Last night, on our evening walk with Sadie, we started talking about all of the restaurants we want to try in our new hometown. You guys have provided some awesome recommendations and when I told Ryan about the large number of people who raved about Toast, a popular cafe with three locations in the Charlotte area, we immediately put it on our radar.
When Ryan suggested a breakfast date this morning, I was game!
We set our alarms for the usual time so we could both complete our respective workouts before the cafe opened at 7 a.m. I took a 6 a.m. Pure Barre class and by 7:10 a.m., I was walking through the doors of the Davidson location of Toast.
I thought we’d be the only two people at the cafe at 7:10 a.m. during the workweek, but I was wrong! Though there were a few people there, it wasn’t packed (I’ve heard it can get slammed on the weekends for brunch) and service was extremely fast which was a good thing since Ryan didn’t want to be late to work.
My meal began with coffee.
(I needed the warmth from that coffee because it was quite chilly inside the restaurant! Thanks to Ryan for grabbing my sweatshirt on his way out the door after his shower. And no, I definitely didn’t shower before breakfast. Scrubbin’ it!)
I know nothing about coffee and what constitutes a “good” cup of coffee by mainstream standards, but I’m pretty convinced the coffee at Toast is strong. I felt awfully chatty throughout breakfast which is a surefire sign of lots of caffeine.
For breakfast, I ordered two poached eggs with a side of roasted vegetables and two slices of multigrain toast.
Everything was delicious and I loved that roasted veggies were an option for a side at Toast! Woop! Ryan also shared some of his banana nut pancake with me which was fantastic.
It was such a nice way to begin a random Thursday!
Question of the Morning
- What is your favorite thing to order when you go out to breakfast?
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
I’m a hobbit kind of guy. When they run that special at Denny’s I’m in. The best part is I actually leave with a full belly. I hate going out to eat and spend a decent amount of change to still be hungry.
Yay!! So glad you got to try it out. It’s one of my favorite breakfast spots (along with the new Sun Up Cafe off 31). Davidson is the cutest 🙂
We need a breakfast date to Sun Up! Diane told us it’s fabulous, too! 🙂 Hope to see you sooooooon!
Breakfast dates are by far the best – my boyfriend and I have reservations to do brunch this weekend. Good idea going on a weekday! I’m sure that added some nice variety to your week as well 🙂 food looks delicious! Im a sucker for breakfast food…and I can never decide…eggs? Pancakes? Eggs? French toast? Pancakes? It’s too difficult…
What a fun start to the day! I love ordering scrambled eggs with a side of fruit and bacon. Bacon is one of my guilt pleasures and I love treating myself if we go out.
If I’m going out for breakfast I usually get either pancakes or french toast.
I think my favorite meal to go out for is breakfast – it always feels like an extra special treat.
I’ve heard so much about Toast! It looks delicious!
I love a good breakfast date with my hunny. 🙂 My favorite thing is always a really great omelette loaded with all the god stuff. At one particular diner I will get their “extra thick, extra crispy” French toast.
This seems like such a nice morning! Breakfast dates are rare haha but the best (we aren’t morning people)!
Kim
http://trendkeeper.me
Love breakfast dates before work, it starts off the day on such a great note! I like ordering things I don’t usually have at home like pancakes and omelets!
I’m a pancakes or waffles kind of girl. When I visited my bestie in Denver a few years ago, she took me to a similarly named restaurant (that lacked carpet, and echoed really loudly!), where I got nutella and banana French toast. It was fun.
Village Inn used to have the worst coffee (it was all weak and watery! Yuck!), but they’ve since remodeled their restaurants, and have a dark roast coffee that’s delicious!
What a fun way to switch up the morning routine. There are so many little breakfast cafes in SF that I’ve not tried. I love to get tea with steamed milk as my beverage, and some sort of a healthy-protein-baked-pastry that’s not too sugary.
Ooh, that looks wonderful! We rarely go out to eat for breakfast but when we do, you can bet pancakes or French toast is in order.
Eggs and omelette or frittata and of course bacon!!! Yummers! Love getting fresh juices too!
Hi Julie! Can you tell us what kind of results you’re seeing from PB? I LOOOVE PB but I want to hear what changes you’re experiencing since you’re going so frequently =) Also, I realize I can do a 530am HIIT workout but it’s hard for me to be awake and focused for PB class at 6am. Any tricks you’re doing between waking up and going to barre so early?
Hi Kelly! So far the biggest thing I’ve noticed from doing Pure Barre regularly for almost a month is an increase in my core strength! Core work was usually the thing I would skip in my workouts, so I love taking a class that really focuses on that part of training since it is extremely important. And I actually think it is easier to motivate myself to do barre workouts in the morning versus running or intense cardio! I have to be “in the zone” for those workouts whereas barre I just do what I’m told! 🙂 I love the way muscles are exhausted but then you move on to something else the minute you think you can’t do another rep.
Awesome! Thanks for the reply! 🙂
I had to chime in here– I’m a runner and I’ve been going to Pure Barre for the past few months (like ~35 classes so far) and have noticed the same! I’ve always struggled with core strength, and barre has been amazing in that area! I also notice changes in how defined my arms look.I look forward to my early morning classes!
You are simply adorable, even when you are scrubbin it! I always change what I get for breakfast when we go out. I love all breakfast foods! I usually get something that I haven’t had in awhile.
Don’t make fun… but I was actually browsing the menu and trying to figure out what I’d order. That avocado omelet sounds on point! That’s so cute that y’all had a breakfast date 🙂
That would be one of the highlights of moving to a different town- trying new restaurants:)
Totally agree! 🙂
I always order on the sweet side – oatmeal or especially baked oatmeal when it is available – the best!
Yay! Glad you all enjoyed Toast 🙂 They are craaaazy on the weekends sometimes – so you all picked a great time to go.
If I want sweet – I love pancakes. Otherwise a good omelet with spinach and just about any kind of cheese is my fave.
I love it when a place has gluten free pancakes to order! If not, an omelette or yogurt parfaits are totally a win for me! Have a great day!
I love Toast! My favorites are their quiches & stuffed French Toasts. Glad you got to check it out!
Cute!! I love breakfast dates!
My favourite thing to order is eggs and soldiers (dippy eggs and strips of toast) with a side of fruit (watermelon!)
I love getting an omelette or a frittata with hash browns since those are things that I never make for myself at home!
Y’all are too cute. 🙂 I never really do breakfast out, exactly, at least not early, but I’ve been brunch-crazy lately!
Breakfast dates are the best way to start the day! For some reason, I love me some good tex-mex in the mornings, so I usually order Migas or breakfast tacos. Can’t say I used to order that when living in the Midwest, but Texas has their migas down! I am taking my first purre barre class this weekend & am really looking forward to it :).
Yum!! That looks super good!! Well before I figured out that I’m lactose and gluten intolerant, I use to always order pancakes, and I would order that for dinner too sometimes haha. But now I just stay clear of going out to eat breakfast, they use milk in almost everything and oil their pans with butter.
I’m convinced that breakfast/brunch dates are actually way more fun than dinner dates! Partially because I’m obsessed with breakfast foods and partially because it’s more acceptable to be out in public in sweats and messy hair in the morning than it is at night 🙂
Pancakes are my favorite thing to order when I go out for breakfast! That or omelettes!
My favorite thing to order is pancakes or waffles! I don’t make those very often at home, so being able to order them while out is the best!
What a fun little mid-week date! Going out for breakfast is one of my favorite things!
My loose rule of dining out is never order anything you normally make at home, so I usually get an omelette or scramble with a bunch of stuff I don’t normally put in it, like chorizo or smoked salmon and capers!
I loooove strong coffee! Go big or go home!
I love omelets with veggies for breakfast. On a side note but it is related to breakfast, thank you for posting (many months ago) that you returned your Keurig machine to Bed, Bath & Beyond w/o a reciept and they took it back. From that post, I returned mine as well and they took it back no hassles, no questions. I would never have done that if you hadn’t blogged about it!
Awesome!!! That really surprised me as well!
I need to get my husband to go on a breakfast date! What a great idea 🙂
I love getting big omelet’s filled with veggies when I go out! Or anything with hollandaise….. lol
So cute to have a mid-week breakfast date and yours looks ridiculously good n’ healthy!
Breakfast dates are my favorite! My man and I love going to a local restaurant to get their amazing omelets. Cream cheese and chicken for him and veggie for me…we also get a big fluffy pancake to share!
I’m usually an egg or hash girl when I go out. I loved poached eggs and fried eggs – both are my favorite! Dipping the yolks with toast = perfection.
An omelette- always better when someone else makes it! Also, if you ever make the trip up to Winston-Salem (just over an hour from Charlotte) you MUST try brunch at Mary’s Gourmet Diner. #thebest (And let me know you’re coming!)
My favorite thing to order usually revolves around eggs. Some places have better omelettes than others, so sometimes I just prefer my eggs cooked over medium with hash browns and toast. yummy!!!
Either pancakes or an omelette!
What a fun way to mix things up in the middle of the week! Going out for breakfast/brunch is my favorite. I usually like to have a little bit of everything like an egg or two, bacon, and a small side of pancakes or French toast. Yum!
Julie, where did you get the pullover that you are wearing in your breakfast picture?
It’s from Target! I bought it last year on clearance. 🙂
I’m a sucker for good pancakes, but I have pretty high standards. 😉 My go-to breakfast/brunch meal at restaurants lately has poached eggs with a side of toast or pancakes, and LOTS of fruit!
I love your sweatshirt, it looks so comfy!! Mind if I ask you where it’s from?
Target!
Love breakfast dates!!! Starting the day off with a good meal and the hubs is always a good game plan in my book 🙂
I’ve been wanting to try Toast for quite awhile but it’s always the weekend when I think about it and there’s a line out the door! I love biscuits and gravy and the flying biscuit in south charlotte has the best!!
I always want to get something I couldn’t get at home when I go out for breakfast, like really fancy omelets or other crazy dishes, but inevitably I end up getting pancakes, waffles, or French toast. I love them so much I just can’t say no 😛
I had a breakfast date this morning too and they are always the best! I went with a girl friend though, not my husband 🙂 Although, seeing this post makes me wonder why I’ve never suggested the idea with my husband before. He doesn’t hardly ever eat breakfast during the week (I don’t know how he does it, I would starve!), but I think it’d be a fun little treat to do together before work one day. I am so in love with pancakes and have a hard time passing them up. But at the same time, if I’m in a healthier mood I’ll order a veggie omelet or eggs and toast like you did.
I love going out to breakfast every now and again. It is such a nice change and breakfast foods are my favorite 🙂
Ahhh sometimes there’s nothing like eating breakfast at a nice place! And I love me some stroooonnnng coffeeee.