The sandwiches at this sort-of-secret Kensington Market spot are hot, hot, hot
Don’t go to Mig’s looking for cold cuts
Miguel Ello, the owner of Mig’s Sandwich Bar, tucked inside Kensington Market stalwart Supermarket, may have arrived in Toronto from Mexico less than a decade ago, but he’s already built up quite the resumé.
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After cutting his teeth at Pinky’s (RIP), Hanmoto and Seoul Shakers, Ello became a partner at Oakwood Village’s Dam Sandwiches before striking out on his own with Sad Songs Cantina (then Sad Songs Burgers) in Bloordale.
When that restaurant was forced to close after an ongoing dispute with the building’s landlord, Ello turned his attention to what he knows best: cheffy, big-flavoured hot sandwiches. “I don’t like cold sandwiches,” says Ello. “I even grill my cold cuts.”
Ello’s menu at Mig’s is deliberately tight, focusing on a handful of sandwiches designed to be enjoyed hot and fresh. There’s the classic meatball sandwich, packed with oven-braised meatballs simmered in a sweet and rich San Marzano tomato sauce, smothered in gooey mozzarella and tucked into a Portuguese Mafra bun. And there’s the Mig Jagger Schnitzel, a towering stack of pounded chicken breast fried to a golden crisp and topped with mushroom cheese sauce and house-made jalapeño pickles.
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Ello also promises a rotating lineup of specials. One upcoming offering is a New York steak sandwich that lands somewhere between Philadelphia and Mexico City: thinly sliced beef piled onto a bun with roasted poblano peppers, grilled onions, spicy chili vinegar, chipotle mayo and melted provolone. It’s the kind of cross-border mash-up that defines Ello’s cooking style: equal parts comfort food and flavour bomb.
Erin Hershberg is a freelance writer with nearly two decades of experience in the lifestyle sector. She currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and two children.
