Aug. 25, 2010 - Issue #775: Eamon McGrath
Art of breakfast
Cora offers a singular—and popular—experience
Part of what makes a meal at Cora so healthy is that you can cover all your food groups in one meal, as most dishes are served with a pile of perfectly ripened fruit such as strawberries, pineapple and cantaloupe. I recommend arriving at Cora early if you don't want to stand in line, but if you do get stuck waiting you can watch the chefs busy at work blending smoothies and cracking eggs—and you'll see plenty of smoothies being made and eggs being cracked if you try to go around brunch time on a weekend as the line will be out the door, even in the winter.
I managed to work fruit directly into my meal by ordering the apple cheddar and maple syrup omelette ($10.55). Served with extra apple slices on the side, toast and hashbrowns, I opted for adding caramelised onions ($1.15) to my hashbrowns which upped the ante. My plate was drizzled in thick, Quebec maple syrup—which usually costs $0.65 extra to add to your meal—and at first each sweet bite of crisp apple slices, soft egg and sharp white cheddar cheese pleased my palette. However, by the time I reached the last bite it was too sickly sweet. I could have used a bit less syrup—it would have been better served on the side. I also had a raspberry smoothie ($4.15) served with a slice of cantaloupe and garnished with a wedge of pineapple. Smoothies are also available in strawberry banana, mango banana and fruit cocktail. The smoothies taste natural with yogurt and fruit and no added sugar.
My husband had the Cora Special: two eggs any style, sausage, ham, bacon, wedge potatoes, a crepe and toast, in addition to the fruit his plate was garnished with—pineapple, cantaloupe and strawberries. He decided on coffee which tasted like regular bland diner coffee—many restaurants go all out on the food, but skimp on the coffee, which is really unfortunate.
The service we received was not the fastest, but the delays were understandable as it was quite busy. The menu is unique and has a great variety of healthy choices as well as a few items that are more of treat.
The first Cora restaurant was opened in 1987 by Cora Tsouflidou. She was a single mother and her waffles and fresh fruit dishes were a huge success in Montréal. The first restaurant was opened in a 25-seat snack bar on Cote-Vertu road in the Ville Saint-Laurent district in Montréal. She remains active in her restaurants today and still creates new dishes.
Our breakfast left us satisfied—although next time I'll try something a bit less sweet—and the portions were generous enough to keep us full for most of the day. As we made our way out the door past the lineup of over a dozen people, I admired the huge pile of fruit stacked up on the kitchen counter: pineapples, strawberries, mountains of melons, bananas, apples and oranges all waiting to be chopped or blended into smoothies. V
Mon – Sat (6 AM – 3 PM); Sun (7 AM – 3 PM)
Cora
2920 Calgary Trail NW, Suite 1111
780.465.2672
More info about Cora →
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