Clark B.
Yelp
Tried out Toast today. We'd been at their Birmingham location before but they were slammed and we didn't get in.
Today wasn't much better but I appreciated that they had a waiting area outside (that really needed a wall or two as a wind break) and a Yelp-driven app to inform you of your place in line. We started out with a 20-30 minute estimate and 9th in line. It took a good bit longer than that but we were happy when we got out of the cold.
The plus side of a long wait was we already knew what we wanted. I was going back in forth between a few options but settled on the bacon-fried rice. That was rice, bacon, avocado, pickled vegetables, a sunny side egg and spinach. My son had the Fat Elvis pancakes which were pancakes with peanut butter sauce, candied bacon, banana, and strawberries with a side of syrup. It usually comes with almonds, cashews, and granola (also with more nuts) but he doesn't like regular nuts so we skipped those items.
The brunch came quickly despite the crowded restaurants. We scarfed it down equally quickly. My meal was not as good as I hoped. It's touted as their 'award-winning dish in the Toast specialties category. But it may have just been not the right choice for me. It definitely needed some more salt and could have used some other spices. His pancakes were delicious and I was surprised as he hoovered them up completely. He didn't like the hard candied bacon, but like the nuts, that's just a sensory thing he doesn't go for.
It's Birmingham, so it's a bit overpriced, but oh well. We got the bill and I was surprised to see a service charge added. Maybe that's a B-ham thing. I appreciate paying waitstaff more, esp. in a time of COVID-19 but forewarning on the menu might have been nice. I tipped on top of that appropriately anyway. The waitstaff did a fine job and they always deserve a break!
I'd give it a 3.5, rounds to 4. We'll try again another time and I'll go for one of the other options I was thinking about.