce. The fried green tomato is crisp with a touch of pepper spice and beautifully green. The crab cake, as with most in South Carolina, is made of shredded crab and a lot of breading. Even though I hesitate to call these crab cakes (my position on lump versus shredded crab is well known), they are still rather tasty. The poached egg is what brings this dish together. Nothing says love like a runny yolk. The Lowcountry remoulade was nice, though over reduced and slightly salty.
Toast is a wonderful Brunch destination, if you remember to leave the baseball team at home. The menu has some great diversity and is filled with fresh wonderful food. Looking though the lunch and dinner menu, I think we will have to come back soon. Who knows, maybe The Girl will be able to order for herself next time.
The Scores:
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Food: 8/10
Value: 5/5
Overall: 21 out of 25 A wonderful brunch destination with $10 bottomless mimosas, what else would you do with your Sunday Morning?
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