Classic Comfort Food at Emmer

EmmerLocation: 161 Harbord Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.emmertoronto.ca/

Emmer is a bakery that recently opened to pretty much immediate success — if you check this place out (and you should definitely check this place out), expect to be in line for a while.  It’s worth it.

Emmer

Everything here is so good.  On a previous, unblogged visit, I tried the roast beef sandwich and a chocolate croissant, and both were thoroughly delicious.

On this visit I was able to sit on their patio for their newly introduced lunch service.  I tried the tuna melt, which is 100% pure comfort food.   This isn’t any kind of “elevated” tuna melt; it’s like a tuna melt you might make at home, only so much better.

Emmer

The tuna is perfectly creamy without being overly rich, and the gooey American cheese complements it perfectly.  The sandwich also features some kind of zippy chili sauce, which adds a very mild kick and generally makes it all a bit more interesting.

Emmer

And of course, Emmer’s specialty is their baked goods, so the bread in the sandwich is house made and amazing.  It’s also slathered in butter and nicely crisped up on its exterior, so yeah, it’s very good.

Jumping on the Poke Bandwagon at Calii Love

Calii LoveLocation: 367 King Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.caliilove.com/

I’m not sure why, but the poke trend that swept through the city a couple of years ago completely passed me by; this was actually my first time trying the now-iconic Hawaiian dish.

The version you’ll find at most Toronto restaurants tends to have a bit more stuff than the real-deal Hawaiian version, which is basically just raw fish, dressing, and maybe some onions and herbs mixed in.

Calii Love

The “Clever” poke bowl I had at Calii Love, on the other hand, comes with: “Raw Yellowfin tuna, gochujang broccoli, crispy shallot, wakame seaweed salad, jalapeno, edamame, sushi rice, wasabi aioli.”

So I don’t know how authentic it is (not at all, I’m thinking), but either way, I quite enjoyed it.  There’s a whole lot going on, but all of the components were fresh and tasty, and the overall balance of flavours was really satisfying.

Calii Love

There was also enough of a balance of textures — the crunchy seaweed, the meaty tuna, the soft rice — that it never felt one-note or monotonous.

It actually reminded me a lot of Korean bibimbap, but with a very different flavour profile.