The Hi-Life - 02/17/08

The Hi-Life

5425 Russell Ave NW
Seattle WA 98107
- Ballard -



Just by walking out of the house on this particular morning, I knew that breakfast was going to be good. There's just somthing about nice weather that just elevates my mood. It felt like spring. Sunny and warm(er).

On this Sunday I found myself in Ballard again. I never realized how many restaurants there were in Ballard. I would have never picked Ballard as the place to go for food, but this French toast experiment is slowly changing my mind about Ballard.

Another thing I've learned from this experiment is how many places in the Seattle area I've yet to see after all my years living here. I think I'm going to have to make explore my surroundings as another experiment.



But back to my fancy French toast. "Fancy French Toast" is exactly what The Hi-Life put on their menu. And for the fancy description: "Vanilla custard dipped Columbia bread griddled and topped with espresso-mascarpone & sugared hazelnuts". All that served up with REAL maple syrup. Did it taste as good as it sounded? Almost.


The custard batter was captivating. Rich in vanilla flavor. The bread itself was inviting as well. The sugared hazelnuts, very fun. Espresso mascarpone? Inventive! It was how the toast was cooked that disappointed me a bit. There was no crunch to it at all. Makes me wonder if there was even any griddle lovin' involved. The toast wasn't soggy though. It was just really chewy.


Don't get me wrong, I still finished a lot of the toast. The server was nice enough to let me get a half order. I ordered a half order because the fancy Frenchie didn't come with anything else. I'm also learning that I really like other stuff to eat with my Frenchies. So along with my French toast, I ordered the "Oeufs Francais". Translates to "French eggs". At The Hi-Life, the French eggs breakfast is, "Baked eggs en casserole with caramelized onions, spinach, gruyere and leek cream. Served with croissant and fruit". I was very happy that I ordered this instead of my usual Judy eggs (over medium). It was délicieux.


Rating: 3 out of 5 Js


PS. The Hi-Life has 5 other sister restaurants (all run by Chow Foods) in the Seattle area. All 6 restaurants made the Seattle Met 50 list....sounds a bit fishy....Could it be that the owners of Chow Foods were featured in the same issue.....???? I'll let the French toast speak for it self.