Milestones

I was encouraged to try Milestones from a friend. They heard from an acquaintance, that although Milestones is a chain, they made their own hollandaise sauce - being the eggs Benedict snob that I am, my friend thought that was very important information to pass along - I agree, that is important!

Regardless of being a chain (and pressing my luck, as every other chain I've tried thus far has since closed it's door in downtown St. John's), I headed to Milestones. I would just like to put a little disclaimer in here for fans of Milestones - I'm sorry if they close after I've reviewed them. That is not my intention, I promise.

I made my way to Milestones around noon, without a reservation, as there were only two of us, and was seated right away. I will mention that Milestones has a lounge and a dining room, my brunch buddy and I chose the dining room, as it was quieter and more comfortable. For those looking to sit in the lounge, I will say that it was significantly louder than the dining room, and had more of a pub atmosphere.

Let me just take a moment to describe how beautiful Milestones is. Now, I've never eaten at a Milestones chain before, so maybe they all look like this, but I really enjoyed the use of wooden archways, chic lighting, and range of seating. You could sit in a booth, table by the big windows, or at the bar, the design was very modern, and pretty elegant. I think the next time I visit Milestones will be in the evening, to really get the full effect of the windows and lighting.

Anyway, I ordered the classic eggs Benedict, although there were multiple options - but you have to be consistent. At Milestones, the eggs Benedict comes with ham, poached egg and hollandaise on an English muffin, and I chose to try their home fries. 

Well, the plating matched the chic decor. I dug in right away, and tried this famous house made hollandaise. I wasn't a fan. It was a bit runny, and although you could see specks of cayenne, all I could taste was lemon. After eating one half of the eggs benny (the eggs were poached perfectly soft, by the way). I really didn't want to try the other half. Maybe I wasn't that hungry, or maybe I just wasn't feeling myself, but I just wasn't digging the texture or lemony taste. I actually asked the server if the hollandaise was yogurt based, as I wasn't getting the same richness that one expects from hollandaise. The server was sure it was not yogurt, and I'm sure she was right, it was the lemon juice, which was not only throwing off the taste, but the consistency. Speaking of taste, those hashbrowns...I'll give Milestones this, it wasn't the same deep fried hashbrowns that you see everywhere. These were more potato wedges than anything, but they had a kick. When you put the spiced potato with the lemony hollandaise, I wasn't feeling it. 

Regardless of decor and service, I was not a fan of Milestones. I have no doubt that the hollandaise was made in house, and because of that, I may try their eggs Benedict again - as everytime you make it, it can be different. But for now, it definitely wasn't one of my favorite eggs benny experiences. 

Milestones is getting ranked closer to the bottom with a 2/5.

Wedgewood Cafe

With the early signs of Spring, it's time for me to spring into action and start blogging more! So, with that mind, a friend and I headed to Wedgewood Café for some eggs benny on a Saturday morning. I've never been to Wedgewood Café before, but I heard a few things about them. They've been nestled at the end of a strip mall on Elizabeth Avenue for years, and regardless of living in that area for many years, I had never visited there.

Without making a reservation, we arrived at 11:00 am for some brunch. We were seated immediately, with our drink order taken fairly quickly. I will admit, I was expecting a more cozy vibe, but what I found was a bit - cool. The walls were light, with random pieces of art, all the tables looked exactly the same, with chairs that you found at Tim Horton's about 10 years ago. It wasn't the most inviting for a café, I was expecting a few booths, some tablecloths with some flowers on the table, maybe warm colors and some jazz playing in the background - but I guess décor has nothing to do with food, right? 

I ordered the classic eggs benny, with soft poached eggs, and within 15 minutes, it was before me! How speedy! It looked pretty good. The hashbrowns were those classic, deep fried hashbrowns, the same you see almost everywhere, but I was happy that they were not drenched in seasoning salt. The eggs Benedict itself was made on a croissant, with half a slice of black forest ham on one half and crispy bacon on the other. Both sides were topped with a poached egg and hollandaise. The hollandaise was a good consistency, but it was pretty standard (although the menu does state it's house made - so A+ for that), but there was not enough of it on the plate! I was happy to see the eggs were actually poached soft, there's nothing more disappointing that looking forward to that runny yolk and getting hard poached! It was interesting to get two types of meat with one order, I was not aware that I would be getting bacon on one half of my eggs Benedict. It was like getting to try two for the price of one! With that being said, the bacon was incredibly salty, and due to crispness, it kept breaking apart and I rarely got to taste all layers together, overall the bacon ended up being more frustrating than tasty. However, the black forest ham was good. I think if I ever return, I will ask for only ham. Imagine, asking to hold the bacon!  

Overall, it was good eggs benny. It didn't wow me, as some other places have, but it was good. I'm not trying to be mean, but maybe the bar has been raised as to what's considered good eggs benny? I would definitely go back, it would be a nice place to go with a few friends, for a quick meal, but not somewhere I'd bring an out of town visitor. It was also priced well at $11.49, including coffee, so that's a plus!

I think I will give Wedgewood Café...3.5/5.