la salumeria

location: 2021 yonge st.

i grew up in north toronto, so i’ve passed this place probably hundreds of times growing up, either by car or foot. never thought twice about it being anything else than a humble deli that sold other dried goods. their sign is worn from years of good business, and that’s truly what threw me off. never judge a book by its cover!

i only decided to go in today for lunch because i’ve seen it gain some traction on socials. i’ve watched about 3 reels now tell me about how there’s a deli sandwich counter at the back and the buns are stuffed. i love a good sando, and if it’s in my neighbourhood, even better.

wow. i can’t believe i never thought to go inside this place until now.

i split the house special and a turkey and cheese with my partner, and both were insane.

you could probably just eat half and save the other for dinner, honestly. both were $11/$12 each, too, which is truly recession-proof pricing.

i do think my stomach gets a little overwhelmed when there’s too much meat in a sandwich, so i dealt with some TMI issues later on — but i also think it was worth it.

the place itself is crammed with jams, dried pastas, dips, and olive oils, as well as a huge deli and cheese counter. it was like going to an old town butcher shop — but also, duh, that’s basically what it is. it’s been around since 1984, and i hope it won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. it’s now officially in my lunch rotation.

house special (left):

• fig jam

• spicy salami

• proscuitto

• tomato

• mozzarella

turkey & cheese (eaten too quickly to photograph):

• turkey

• mozza

• lettuce

• tomato

• mayo

• yellow mustard