Rustic French Toast

I recently was having brunch at a local restaurant and I ordered the menu item called Rustic French Toast.  It was absolutely delicious.  The French toast was made with a rustic bread, was a bit sweeter than most French toast and was topped with a berry compote and chocolate and nut shavings.  I immediately thought that I had to go home and try to duplicate it.  This recipe is what I came up with.  Obviously I haven't done a side by side comparison but I think I'm pretty close as best I remember.  I decided to use ciabatta as my rustic bread.  It seemed to work great.  I've served it topped with a berry compote, sliced and sugared strawberries and sliced and sugared peaches.  It's always delicious, no matter what I put on top.

Rustic French Toast
8 or 10 slices of ciabatta bread sliced 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix all the ingredients together except the bread.  Heat a griddle greased with butter to 300 degrees.  Dip the slices of bread into the milk and egg mixture and cook on the hot griddle until golden brown.  Turn and cook until golden brown on the other side.  Serve hot.