Weekly Lunch Pick: the battered calamari po’boy at Fuel House

Fuel House is tucked away in a cozy Victorian house behind Café Diplomatico on Clinton Street, just north of College. The demure neighbourhood joint offers an ever-changing menu of sandwiches and snacks with prices topping out at $12. Up front, there’s a solarium with ample seating, while the main room is dominated by a large, L-shaped reclaimed wood bar (come summer, there’ll also be a back patio). The satisfying calamari po’boy ($9) features a jumble of lightly battered squid rings tucked inside a spongy golden pain au lait bun from OMG Baked Goodness. The tender loops are blanketed by a thick layer of spicy rémoulade and interspersed with refreshing threads of crisp pickled onions. Some of the à la carte sides are almost full meals in themselves: a salad of honey balsamic–dressed arugula is dusted with crumbled goat cheese and topped with a hearty dose of diced roasted beets, poached pears and walnuts ($7).
The time: a quick but unhurried 26 minutes.
The cost: $23, including tax, tip and two cans of soda ($1.50 each).
Fuel House, 53 Clinton St., 416-846-4217, thefuelhouse.ca.
I must eat this. Omg is the best bakery on earth.
Had the Calamari po’boy and sampled the pork belly bahn mi sandwhich the other day. Was really happy with my meal :) (ok, may have also indulged in the pulled turkey poutine…don’t judge my diet.. it was delicious).
A small menu but really well done. Cool, laid back atmosphere makes this place a great addition to the Little Italy makeover: from slick-haired guido’s to unassuming, plaid-shirt-wearing-indie-rock-old-school hip hop part-time yuppies, part-time hipsters…