Restaurants
Rashers
Rashers is a tiny new Leslieville take-away counter offering an artisanal take on classic bacon sandwiches. If approaching on foot you'll smell the powerfully seductive scent of bacon before you even set eyes on the place.
The shop, previously home to a very short-lived Pastalicious, now features only four window-facing seats and some red vintage school chairs out front. During the busy dinner-time rush it is standing room only, but the friendly staff are quick to accommodate and the wait for our order is spent taking in the wall of bacon themed ephemera and learning about different cuts of bacon; peameal = Canadian; strip = American; rasher = British. All of them = delicious.
Owners John Clark and Richard Mulley want to introduce Torontonians to the quintessential British sandwich that they fondly remember from past lives in the U.K. Most specifically, there is the Bacon Butty ($6.64) featuring the British-style rasher bacon (a cut that includes both the back bacon and the belly) served on plain white bread topped with a choice of ketchup or housemade brown sauce (think: HP sauce).
All their bacon is custom brined and smoked by Perth Pork Products and then sliced in-house. The focus is on keeping it simple but using quality ingredients which is exemplified perfectly by the Beer BLT ($7.52) that teams beer braised bacon with tomato, arugula and beer mayo, sandwiched between slabs of fresh baguette.
The Grilled Cheese ($7.04) is my surprise favourite. The combination of cheddar cheese and strip bacon are already a sure thing, but the addition of the housemade ale mustard gives it a kick.
The Hogtown Sandwich ($6.64) is the signature Toronto sandwich featuring thick-cut peameal bacon on a golden bun with a choice of sauce and the option to add an egg for 75¢ and cheese 50¢. It is the St. Lawrence Market-morning experience that I only dream could be as ubiquitous and easily available as a McMuffiin.
Having only been open since mid-November, Clark already hints at coming franchises. A second Toronto location is already being planned for the spring – though the neighbourhood is yet to be determined. For now, lucky Leslievillers get to stop by on a whim in their pyjamas...the rest of us will have to make the trek out to Queen East and Carlaw.
Photos by Jesse Milns
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My monthly expenses = $0 booya! Granted, I don't have any fun or enjoy my life at all, but I'm living Ozzwald's dream life!
Thanks for contributing in such a meaningful way. You have informed this discussion greatly.
My favourite sandwich type being the BLT, I tried Rashers' equivalent and was utterly disappointed.
The Western Sandwich is killer.
The Greek Omelet is fantastic - no subtlety, but tasty.
The Peameal bacon breakfast gives you what seems to be most of a pork loin worth of peameal.
...all at more realistic prices. Not artisanal, but good value. There has to be a better compromise - something between utility breakfasts and $9 peameal sandwiches.
Maybe I'm just old and cheap.
"Way too much money for what you get"
"one of the 1% like you"
Aw, it's so adorable when people see how much things really cost.
My favourite comment though is by Brian, who seems to think that a slice of bacon in a bun is going to taste the exact same as the food in any of the pictures featured in this review.
Stop whining.
:-(
Good quality ingredients really shine through, and I love the attention they are paying to the quality and source of the meat.
Rashers is ok. The wild boar sandwich is too thin. Peameal sandwich…all over Toronto. Their grilled cheese is probably the best "cooking" here, as it's the most complex thing on the menu.
In general, I'm a bit shocked how Canadians go crazy for British things as of late, and I constantly hear Torontonians deriding Toronto in favour of New York or London. I live in Canada because I actually really like it, you should have more pride! :)
Too much time wasted. I won't be back.
But oh how small it was....yes, I understand the cost of things, but I should not have left feeling very hungry still.
Charge me another $2 and satisfy my hunger!!
If Chino Locos can produce fresh product that dares you to finish for $9, than surly so can this business. How much can rent be in such a tiny place? This location is doomed it seems.
John@rashers.ca
All hail bacon!