Toast of the Town: French Toast from Ants Pants Cafe, Philadelphia

Guess what? We recently visited Philadelphia, and when it came time for AM sweetness, we hit up the place with the coolest name we came across: Ants Pants Cafe.

And as it turns out, this establishment has an interesting story too:

After many years working in cafe’s around Philadelphia, it took a few years immersed in Sydney’s cafe culture to cement the desire to offer a similar experience in a seemingly untapped market in Philly. Childhood friends Liz Fleming and Nancy Silverman both with experience working at some of Philadelphia’s finest, were determined to set out on their own to offer locals in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood an experience that was long overdue.

And Danny's order? French Toast, naturellement.

Ants Pants Cafe's specimen was especially lovely: Creme Brulee Battered French Toast, served with sour cream sauce and syrup ($1 extra to upgrade to maple syrup, which was strongly recommended...but it makes one wonder, why offer the other stuff?).

But. About that toast. Served in fat triangles, it was gorgeously crispy on the outside, caramelized with a sugary coating, and the sour cream sauce was an unusual but welcome tangy accompaniment, rounding out the richness of the eggy bread with...well, more richness. Add maple syrup to the mix, and you have sweet and rich awesome overload--but, you know, in a lick-the-plate-clean kind of way.

A delicious adventure on South Street, indeed.

Ants Pants Cafe, 2212 South Street, Philadelphia; online at antspantscafe.com.

Comments

[the [sugar] apothecary]

I HAVE BEEN DYING FOR FRENCH TOAST LATELY. We're planning another trip down to Philly soon, and this is a definite on the list of food destinations. Have you ever been to Silk City Diner in Philadelphia? Their berry waffles are UNBELIEVABLE.