Like Ossington and Harbord before it, Dundas Street West keeps surprising us with new cafés, bars and restaurants. The latest is Porchetta and Co., which opened this week; its specialty is Italian pork. Owner Nick auf der Mauer wanted to start his own food joint without hopping onto the poutine or gourmet burger bandwagons. The result is a minuscule takeout-focused shop that tries to do one thing well: porchetta, natch. The menu consists of porchetta sandwiches ($6), porchetta plates ($9), two types of soup (small bowl $4) and that’s it.
Let’s be clear: this is not the familiar pulled-pork sandwich, in which the meat is smoked and then literally pulled onto a bun. This is slow-roasted, hand-carved porchetta. First, auf der Mauer—who earned his culinary stripes in the kitchens of Canoe, The Fifth and The Drake, to name just a few—marinates a piece of pork shoulder for 24 hours in a medley of spices, including rosemary, sage, garlic oil and lemon zest. Then the shoulder is wrapped in prosciutto, and the whole thing is wrapped again in cured pork belly. The mound is tied off and roasted at 400 degrees for half an hour or so to give it a nice crust. Then the oven is turned down low, and the pork is slow cooked for several more hours. Finally, the meat is carved and put on a fresh sourdough bun from Caldense Bakery across the street.
While auf der Mauer suggests first-timers enjoy his four-ounce sandwiches au naturel, extra toppings are available, including homemade tomato sauce (25 cents) and a mayo-based truffle sauce (75 cents). Tabasco and two types of mustard are available for free. He’s opted to eschew factory-farmed pigs for ones raised at the family-run Beretta Organic Farms, located just outside King City. That should sit well with eco-conscious west-enders, as should the decor, which, like everything else that opens this side of Bathurst, is heavy on reclaimed wood.
With the Black Hoof(auf der Mauer and Grant van Gameren are buddies) and its sister the Hoof Café just down the street, this little patch of Dundas is on the fast track to becoming the go-to spot for carnivores citywide.
Porchetta and Co., 825 Dundas St. W. (at Palmerston Blvd.), 647-352-6611,porchettaco.com.
I love it, everyone should try it.
One thing more to add to the menu Pidina? Prochetta rotolino?
Congrats Nick! Looking forward to giving it a try!
This place looks really familiar – right down to the name and menu…
http://www.porchettanyc.com
I hope Sara Jenkins is receiving royalties from this….
Ya, I hope Sara Jenkins is getting royalties too! Oh shit! I just googled her and apparently she didn’t invent porchetta! The place looks fantastic! Toronto needs more options than another burger joint! Congrats guys!
Since you think Sara Jenkins deserves royalties Addy maybe all the Nonna’s out there deserve some too!
Wait a minute! I have a friend named Addy too! You name thief!
I also like how the article says it’s not pulled pork, but if you look at the photo gallery the caption for the sixth picture says “cutting the pulled pork”. What a joke.
no she didn’t invent porchetta, but i was thinking the concept was very similar to the place in nyc…tiny space, counter, small menu, etc…sorry if i offended anyone.
What about burgers? Pasta? Pho? Who getting royalties on those? I would suggest giving it a try – then criticize.
Amaaaazing food, but portions should be a bit bigger. I left wanting more, it would be nice if they had an option for extra meat
Can’t wait to visit and have a taste…looks delicious!
Congrats!
I am making it a point to go by this week, After this weeks parties I had 3 different porchettas all with enough to take home and make Porchetta and rapini Rotolino. So let us see how they prevail. I am sure I am in for a treat..
Hey – – – it sure does look familiar…very similar in looks menu and concept to Erwin’s very wonderful Black Camel !
I came online to find out how porchetta is doing in the news. Curious to see what the critics and the public are saying about this little place with a sandwich. I am curious because I have been three times since it opened and I love love the sandwich! I was hoping to find great reviews because they seem like nice people with great food who deserve great success for “going for it”. I am so glad to see that the people of Toronto are eating it up!! YAY! Weird though that this Toronto Life website attracts these jealous people trying to cut it down. That’s a great sign Porchetta! It means you’re relevant! Keep it up!
Stopped in for a try, not bad. Still i think the best place for Porchetta in the COUNTRY is just north of the 407 in Concord, Vicentina Fine Foods, they dont advertise, word of mouth only, PACKED everyday for lunch plus i’ve bought whole pieces for function, must try!
nothing beats the porchetta in Italian ville, you need to be Italian to make a real porchetta, that place in Woodbridge rocks!!! forget about portuguese ville!!
Loved your article. I married an Italian from Abruzzi and have toured all of the ‘authentic’ Italian eateries in Toronto, New York, Chicago and everywhere else that Italian food is prevalent. Porchetta and Co. is OK but if you want the real thing you should travel up to Concord (Jane and #7) to a beautiful little butcher shop / sandwich place and have the best porchetta and other authentic Italian foods outside of Italy.
Looks amazing!!! Next time we’re in TO, I’ll be checking this out for sure!
ITS JUST A PIG SANDWICH , WHATS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT , THIS IS ROAD SIDE FOOD IN ITALY .
SCOTT CONANT WAS RIGHT , T.O. NEEDS AWAKING
Hmmmm…. what a lot of the comments say to me is that there are a lot of people out there who are simply nitpicking jerks. Porchetta simply means pork roast. The restaurant is hardly claiming that they invented pigs or the roasting thereof- and some joint in New York hardly invented that either. If you want to get the motherland of roast pork then go to the Schweizerhaus in the Prater in Vienna.
What they offer is an honest and delicious roast pork sandwich at I think a fair price. I think the idea of doing one thing very well is a good concept.
The place is simple, clean, efficient and friendly. Not haute cuisine but great peasant fare.
Don’t eat one everyday or your heart will explode but you should know that… I live in the neighbourhood and go often – a very nice addition to the local California Sandwich in the world of unhealthy comfort food.
Kudos to Porchetta!