Brunch on Bigass Bacon with Buxom Blondes

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If the first thing you crave on Saturday morning is buxom blondes, big ass bacon and a steaming cup of coffee, then do I have a joint for you…

The Burgundy Lion is best known for being one of the few proper English style pubs in Montreal, and yes, it is more than decent for lunch and  dinner.  But their Saturday morning breakfast surpasses good – it’s the stuff of foodie legend.

And when I say Saturday morning, I mean that in the loosest sense.  The Burgundy Lion serves breakfast until two o’clock, so you can take your time, sleep in, wallow in self-indulgence, and not even bother to give your clothes a second glance until one in the afternoon if you so wish.

Once you do haul your lovely self out of the house and into the Lion, you will be greeted by a hip young gentleman waiter, or by the trademark employee, one of the Burgundy Blondes…  Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many blondes in one place.  I didn’t’t even know they made that many anymore, let alone carrying bacon!

I and Mr. Man started with mimosas, made with their own apple cider.  So far, so good – service was quick, and the mimosas, though nothing revolutionary, were delicious.

We then ordered the Yank – he with toast and sausages, and I with fried bread and bacon.   The bacon was of a texture that I never knew bacon could be – velvety, melt-in your-mouth, sweet-and-salty lovely.  The thick, luscious dessert of all meat.  The fried bread was also sinful – the waitress warned me that this was not just toast that had been fried (instead, presumably, of baked).  I said I knew – it wasn’t my first time.  The bread was completely crisp, with no soft inside, and moist with grease.  They give you two slices, but after the first one, though you are so, so at peace with the universe, it’s very difficult to look the second one in the eye without having visions of yourself keeling over, struck by a heart attack.  I always give my second piece to the Man, and steal some of his toast instead.

The hash browns were fluffy, and a little spicy.  The tawny gold coating had the perfect give, and they added a kick to the rest of the items on the plate.

The Yank also came with a roasted tomato – this is done with less pizzazz than the rest, thank god – one more flavor would have tipped me into overload.  The tomato was perfectly done, seasoned with salt and pepper and, I think, a hint of oregano.

The eggs were also, naturally, perfectly done – runny in all the right places.

Unfortunately, the toast didn’t come with any jam, which was a bit of a bummer – you have to order marmalade and jam as a side, which we did.  These were both home-made.  The marmalade was a perfect, bitter-sweet contrast to the rest of the meal, with a healthy dose of caramelized orange slices.  Its companion, however, was a disappointment – it was raspberry jam, but had the faint aftertaste of catsup.

The Burgundy Lion is, hands down, my favourite breakfast place in all of Montreal.  Every corner of the plate is complex flavour-texture sensation– no slacking off here.  The price is reasonable, the service is quick (and bodacious) and, best of all, you don’t have to wake up early on a Saturday to enjoy it.

The Burgundy Lion is located at 2496 Notre Dame St. W. (514) 934-0888. Open M-F 11:30 a.m. – 3 a.m. and S, S from 9 a.m. – 3a.m.