When The Pig Came Home
A temple to meat in Toronto’s West end.
If there’s one thing that Toronto is weak on, it’s sandwiches. Maybe it’s the exorbitant real estate prices or the preference to dine inside in winter, but there isn’t much support for the lowly sandwich in the downtown core. As a Montreal smoked-meat lover, it’s been difficult to watch all the delis close successively over the past 10 years. To get my fix I’d been trekking way up past the 401 to Wolfie’s deli. Wonderful smoked meat, but hardly convenient.
One day while visiting Coffee Bouquets on the recommendation of my friend, I got the craving for a deli sandwich. In the back of my mind, I remembered there being an enthusiasts butcher/deli somewhere near Bloor and Jane. I googled to no avail. I was SURE there was one in that block - something to do with Pigs. Sometimes the memory is infallible, other times it might be psychic. Expanding my search radius and typing in “Pig”, up popped When the Pig Came Home. Was that what had stuck in my mind somewhere long in the past? I looked at the photos and they looked good. 34 minute walk. Deal.
We criss-crossed through the Junction streets until popping up at Dundas St. West. After a short wait in line, we went inside. The smell was phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal. Parts of my brain were being activated that hadn’t opened since I was a kid with my mom slow-cooking roast pork in the wood cookstove. It was heavenly.
I asked the gentleman behind the counter “What am I smelling?” He said “That’s happiness.” I chuckled and he smiled and then I repeated “Ya ya, but really, what is that combination of smells?” He’s like: “That’s a little smoked meat, maybe some pork, fat… what do you want?”
I said “I want it all!”. After he realized I wasn’t joking, he said, “ok, get the Shrek… it’s half smoked meat, half pork, you’ll like.” All the meats on one sandwich?? Damn right i’d like it!
My friend, who is a much more responsible adult than me ordered a jerk chicken salad, and I added on a potato salad to make sure the protein and fats were sufficiently balanced with overwhelming carbs.
While we waited for our food, the staff bubbled and bopped around the kitchen and told us jokes. It was a delightful gaiety and laid-backness that you’d imagine on a happy pirate ship.
It’s still Covid here so there isn’t any inside seating. After a few minutes wait, we went around the corner to sit in the sun and devour the meat treats.
The “Shrek”
Upon seeing the sandwich I became very excited. This is definitely what I was smelling inside the deli. The fatty smoked meat covered in melted cheddar on top of roast pork on top of a tomato slice with a little sweet and tangy mayonnaise on the button.
This sandwich is epic. It’s not only huge, but it’s very greasy, not in a processed way. You can tell that the meat is extremely high quality because the fat is “clean” tasting. It dissolves on your tongue like really good butter and it doesn’t overpower the meat. It almost tastes healthy. The interplay between the smoked meat and the pork, which are both exceptional in their own right, is much more symbiotic than you might think. The contrast keeps you interested from bite to bite. If it was all one meat it would be too much volume to finish.
The master stroke is the tomato on the bottom. It comes into your taste buds after the two meats and adds just a little fresh acidy to the heavier taste balancing it perfectly. Finally the icing so-to-speak is the tangy mayonnaise sauce on the bottom which hits last and provides a bright refresh before the next bite. I don’t think I’ve ever had a sandwich as simple as this with only a tomato as the vegetable content. It’s extremely creative while being very restrained. So many “deluxe” burgers or sandwiches pile on 8 or 10 ingredients and simply overwhelm you. This is the correct number of flavours to reach peak satiation. While the sandwich is undoubtedly large, if you’re a big eater it doesn’t overpower. If you’re more of a taster, take a friend and share half.
The best potato salad I’ve ever had.
I’m a bit of a sucker for potato salad because my mom’s was always so good, so I order it whenever it’s available. Mostly I’m disappointed at the blandness or some other failing of the mix. When the Pig’s potato salad is exceptional. Frankly, you could order it as a meal in itself. It has a perfect mix between fresh-tasting potatoes— that earthy zing mix that only good potatoes have. They weren’t overcooked, but still soft enough for a smooshy absorptive base for the sauce.
The sauce is notably sweet which I like. It’s not quite dessert level, but definitely gives you that completely satisfied feeling. This sweetness is cut with kale and some chives which give a contrasting texture to the softer potato mix and make you feel good about eating some vegetables.
I didn’t take a photo of the jerk chicken salad but it was also exceptional. With a similar sweet balance of the potato salad, the spice of the jerk was just enough to punch up each bite. The portion size is more than enough to fill you up and if I was feeling the sandwich was too much that day I would still trek across town just for the jerk salad. It was that good.
CONCLUSION
The best sandwich in Toronto, and definitely in the top 3 I’ve ever had. The best potato salad I’ve ever had (better than my mom’s). A 10/10 jerk chicken salad. Affordable prices. Humanity-inspiring service. What more is there to say? If every restaurant or business was run with this kind of heart and quality, unhappiness and war would be eradicated. We’d all be clicking our heels down the street drunk on pork from When the Pig Came Home.
PRICE
$12-15 USD per item
AVAILABILITY
When the Pig Came Home
3035 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
THE RATING
10/10 Absolute
10/10 Relative
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