Last Saturday my brother, his friend Ben and I traveled to Toronto to see Radiohead play at Downsview Park. Due to a tragic event, the show was cancelled and we were forced to head back to Buffalo. Before learning the sad news, we had spent a couple hours walking around downtown Toronto and made an effort to arrive early enough to enjoy some lunch. I had a couple places in mind but since I wasn’t with the most adventurous eaters I decided to stop by Murray’s Sandwich Emporium on Queen St West, a restaurant Alli and I noticed on our trip earlier this month.
The restaurant is tiny, with several wooden tables for communal eating and brick walls. During our entire visit there was a flatscreen television playing skateboarding videos along with some punk music to match. Their menu isn’t just clever with their names but the interesting sandwich combos all sounded delicious.
Quick Info:
- Restaurant Type: Casual, Order At Counter
- Cuisine: Deli/Sandwiches
- Prices: Sandwiches Under $10, Beer $6
- Location: Toronto
I ended up settling on the BL-Tizzy ($8, pictured below), a hard roll with avocado spread, homemade mayo, double smoked bacon, lettuce and tomato. The sandwich was delicious and my only regret was I didn’t add an egg for an extra $1. The toasted roll was fantastic, tasted fresh and had a really good crunch. The bacon was generously piled on and wasn’t chewy or fatty and the avocado spread added a great creamy texture and flavor. I would have loved to have a sandwich twice the size for the price, but that’s my only complaint.
After convincing my brother Tom to not order a burger, he ordered the Chicken Tiki Tzatziki ($8, pictured above) which had grilled chicken, tzatziki sauce, sauteed onions, tomato and french fries inside. His sandwich was clearly much larger then mine and absolutely loaded with tzatziki sauce (if you couldn’t tell from the picture) which Tom said made the sandwich great. When he bit into the baguette style roll I could hear the cruncg. His food to price ratio was much better than mine and he was absolutely stuffed after finishing his sandwich while I could have eaten a little more.
We both had really good sandwiches and while I again didnt get to go to Banh Mi Boys(next time, I promise) it was a great visit. Once I get through my epic wishlist of Toronto restaurants, I’ll stop by and try another sandwich off the menu. We both ordered some Okanagan Spring Pale Ale that was heavier then I was expecting and not bitter at all. Very refreshing and an awesome beer to pair with a good sandwich. There are so many awesome places to eat in Toronto, but if you are in a rush and don’t feel like doing a lot of research, Murray’s is a great quick stop that will have something for everyone to eat.
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