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Food & Drink

What’s on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop’s new Queen West takeout counter

By Caroline Aksich| Photography by Caroline Aksich
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A stack of Telway Burgers at Toronto's Gold Standard
Photo by Caroline Aksich

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Name: Gold Standard Contact: 1574 Queen St. W., no phone, breakfastsandwich.ca, @goldstandardsandwich
Neighbourhood: Parkdale Previously: Kitten and the Bear Owner: Zach Slootsky (The Federal) Accessibility: Two-inch lip at entrance; take-out only, no washrooms

The food

A succinct menu of one burger and three sandwiches (four if you include the ice cream sandwich on offer). Although the menu’s petite, it lists more than double the edible offerings at Gold Standard’s Roncy takeout window.

What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
Of course there’s the classic Gold Standard breakfast sandwich, built on an English muffin with scrambled eggs, bacon (or kale), kosher pickles, aïoli and hot sauce. $6.

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What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
For their take on a sabich, a less-than-traditional Martin’s Famous Potato Roll is piled with egg salad (made with house aïoli and hot sauce), cucumbers, parsley, pickled onions, kosher dills and fried eggplant. $6.

 

What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
Their Bulldog Butty is a Japanese twist on the British sarnie. They’ve swapped out brown sauce for Bull-Dog, and added Kewpie mayo and a tuft of grated cabbage. Oh, and bacon, of course, at least six strips of bacon. Like the Telway, this one’s also served on a Martin’s Famous Potato Roll. $6

 

A stack of Telway Burgers at Toronto's Gold Standard
Their Telway Burger is a love letter to The Telway, a Detroit burger joint. The flat-top cooked patty—a mix of brisket, sirloin and chuck—is cooked on the flat top, then flipped over onto raw onions. They then use a lid to cover the meat as it cooks, so that the oniony steam infuses the potato buns. The burgers are then dressed with French’s yellow mustard, kosher dill pickles and American cheese. $6. Photo by Caroline Aksich

 

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What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
This ice cream sandwich from Original Favourite combines homemade ginger cake with vanilla ice cream. $6.

 

What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
Here’s the menu.

 

The drinks

Gold Standard is unlicensed, so thirst-quenchers include house-made lemonade, as well as Arnold and Laura Palmers. The former Palmer subs unsweetened ice tea for the water in the lemonade, while the latter swaps out water for Club Mate, a yerba mate–based soft drink.

What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
When life gives you lemons...

 

What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
... you make lemonade and lemonade-based drinks. $3.50-$5.

 

What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
Here’s the drink menu.

 

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The space

This postage stamp of a sandwich shop was built out by Michael Dellios of Brothers + Sons. There are a couple of chairs snuggled into the big bay window, but the majority of the space is taken up by the counter. But when it’s warm and dry, customers can sit on the benches out front, tucking into their sandwiches as the 501 rolls by.

What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter
What's on the menu at Gold Standard, the sandwich shop's new Queen West takeout counter

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Caroline Aksich, a National Magazine Award recipient, is an ex-Montrealer who writes about Toronto’s ever-evolving food scene, real estate and culture for Toronto Life, Fodor’s, Designlines, Canadian Business, Glory Media and Post City. Her work ranges from features on octopus-hunting in the Adriatic to celebrity profiles.

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