Name: Merenda Kitchen Neighbourhood: Liberty Village Contact: 171 East Liberty St., #144, 416-583-2131, merenda.kitchen, @MerendaKitchen Owners: Fabio Gelmo, Cassius Williams (Locus 144) Chef: Daniel Janetos (Buca, The Saint, Farmhouse Tavern)
The Food: Italian dishes made with organic and sustainably sourced ingredients. The menu follows Chipotle’s customizable-meal model: customers choose a base (greens, grains or panini), top it with a protein (porchetta, meatballs, chicken, crispy mozzarella or ratatouille) and add a sauce (tomato basil, garlic crema or pesto). There’s also a handful of bar snacks, meat and cheese boards and trendy bone broth on offer. Janetos is a health nut, and can accommodate most food allergies and special diets. A portion of Merenda’s profits are donated to a Waterloo-based wildlife rehabilitation program, which Janetos’s mother heads up. “If we’re killing 100 animals a year to feed people,” he says, “I want to be saving 101.”
The Drinks: Classic cocktails, a short wine list, four brews on tap (Kronenbourg, Kronebourg Blanc, Sapporo, Peroni) and a selection of bottled beer. Cold-pressed juice will be added soon, with the option to spike with a shot of booze.
The Space: Tucked away in Liberty Market Plaza, the space (which was previously Locus 144) is a kitchen by day and still Locus Lounge by night. Dinner is served from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., after which it’s party time and the tables are cleared away to make room for a dance floor. Lunch service is in the works.
Cured meat and cheese boards come with crostini and seasonal preserves. This one is topped with San Daniele prosciutto, pickled watermelon radish, truffle crema and truffle-parm fries ($8.95).
Meatball sandwich: two halved meatballs (made with Mennonite-raised Duroc pork), seasonal greens in a lemon vinaigrette, tomato basil sauce and pecorino cheese ($9.95).
Greens & Grains: brown rice is topped with seasonal greens, chicken breast, garlic crema and pecorino cheese ($9.95). Pecorino plays a big role at Merenda Kitchen: "I'm lactose-free and it sucks," says Janetos. "And pecorino is lactose-free."
Cannoli (front) is the not-so-healthy dessert option ($2.50), while the Powerball (back) made with Medjool dates, raw nuts and unsweetened coconut is the raw, vegan choice ($2.50).
129 to 11 for the West.
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