The Tuesday Taste - Grandma Loves You

 

 

Mystery achievement

Where's my sandy beach? Yeah

I had my dreams

like everybody else but they're out of reach

I said, right out of reach 

Another Tuesday.... another Taste. Lets rock and roll.

This week is full of love... a grandma's love? Yes, Grandma Loves You is quite a renowned sub sandwich/hot dog takeout spot in the Toronto area... with three locations (a fourth on the way) and boasting nearly 50,000 followers on the most instant of grams. 

Not just that, but the accolades are numerous. A "#1 Top Eats in Canada 2022" (dunno what that is but it's probably good?) and featuring on several "you gotta try this submarine sandwich" type lists. Their website is quite happy to make this a known common fact... featuring several logos of their presumed appearances/public praises by well known programs/publications like Yelp, Breakfast Television, Toronto Life etc. None of these logos on said website link to actual evidence showcasing this stuff... which... does make me roll my eyes somewhat. 

I'm a scrooge of course (bah humbug and all) so lets get into the backstory of Grandma Loves You. Via their own website, German couple (though Artin was born in Iran) Artin and Sarah Davoodi moved to Toronto in 2018 and quickly opened up a little corner shop where they served sandwiches and hot dogs on the side. 

Via a BlogTo article from late 2020 I am deducing that their St. Clair/Yonge location is the original one, since the piece makes no mention of expansion or multiple locations. Also, random side-tangent alert but that same BlogTo article also says they're "steps from Rosedale" subway station. Yeah, like a couple thousand steps. Why not say St. Clair station? It's right there! Or Summerhill? This place is legit two subway stops away from Rosedale station, and is an actual few dozen steps from St. Clair station!!! Sorry... this stuff bugs me... and I'm lazy at this research stuff. But at least know your damn city!

Clearly the Grandma Loves You story has been a story of reciprocated love, as the little sandwich shop has seen enough success to quickly branch out and share these subs and hot dogs more throughout the Toronto land... including a kiosk in the Assembly Chef's Hall at Richmond and York right in the heart of downtown. It's genuinely a sweet story, and the photo on the website of their young family is objectively adorable. Perhaps my heart can grow six sizes this day... oh wait that's the Grinch. Whatever! I can be both. 

Chef's Assembly Hall is where I come in. I'd only been twice: to try the exceptional The Good Son's pizza, and the far from exceptional Oswald's (which is still there... huh). Cool thing about these food halls, if you've never been to one, is how none of the kiosks have their own designated seating. At least, I don't think so. You can grab your order, walk all the way back to the entrance and sit at any free bench by the window with a perfect vantage point to keep an eye on your bicycle... er I mean, watch the foot traffic of Richmond Street pass by. 

Seeing as their hot dogs were as renowned as their sub sandwiches, I went in planning to get both. And some of their hot dog topping concepts are wild! A "Japan Dog" with dried seaweed? An "Italy Dog" with mozzarella and pesto? That's the kind of stuff I'd try at home when I'm out of condiments! The one I really wanted was their "Spain Dog", not listed on their online menu but it had something mango on it that sounded very intriguing. Alas they were sold out of that, so what you see above is their "French Dog" instead.

Bon appetit? Tre bien. Yeah my Francais is clunky and terrible. What makes this a "French Dog?" Well separating the name from what we have here, it's a good length hot dog with blueberry jam and brie along it's sides. Nothing more. I found this... absolutely fascinating. Brie on a hot dog is kinda "what?" enough on it's own, and then blueberry jam? It's like you have the basics of a decent crackers and cheese board, but ah screw those crackers put it on a hot dog instead! Even if it didn't work at all and was just awful, I still would've admired the gall and ingenuity.

But... it actually works! It's crazy but it genuinely works. Brie is such a distinctive cheese, with it's generally dry flavour, crusty exterior but delectable creamy inside. This taste works quite well with the greasy, grilled flavour of the hot dog and is quite a contrast with the runny sweetness of the jam. 

It also helps that the quality of the hot dog/sausage itself is quite better than your typical street cart fare. You get that unmistakable hot dog fatty taste, for sure, but none of that heavily processed flavour that dances on the tongue before departing rapidly. Each bite here actually lingers, the dog itself isn't hollow or dried out (and likewise not undercooked either)... there's a plump juiciness from start to finish that, for a ten dollar hot dog, really does feel like you've gotten some bang for your buck. Really hits the spot, terrific stuff. 

 

                 

How about the sub sandwich? This thing was so tightly wrapped it could've been a torpedo. 

This is their "Spicy Ham" option, and most of the spice is generated by a generous amount of jalapenos (they're near the lettuce) doing a considerable amount of heavy lifting. The sauce (your typical vinegary sub sauce with some chipotle-like mayo) gives a bit of sting, but the rest is your basic ham sandwich with tomato, lettuce, cheese and crispy onions. 

Is this a good sandwich? Absolutely. Best sandwich in Toronto? Ahhhhh.... not really. Definitely on the messier side (those crispy onions will spill everywhere) and each bite is indeed loaded with those 'as advertised' elements of salty soft ham, crisp lettuce and just enough crustiness in the bread. 

There isn't a whole lot I can say about this sub beyond "it was really good, but not in a memorable way!" 

This was the six-inch size and it's definitely quite filling even in that smaller version, plus a perfect meal to eat half of and save the sequel for later. I will say, and this is an odd complaint because I love these things, but... there are a few too many crispy onions on here. Combined with everything else (your ham, lettuce, vinegary sauce) that dry sharp sting of the crispy onion does come off somewhat out of place. They are tasty as their own thing! But here it's a bit like a cool friend that doesn't quite fit in at this particular party. 

Regardless... I do want to say this is a quality sub sandwich. Very satisfying, each bite is enjoyable, and it's delightfully compact. The bread is a bit tough, but far from a deal breaker.

 

 

Overall! Grandma Loves You is really good! I was more impressed by the hot dog than the sub, which is not what I expected to happen. Just on innovation alone I would've loved that hot dog, but the fact it was also of a particularly exceptional quality just adds to my positive impression. Brie and jam on a hot dog! I'll try that at home sometime soon for sure.

A terrific sub nonetheless, and it won't disappoint... but I also think it's a minor step below Lambo's if you're looking for the very best in Toronto. Good Behaviour has to be in that conversation as well. While tasty and good, there wasn't anything here that blew me away whereas both Lambo's and Good Behaviour had purely sublime moments when I tried them. Grandma Loves You would be a "yeah, go try them!" rather than a "Ohhh man, seriously go now and try them holy cow!" if that makes sense. 

With the sub especially I wish I could've gone into more detail but it's difficult to elaborate beyond: this is very very good but in a generic way. It's very good! But nothing... particularly memorable. Nothing wrong with being very very good! I'll take it, and I'll definitely recommend Grandma Loves You... but it was really the hot dog that stood out in my mind more. 

Like a 7.5/10 quality sub if you want an actual grade-type thing... they do make a tasty sandwich, but like I said it's a notch below other ones I've tried. 

 

 

Burnt Ends

 

I'm sitting on a bunch of pizza reviews... here's my look at Cherry's High Dive! Spoiler... the pizza was not high, nor did I want to dive into it again. Read it anyway! Sometimes I'm a funnier writer when I let loose and get mad.

 

 

Tuesday Tune

 

No sense in pretending what band this is... also that instrumental breakdown in the latter half is just so good...

 

     

 

That's it for this week! I'm... not doing well... but these reviews help me cope with the endless sadness. Until next time, stay safe, stay warm, be happier than me and most of all do not spill that mustard.