On a recent Wednesday morning in West Chester, almost every table at French Toast Heaven was taken. "This is a weird Wednesday," my server told me as he ran around seating, serving and taking credit cards from customers in an almost whack-a-mole manner. A sign at the entrance informed diners that everything at French Toast Heaven is made from scratch − a warning, perhaps, to those looking for the speed and convenience of fast food.
The customers included families celebrating their children's upcoming graduation from Lakota West High School, which is just a half mile or so away. There were also ladies lunching, a father discussing important matters with his daughter and a son sitting in awkward silence with his mother.
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While the restaurant was busy, I was in no rush. I had a newspaper to read and a phone to scroll. I listened to the light FM music playing on the sound system and watched a silent TV where Emeril Lagasse fussed around his Food Network kitchen. One of the two women sitting next to me mentioned how her husband loves this place because it's not a chain.
Owner and chef Kevin Jordan, who goes by Chef Maurice (Maurice is his middle name, and the one his mother has always called him), said he got the idea for opening a French toast spot based on his childhood dislike of both pancakes and waffles. "I only liked French toast," he told me.
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Before opening French Toast Heaven last year, Jordan spent time working in the kitchens of several local restaurants and nightclubs. His grandmother, who served as a cook at Zion Temple Pentecostal Church, taught him how to cook while he was growing up in Blue Ash and Forest Park, though he perfected his skills years later at the Midwest Culinary Institute.
After he and his wife, Kindra, had children, Jordan started making French toast for them on special occasions, most notably New Year's Eve when they would create festive takes on the classic, adding cereal toppings including Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Fruity Pebbles among others.
Those variations, as well as others including bananas foster and hot fudge cake, are now on the menu at French Toast Heaven. You can also order a flight of French toast ($17) that lets you sample four different kinds of French toast, an idea Jordan came up with after doing a pop-up with Liz Fields at the Cheesecakery, in Madisonville. "They were doing cappuccino flights and cheesecake flights, and we thought it would be genius to do a French toast flight," he told me.
But how about them grits?
Oddly enough, my first visit to Jordan's restaurants wasn't to try the French toast, but the jerk chicken grits ($24), which had recently won gold at Taste of Cincinnati's Best of Taste Awards this year. Here, Jordan's grits are topped with jerk chicken, sausage and peppers, which sounded downright delicious when I first read about them. Unfortunately, the announcement of the win made the dish a little too popular, and they had sold out of it by the time I arrived.
I settled on the shrimp and grits ($22) and was in no way disappointed. The grits here are over the top in a good way, infused with cream cheese and spiced with Cajun seasoning. The shrimp is seasoned with some of that seasoning, too. It was a winner, and my only mistake was not to order some toast to sop up what was left in my bowl.
The grits here are popular (you can order a flight of them, too, if you'd like). So, too, is Chef Maurice's Breakfast ($16), a combo of bacon, eggs, potatoes and onions, and your choice of French toast. Other menu items include catfish and grits ($22), fried chicken and biscuits ($22), avocado toast ($10) and a hash brown casserole side ($6). Early birds who arrive between 7 and 11 a.m. can take advantage of a discounted breakfast of three eggs, the protein of your choice, coffee and toast for $12.
It seems things are going well for Jordan, who will open his second location of French Toast Heaven on Monmouth Street in Newport later this year. He thinks it will be convenient for his many customers who he claims drive from the far reaches of western Kentucky just to sample his Southern-style food. And with award-winning dishes like his jerk chicken and grits, Jordan wants his restaurants to become a destination for everyone. "I want people to get off the plane at CVG and want our food immediately, just because it's so different and unique."
French Toast Heaven, 4877 Smith Road, West Chester, 513-795-6473, frenchtoastheaven.com, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
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