Southern-flavoured brunch at Dinette Triple Crown

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Brunch spread at Montreal’s Dinette Triple Crown

Dinette Triple Crown is one of the best restaurants in Montreal and one of my personal favourites. I wrote about it when they first opened in 2012. Back then, Dinette was basically just a counter with a few stools where you could sit and eat. Most people took their food out and in the summer, they packed a picnic basket for you to enjoy at the park across the street. I had found the picnic idea ingenious at the time, and I still do! Their baskets are terrific and their terrasse (the Little Italy park) is one of the greatest in the city, don’t you think? Dinette now has a cozy and comfortable dining room adjacent to the restaurant so you can enjoy their food no matter what the weather’s like.

Chef Colin Perry’s cuisine is southern based and inspired by his Kentucky upbringing. His fried chicken, brisket, braised greens, cornbread and whatever side seasonal dish is available at the time of your visit are the best in Montreal. When I heard that Dinette was now serving brunch, I hurried down there to try it first hand.

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Chicken and waffles for brunch at Dinette Triple Crown

The brunch menu is made up of a small dish section as well as a main dish one. Small dishes include such items as their fabulous buttermilk biscuits with jam or gravy and a sinful-looking pecan sticky bun. Main dishes include chicken and waffles, chilaquiles rojos (red), shrimp and grits and a breakfast sandwich made on their buttermilk biscuit. Everything looked delicious and I had a hard time choosing but our table finally settled on the chicken and waffles, the chilaquiles, the breakfast sandwich and the buttermilk biscuit with jam.

The fluffy and crispy waffles are flavoured with chives and cheese and are the perfect vehicle for the accompanying warm maple syrup spiked with Espelette chili. The chicken is crispy and juicy and fried to perfection. Seriously though, if you haven’t had the Dinette fried chicken yet, you need to go asap! Another thing you need to try asap is their absolutely perfect buttermilk biscuit. Whether it accompanies your meat and threes, your cultured butter jam or used on your breakfast sandwich, it will ruin all other biscuits for you. It’s buttery and soft with dozens of oh-so-flaky layers and a crispy top layer that you’ll have to fight your dining companions for.

I predict this particular brunch will be on everyone’s favourite list before long and that the weekend line up in front of Dinette will get even longer. Get yourself to Dinette for brunch soon though as it may only be available for the winter months. When I called to inquire, I was told that chef Colin Perry cooks every brunch dish himself. Once the nice weather is back and the picnic basket orders start coming in, there may be a kitchen logistic issue and the brunch may be dropped. That’s still to be decided though but just in case this brunch has an expiry date, go try it soon!