Urban Herbivore: Hearty Fare for Hungry Vegans and Veggie-Lovin' Friends

64 Oxford Street Website
Phone: 416.927.1231

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Posted by Tanja
June 13, 2007

Currently 3.21/5
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Rating: 3.2/5 (14 votes cast)

Whether you're looking for organic salads, vegetarian sandwiches, vegan soups or just a really healthy, flavourful (and filling) lunch, Urban Herbivore has got you covered.

Sure enough, Toronto is already a great place to find a good meatless lunch, but with the standard sandwich shops are still making a "veggie" sub out of the lettuce and tomatoes other sandwiches include as filler, this Kensington Market kitchen is redefining the Veg Sandwich.

A friend and I pop by in the early afternoon after nearly being sidelined by freshly baked chicken pupusas up the street. They smelled so good, but we were looking for a few more vitamins in this refuelling session. After examining both salad and sandwich options at Urban Herbivore, we order up 2 sandwiches: Avocado and Grilled Vegetable ($6.49).

Everything is made on-the-spot when you order, so we take a seat in the window of this house-turned-eatery and wait.

First up: Avocado. Presented on a multi-grain bun (made in-house), it's packed with avocado, bruschetta-style chopped tomatoes, spinach, sprouts, etc, etc.... and it looks amazing.

"Well how is it?" I ask(as my friend had not even considered waiting 'til my food arrived).

"This is... (chomp chomp) so, (chomp) sooo, (chomp) GOOD. Can't you see I'm eating?"

She looked more like she was inhaling, but there was no time to grow jealous. My grilled vegetable sandwich was here.

As if fresh bread wasn't good enough, these sandwiches are also toasted. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and this one was stuffed with warm grilled eggplant, soft sweet potato, zucchini, chopped tomato, red peppers, shredded carrot, alfalfa sprouts, spinach leaves, olive paste, and the list goes on (pictured at the top).

All that, and it wasn't even heavy or oily. Wow. If it hadn't been so incredibly filling I would have ordered up a second one just for the joy of it.

Finally, on the way out, I picked up some freshly squeezed pink lemonade. Very zesty, my friends. It was great (especially on a hot afternoon), but not one for the wimpy lemonade drinker! I'm pretty sure I looked like I was winking at strangers as I sipped!

All in all, herbivore or not, I'd highly recommend this lunch to anyone. It's practically got me trying to book work in the area just so I'll have an excuse to stop in.

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Urban Herbivore
64 Oxford St. (Corner of Oxford & Augusta)
Toronto, Ontario
416-927-1231

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Urban Herbivore does catering as well. We had a platter of their sandwiches, and to-die-for homemade dessert selections for an evening meeting and it was wonderful. And, tremendous value compared to other places our organization has used in the past. Healthful, delicious, economical - what's not to adore?!

Posted by: Mark at June 13, 2007 1:59 PM

I agree with the "veggie" sandwiches in other places. Everything you want to order has either cheese, or mayo or both. It is so difficult to find good non-dairy eats around town.
The avocado is my absolute favourite.

Posted by: Maria at June 13, 2007 2:42 PM

They have amazing custom-crafted salads too. Spelt muffins and fresh juice drinks.

Posted by: Tim at June 13, 2007 3:24 PM

Holy cow, do those sandwiches look good. Drool.

Posted by: Debbie at June 13, 2007 4:58 PM

You're not even mentioning their DELICIOUS SOUP. $3.50 for a bowl which is a STEAL, and you can get the mason jars full of the yumminess too (if there is any left.)

Posted by: Danielle at June 13, 2007 11:20 PM

mmm, soup. We didn't have any on this occasion as it was just too hot out to be tempting, but noticed the fridgeful of soups, sauces, salads, etc available. Such a great idea. Maybe I'll pass by and pick some up today...

Posted by: Tanja at June 13, 2007 11:39 PM

I see you mentioned 'olive paste', at the bottom of your list. Really it should have been mentioned in CAPS LOCK at the top as it is the most vile and horrifying spread in the known universe. And even though I like Urban Herbivore on every other count, they really dropped the ball on the olive paste/tapenade situation. Last time I was there, nowhere did I see a mention of the noxious, palate-killing condiment. That shit overpowered my sandwich. I say there should be mandatory labelling when it comes to a paste that ethnically-cleanses my tastebuds. Better yet, all olives and their pastes should be banned (except for olive oil, of course). If you agree, then you should join the "Anti-Tapenade/Olive (Olive Oil Excluded) Facebook Group".

Down with Tapenade!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2325928153

Posted by: Chris at June 14, 2007 2:21 AM

LOL!! Alright folks, you've been warned.

In the meanwhile though, can I have your portion? I could eat olive tapenade by the SPOONFUL. Mmmmm.

Posted by: Tanja at June 14, 2007 2:26 AM

Will definitely need to check out the place on my weekly visit to Kensington. I'm still drooling over that grilled sandwich...

Btw, I LOVE olives! Just came back from a year in Spain and didn't even know olives could come in such countless varities... IN Spain, one doesn't simply choose an olive oil by brand or whether it's extra virgin or not. One chooses by the kind of olive. There's an entire row in the supermarkets or olive oils made with every kind of olive. Most ppl buy large 4-5 litre jars for home consumption... ok, I digress...

Posted by: Alexandra at June 19, 2007 11:55 AM

You should look around and notice that this restaurant is filthy. Just look under the cooking equipment, on top of the refrigerator and in the corners and sides of the space. They use inferior ingredients and 99.9% is non-organic including the greens, potatoes, peppers, and non-filtered tap water... and you are paying organic prices for the dishes. Go to a regular restaurant and just buy what suits you it is a lot cheaper for getting the same produces.

The joke is on the buyers.

Posted by: joe at January 17, 2008 11:59 AM

I was there a few days ago and ordered the sandwich. Contrary to all the ranting about the olive paste, it was very delicious. you can substitute other toppings for the standard ones if they don't suit your taste. I ordered an avocado, bruschetta, artichoke heart and radish sandwich on whole grain. It was delicious+AMAZING (and I'm not even a vegetarian)! and HUGE. For 8.50 it's worth splitting with a friend since you won't be able to finish the entire thing yourself.

Posted by: mmm at August 3, 2008 7:57 AM