Tasty Tuesday: Mars Diner

Grand Slam from Mars Diner - OMG SO YUMMY!

After yesterday's post, I've been asked what kinds of food I eat for my cheat meals, so I thought I'd show instead of telling!

I have a bit of a confession to make:

Superwoman and I don't have the classiest taste in food sometimes.  Don't get me wrong, we obviously enjoy our abalone and jamón ibérico de bellota, and other fancy, expensive fare...but we also really, really appreciate simple, humble, basic, food as well.  Like diner food.  We LOVE diners*.  Not the cutesy, ironic, decorated-to-look-like-diners diners, but authentic, been-around-for-a-while greasy spoons.  Because we love the food!  Savoury bacon and sausages, eggs made any way you like, fluffy pancakes, golden waffles, heaping skillets, thick toast...what's not to love?

So one day, I decided to take her to a diner in yuppie neighbourhood in Toronto - and we both LOVED it!  LOVED!!!  It was Mars Diner at Yonge & Eglinton.

The inside just screamed greasy spoon.  They had vinyl chairs and booths, slightly sticky tables, black and white checked floors, garishly coloured counters along one of the walls... This was the real deal.

Super Awesome Pancakes!

At our first visit there - we've been back, so that shows how much we liked it! - Superwoman ordered a Grand Slam plate, which includes bacon, sausages, eggs, hash browns, toast, and one pancake.  I ordered a stack of pancakes.  Both were phenomenally delicious.  The pancakes weren't as silky as I'd expect perfection to be, but they were quite fluffy, enormous, piping hot, and they smelled fantastic.  When I lifted each one up to butter the pancake below, a gust of delicious-smelling steam would waft out and... *sigh* I think about that smell from time to time.  So yummy!  Maple syrup is extra, but I like regular table syrup, so I didn't spring for it.  I wish I took note of the price though - I believe it was in the neighbourhood of $7ish.

The Grand Slam plate!  Oh, what a platter.  It's such a delicious, rich breakfast.  I mean really, it's so good.  The bacon is fried to a crisp (actually, I prefer my bacon slightly juicy, but it's not a big deal at  all), the sausage is juicy and golden brown, the eggs are cooked just how you like, the toast is super fresh (crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside)...but the real clincher for me is the hash browns/home fries.   My goodness, how I love those potatoes.  Many diners will just fry up some taters or diced potatoes and call it day, but not Mars.  No, their potatoes are cut into 1cm-thick slices, seasoned with paprika and other spices, and cooked with onions as well as what I suspect to be bacon grease.  OMG, SO YUM!!!  I don't recall exactly, but I think the Grand Slam is maybe about $13ish.

We ordered a fruit cocktail-type deal, which was mediocre - the fruit used wasn't very sweet, so I don't feel like it was worth the $5-6 price tag.  I much prefer the fruit cocktails from Cora's.  Their freshly-squeezed orange juice was not bad but it was entirely pulp-less, so if you're into pulp like we are, we wouldn't recommend it.  We also had their strawberry milkshake once - not bad but not amazing...but if you love milkshakes, I say go for it.  It'll fill you up quick, though!

Eggs Benedict & Grand Slam Platter

On our next visit, I ordered the Grand Slam for myself, just for the potatoes, and Superwoman tried the eggs benedict.  She didn't love them but I thought they were quite well done.  The eggs were cooked a little harder than we asked for, but it was fine.  The Hollandaise was SUPER rich and buttery.  And peameal bacon is standard instead of an add-on!  The English muffin was also very, very fresh and tender.  The whole thing also comes with potatoes.  Delicious!

So if you also crave low-classy but supersatisfying grub every so often like us, I'd highly recommend this place.  Here's their information:

Mars Diner
2363 Yonge Street 
Toronto, ON
M4P 2C8



*We visited a diner almost every day during our last trip to the States.  We especially love IHOP - their pancakes really are top-notch!