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Review: Toast Fine Food & Coffee

Contributed by: Ann Himel on 5/8/2007

With Mother's Day coming up, it's nice to know I'll be treated to breakfast at a restaurant. Knowing my family, no one wants to join the hoards of gussied-up generations to stand in a buffet line for a chef-prepared omelet, and no one bothered to make reservations. All we really want is a place that's cozy, serves gourmet yet affordable cuisine, and families can come as they are; no reservations required. It would be really nice if it weren't a 24-hour pancake and eggs sort of place.

Working in the yard is our 'real' Mother's Day tradition, and it's a lot less daunting with a satisfied palate and full stomach. We've looked all over for a place we can call our own to fulfill this need, and haven't had any luck until now.

'Our place,' Toast, is located on the southeast corner of one of Littleton's busiest drive-by-and-miss-your-chance major intersections of Santa Fe and Bowles (Littleton Boulevard to the east), Toast Fine Food & Coffee is a tragedy to miss.

Colorado native Bill Blake and Chicago-born (think great food) Jason Parfonoff, co-owners and managers of Toast, had a vision of affordable quality when they decided to treat Littleton to this new restaurant. Its young success has been so great that the business will be expanding to include half again as much seating this summer in an adjacent space.

"We worked for Peaberry's Coffee, and neither one of us were satisfied that it seemed diners had to go to one place for good coffee, and to another for good food. I was the Coordinator for new store openings in the franchise, and Jason asked me to help him with this new idea," says Blake of their now five-month old business. Originally the duo planned to only open a coffee shop, but soon realized they wouldn't be successful unless they served food as well.

They weren't kidding around. The men recruited Chef Rob Alfaro, a culinary master of the resort world who has owned a restaurant in Chicago (there's that great food again) and has pampered guests at Lake Tahoe during his career.

The gentlemen's sense of quality exudes with, "We really didn't want a line cook. We only have one freezer, and that's only for the ice cream. All of our food is fresh. We wanted to serve a high-end breakfast with a fast turnaround."

Parfonoff's experience working with Pei Wei, a concept restaurant owned by P.F. Chang's, helped bring this daunting task to fruition. By ordering at the counter, completing the transaction, and receiving a table assignment first, all we had to do was visit the self-serve coffee & drink bar and find our table. (We didn't order a latte on this trip. That indulgent luxury is delivered to your table, and with flavors like Café Crème Brule and Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle, we are tempted to return.) There's not a bad seat in the house and the western-facing windows provide pleasant daylight throughout the hospitable dining area.

As part of the Blake/Parfonoff vision, once guests place their order, they need only wait seven to 10 minutes for their food to arrive. We spent that time settling in to our comfortable table to remark on the 1950's style tabletops, enjoy the warm hues on the walls and muse over the interesting breakfast-themed decorations. Who'd have thought such a mundane yet vital breakfast constant, toast - perhaps the ultimate in comfort food - could inspire so many artists' renderings? My personal favorite is the textile - a quilted piece of toast hanging on the north wall.

When Toast is busy, it's filled with laughter, sounds of families, seniors, college students, couples of all ages, and large groups. Your wait to order shouldn't be more than 40 minutes at peak times. For my two visits, I ate breakfast at 9 am and lunch at 1 pm, and didn't feel like I had to wait at all, although the restaurant was full of guests at both occasions. When the crowd disperses, I was pleasantly treated to jazz over the high-quality speaker system - a nice touch.

Enjoying my coffee as I waited for the meal, I was satisfactorily pleased with the mild Quetzal Breakfast Blend by Intelligentsia. Out of Chicago, the coffee is shipped in only immediately after the beans are roasted. This attention-to-freshness detail ensures that even the java smells rich, warm and inviting. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Starbuck's bold brew girl, and am anxious to try a stronger version of Intelligentsia's roasts. The espresso ($1.50-$2.00) is on my wish list for my next visit.

When it is served by the friendly and attentive wait staff (we didn't have to wait more than 10 minutes after ordering), the food is consistently hot, beautifully plated, and emanates the most heavenly aromas - especially from the homestyle potatoes. I could live off of those alone. They are cut in generous chunks, browned to a succulent mouth-watering crispiness on the outside concealing a comforting center of warm, perfectly done potato goodness. If I'm not mistaken, they are seasoned with an expert blend of rosemary and garlic, and a touch of salt, pepper and fragrant olive oil are used in the browning. My mouth waters in their memory.

For my first visit, I chose a made-to-order omelet at $9.00. I honestly expected nothing above average, and was very pleasantly surprised to see a good 2" of fluffy goodness arriving on my plate. The potatoes were there, too, as was a generous serving of fresh, in-season fruits. I was struck with how fresh all of the food was even before I put fork to mouth. My spinach, mushroom and Swiss Gruyere creation smelled exactly like each of its ingredients, not a mélange of previous kitchen orders. The taste was incredible. Fresh, straight from the garden goodness filled every bite, and the omelet was so light and fluffy my tongue relished in the pamper treatment. Blake assured me that he and Parfonoff use only the freshest ingredients, many of which are procured "right down the street."

On my second visit, I brought Phil and Catherine, our youngest, to share lunch. She delighted in the Fruity Pebble Pancakes, $3.00, from the kids menu. I must confess, I was a little grossed out at the thought of the pancake/pebbles combo, but the cashiers assured me it was a favorite. Despite my initial objections, I was quite impressed with the colorful, two-high, plate-encompassing stack of 7" pancakes served to our daughter. She could barely keep her tongue away from the whipped cream topping, and after she'd added her requisite river of maple syrup, she dove in. She usually eats two bites of pancakes and the whipped cream. At Toast, she was so impressed with her meal, "It's pretty! I like all the colors!" she ate half of her serving. I have never seen my daughter eat that much, even during a growth spurt.

Pancakes are a breakfast item I can take or leave. Now, I am fully convinced that sad state of affairs has been my motto only because I haven't before eaten Chef Alfaro's pancakes. I had to try a bite of Cat's breakfast, even if her meal resembled a confetti parade. They melted in my mouth. OK, the Fruity Pebbles were a little chewy, but that's the kid part. The adult part of these heavenly orbs was the fluffiest, most delectable pancake I have ever eaten in my lifetime, and I now know that for my third visit, I'm ordering the Pancake Flight. For $11.00, I'll get to sample four of Toast's signature flavors of flapjack delicacies. When one of those tastes is bananas foster, I can make no guarantees that my behavior - or table manners - will be refined.

I only wish my dad were still living. He had a quest going to discover the perfect pancake. His criteria: light, fluffy, and full of thirsty pockets to willingly drink in that glorious melting butter and golden brown maple syrup. He never found it. I did, and I'm taking Mom to Toast ASAP. She'll really appreciate these hotcakes. She's a traditionalist, and will find their Plan Jane pancakes a real treat. Of course, she'll have to debate between that and the eggs benedict. What's your pleasure? Toast offers a range of prosciutto, tenderloin, smoked salmon, their own crab cakes, or a savory vegetable version of this haute cuisine, all from $9.00-$15.00 (tenderloin a la Oscar. Now I am truly salivating.)

Phil ordered the grilled chicken wrap. At $9.00, he was pleased with the generous chipotle tortilla wrapped around a delightfully seasoned, thinly sliced chicken breast, baby greens, queso anejo (a mild Mexican cheese), mixed cheeses, salsa rojo and smoked chili cream sauce. The portion size was large enough to split into two meals, assuring an enviable brown-bag experience at the office. The wrap was accompanied by a mixed green salad dressed in lovely balsamic vinaigrette and a dill pickle spear.

For my lunch, I decided to try the grilled chicken and pear sandwich. For $9.00, I would be enjoying a seasoned grilled chicken breast nestled among plum tomatoes, sliced pecans, baby greens, melted gorgonzola, fresh sliced pears, dressed in a cranberry-pecan aioli on a toasted dirty roll (New Orleans lingo for wheat). This is a sandwich (sans aioli) that I would create in my own kitchen and think I was a genius. Well, it's far better than I could come up with thanks to the aioli.

Standing a near 4" tall on the plate and accompanied by the incredibly light, crispy and delicious house Parmesan chips and a dill pickle spear, my mouth-watering lunch did produce one disappointment. The chicken breast was not thinly sliced, and as it was on the dry side of doneness, it made the sandwich difficult to eat. The dirty roll was soft, flaky, and tasted fresh out of the oven, a big plus for me. I did think it could have used a little more moisture from the aioli, however, I'm betting it would have been fine had the chicken breast not been overdone. I ate every last bit, and it, too, was big enough for two meals.

For three entrees, two fountain drinks, one coffee and tax; we were set back only $26.94 plus tip. Toast is a definite move-to-the-top-of-your-list kind of restaurant. Toast has found its niche, and Littleton is a better place to live, eat, and linger over a meal because of it. We'll be there on Mother's Day, and lots of other days, too.

Grade: Breakfast: A; Lunch: B


The skinny


Toast Fine Food & Coffee
2700 W. Bowles Avenue, Unit B, Littleton ( click here for map)
303-797-9543
www.toastygoodness.com

Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
Breakfast and lunch: $7-$15
Coffee bar: $1.50-$4.50
Smoothies: $3-$4

Parking: Small lots on north and south
or curbside parking in surrounding neighborhood.



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Showing 1 of 1 comments
Submitted By: Rebecca Zimmerman
posted on 5/12/2007 @ 2:50:46 PM
Rated Story
Sounds great. I'll have to check it out!
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