Restaurants
Fanny Chadwick's
Fanny Chadwick's, located at the corner of Howland and Dupont, is a short skip and a hop from the Dupont subway. The name, I learned, is a homage to the 19th century socialite, playwright and musician Fanny Chadwick who grew up on Howland Avenue. Keeping with the local spirit, the restaurant prides itself on its use of locally sourced produce and meats (hormone and antibiotic free) and even touts in-house made condiments.
Word about Fanny's has spread quickly, and we found a lineup spilling the door at 10.30 am. Fortunately, we only had to wait about 15 minutes in the cold to be seated, thanks in part to a group of six ahead of us who decided to take off.
We were seated in a nook beside the door holding five tables and filled with natural morning light. Our wood table was adorned with a small potted plant and a jar of granulated brown sugar. The nook was charming, but I couldn't help but feel like we were being tucked away in a corner and hidden from the real experience of eating at Fanny's happening in the main part of the restaurant behind us. The blasts of cold air from the door didn't help.
Fanny's has fresh, clean, crisp white walls featuring vintage black and white photographs of the Annex. The main restaurant boasts an impressive large, stainless-steel 1950s diner counter with colourful booths surrounding it. The mix of diner and up(per)-scale gourmet is an interesting pairing that ultimately feels comfortable.
After waiting without water or menus for about 10 minutes, an impatient waitress came by and asked if we would like a coffee or tea. Since I knew they offered some interesting cafe specialties (like hot-chocolate with homemade marshmallow) we asked to see a menu before deciding on beverages. The waitress seemed annoyed by our request but a couple minutes later we finally got to see the menu.
It's clear much attention has gone into the visual elements of the restaurant, which made being handed two sheets of cheap, white paper as menus a surprise. I sincerely hope the "local" ink-jet printer menus are replaced soon with something a little more environmentally friendly and professional to fit the rest of the restaurant.
Another waitress came by to take our orders and was even more frantic and unfriendly then the last. My friend decided to try the hot chocolate ($3.50) while I chose a latte ($3.50) and was relieved to hear they offered soy since the menu was decidedly not vegan friendly. Unfortunately, our drinks ended up being "forgotten" and were brought out half way through the meal, which was a let down.
I ordered the "Build your own Benny" on a homemade English muffin ($9) with mushrooms and wilted greens ($2 each). My first reaction to seeing my food was disappointment. I had been eager to see how the potatoes would be done (an important distinguishing feature of any breakfast/brunch establishment) and was sad to see the locally sourced potatoes had faced the cruel fate of being put through the deep fryer.
The house ketchup did nothing to remedy the situation. As I squeezed it out of the cheap, red plastic bottle, it was thick and dark like tomato paste. Turns out it tasted just like tomato paste except more bland. My benny was fine but nothing memorable. The hollandaise sauce was creamy, as it should be, but lacked any memorable flavour and could have used a sprinkling of herbs or a pinch of salt for that matter. The wilted greens were more soggy than wilted and when I asked the waitress about my food I got two, one word answers: "yes" the ketchup is house made; the mushrooms are a "mix".
My friend decided to go for a classic bacon, eggs and toast combo ($12). The scrambled eggs were plentiful and simple in virtuous way. The bacon was lightly charred and crispy. The four thick slices of marbled rye toast outshone both of the latter with a decadent, thick mixed-berry spread to top. It was simple and fresh but overall a little lackluster.
Our long awaited drinks were served in long, glass cups. The hot chocolate was made extra sweet in a delightful way by the homemade marshmallow melted on top. My soy latte was creamy and smooth and I stirred in a little of the brown sugar from the jar on the table.
When the bill came I noticed I had been overcharged, and when I apologetically pointed it out to our waitress (already in a visible huff over us asking to pay separately), she was significantly further annoyed. I didn't realize this was a possible reaction. She ended up explaining to us later that they were missing a waiter that day who broke his arm. This was the most conversation we got with our waitress the entire sitting.
Overall, the service was unpleasant. The stress in the air was palpable and off-putting, but they were, of course, one waiter short — I will emphasize that again to be fair.
I appreciated that the local fresh produce and meats took priority in the dishes and weren't drowned out by oil and salt (save for deep-fried potatoes), but they were in need of an extra punch to make them a little more memorable.
Fanny's locally sourced ingredients, seasonal menu and unique elegant-dinner feel make in an interesting new addition to the Annex. I'm still intrigued by the grilled cheese and house cured gravlax on the lunch menu but not intrigued enough to head back anytime soon.
Watch out vegetarians — no mains offered for you at dinner. Vegans — steer clear all together.
Writing and photos by Kaela Greenstien
Discussion
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I'm not sure i'll ever go to Fanny's... Good review and the pictures are great ! (specially the one taken from the kitchen)
I am a vegetarian and did manage to find something on the menu, perogies(appetizers. I also had the winter salad. The salad, had potential but as I worked my way through it, there were elements to the salad that was over the top. Way too much blue cheese that was just overwhelming and really hard cooked vegetables, some that I pushed aside.
The perogies came with a dollop and I mean a HUGE dallop of sauce right on top. I took my knife and scraped off most of it, as it was way too much.
My husband had a ceasar salad and burger. His ceasar was really poorly dressed. It looked like they just took romaine leaves and squirted a few dollops of dressing from one of those "plastic bottles". He said it was not really great at all. The worst part was that he ate his burger and when we got home, lets just say, it cleared his system out entirely. He said he had not felt that sick from a meal in a while.. Anyway, there is no real way of knowing it was indeed the burger, but he just felt it was too coincidental. He also felt the "homemade ketchup" was pretty bland.
I really do not think we will be back any time soon, especially since they really do not have any mains that are vegetarian for me. I am not sure how you can position your restaurant so close to the annex and not offer any. There are so many vegetarians in the annex.
The one postive think I will say is that we had a latte from there and that was pretty good..
One of my brunches, I also got a pretty stressed out waitress, though the other meals were fine. I think they're trying to keep it family run perhaps, but they're doin really well for now and need some additional help.
I think the menu looks great I'm going to give this place a chance, I want to support small business's that use sustainable practices isn't of dumping on them.
But...
It took us a half hour to be served and we were the first people in there for brunch Saturday morning. It took forever to get our food, once we did, the taste was bland and the prices were high. The wait staff were a bit impatient. Of course I empathize with them just opening up, but my brunch date pointed out from the Toronto Life review that the owners have significant restaurant experience (20 years).
Did the menu say they were to be cooked some other way? What is so shocking about a potato that has been fried? I wasn't aware that local foods have to be cooked differently.
If you really don't like fried things then you should have said something before.
The rest of the review seems harsh, but fair.
Uhhh....
You don't get to work out the bugs on my dime and expect people to come back. You either get it right from the get-go or expect to be gone in six months.
That said, I have yet to visit Fanny's, though I plan on it soon. And I somehow expect it won't be as negative an experience as the author describe.
I really hope the owners read these comments as I truly wish this place to quickly turn around. They have all the ingredients to success except for the tasty ones.
I hit up the restaurant on one of its very first nights and it is an adorable and delicious addition to the neighbourhood. I had Fanny's Club (which, I should warn you is HUMONGOUS). Fresh sourdough bread, crispy smoked bacon, yummy chicken, and I love their tomato jam! It's the jam! It doesn't taste quite like Heinz, no, but it's not processed and full of sugar either. So, yeah. Yum. The Club was served with both hand cut fries and a simple salad, thumbs up on not having to choose. My friend tried the burger (again, gloriously HUMONGOUS) and it got the seal of approval. The food is just all really fresh, pure, and delicious. This is jsut how I would cook if I had the time to go the farmer's market and make homemade ketchup every week.
They have a pretty great selection of local beers on tap, and I don't think I've ever had a better pint of Mill Street Organic.
Not a lot of vegetarian food, nope, but the neighbourhood already has the beautiful Live Food Bar for the vegan/veggie crowd a hop, skip and a jump down Dupont. I had been really hankering for a place nearby with really, really good bacon before Fanny came on the scene. Sometimes tempeh just don't cut it.
I would suggest to not let this review hold you back, cause you'll miss out on a delicious time in the Annex. Let those pictures do the talking... mmm.... egg benny...
P.s. My waiter was awesome, for the record. And cute.
I had breakfast there at 10 on a Saturday. The restaurant was empty until about 11 and we still didn't get our food until 10:45. One of two couples in the place and our waitress was still somehow avoiding us.
The food was very bland though fresh-tasting. I recommend when they offer you fresh pepper - take it.
I would buy their ketchup if they sold it but otherwise most-likely will not return for some time.
Excuses aside.... WOW! The food was amazing! Just what the Annex needs. Fresh, local and delicious.
I've only been for brunch so far. Dinner is next :)
Sorry. Sure they may have been busy, but it takes 2 seconds to say "hey sorry we are short staffed today"....no need to be huffy...just sayin'......no way I would go there.
Too bad:(
Contrary to popular belief, this section of the Annex is by no means overrun with eateries. The closest options are Bloor street which is an unreasonable distance for the majority of hangover-nursing brunchers. Fanny's quaint, convenient location is exactly what earned it such a warm welcome when it opened barely a month ago.
Whining about lineups and delayed service at a newly established eatery is like complaining about standing ovations at a concert. If Fanny's was as avoidable as this writer would have us believe, there would be no lineups, no franctic waitresses. An arbitrary account like this should be taken with a grain of in-house-made salt. Clearly, the writer hasn't grasped the meaning of the old adage that 'you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs'.
People show dissatisfaction with their wallets. The writer likely won't be back. Be grateful that someone provided criticism, instead of a being petulant little turd who makes excuses and points to the queue of people outside, as if the criticism doesn't matter at all.
But if I wrote off every restaurant that disappointed me once (or twice) I would indeed quickly run out of places to eat... I suppose I'd have to stop eating out and start cooking for myself. But of course that would mean grocery shopping and that would run the risk of rats in the bulk bins, rude or indignant cashiers, etc.
If you want to vote with your wallets go ahead but if you're too quick to judge you'll find yourself with very limited options.
I like having Fanny Chadwick's in my neighbourhood. I like having Universal Grill, Grapefruit Moon and all of the others too, despite occasional bad experiences. I will always give it and others like it a second chance. If I am consistently dissapointed time after time then yes, I will stop going. But never after one or two experiences and never three weeks after a place has opened.
That would be a disservice only to myself.
So, first impressions don't matter?!
HAHAHA. That's how restaurants don't survive.
Not being PREPARED for an opening, and people coming to review it, and making quick assumptions from there. No one is going to 'give it a second chance'. Wrong industry, my dear.
Food terrorists...
the so-so food probably would have gone unnoticed if the service hadn't have been so crummy. having multiple servers is confusing and the fact that none of them were even "fake" happy kinda sucked. bummer. such potential here.
Chicken croquettes were flavourless, salad dressing overly lemony and food overpriced!
Never again!!