Weekly Lunch Pick: a classic roast beef sandwich in the Path

There are two ways to cope with a heat wave at lunchtime: barricade yourself inside an air-conditioned restaurant or grab something cool and dash back to the office. The gourmet made-to-order sandwiches at Brick Street Bakery in the Path fit the latter bill.
Instead of dreary food-court staples, Brick Street serves more thoughtful creations, like the Boxing Day—roasted turkey, homemade stuffing and cranberries—or braised lamb with a chili-spiked apricot purée (both under $10). The roast beef sandwich ($7.50) is a classic done right: a tall stack of shaved, herb-crusted roast beef and just-crunchy caramelized onions slathered with zippy horseradish mayonnaise between two hearty slices of baker Simon Silander’s homemade whole wheat bread and a single crisp leaf of iceberg lettuce. The satisfying combination is filling enough, but won’t cause overheating.
The cost: $9.89 including tax and a Toll House cookie ($1.25) to save for a mid-afternoon snack.
The time: Five minutes from placing the order to walking off with a sandwich.
Brick Street Bakery, First Canadian Place, Concourse Level #0160, 100 King St. W., 647-288-8080, brickstreetbakery.ca.