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| - "If you want it
Here it is
Come and get it
Make up your mind fast
If you want it
Anytime I can give it
But you better hurry
'Cause it may not last"
- The Beatles
The days of young restauraunteurs are upon us. Ironically, the chefs are getting younger too! Come and Get It is the pop-up restaurant of Twitter-fame that now occupies the spot where Ackee Tree used to be. But not for long, as a condo development is going up in the near future. Its sad but inevitable, that Come and Get It has joined the harem of restaurants (cue Bistro 990, The Real Jerk) that will be bulldozed and replaced with more condos.
The young man behind this funky venture is Jon Polubiec. With the help of graffiti artist Skam, his brother, and a few friends - Come and Get It was born. Due to time restraints, they had to get in and get open fast. This meant all hands on deck to get all the grunt work done. They didn't have time for hired hands; the light fixtures were decorated with leftover cans of spray paint, courtesy of Jon's brother. But even if everything was rush, rush and go - I loved the restaurant's nostalgic interior. Highlights include a vintage iMac circa 1998, a boombox and sneakers, a Nintendo 64, neon lunchboxes which would serve as a condiments tray and my favourite - the Optimus Prime poster from Jon's bedroom. I loved the bright interiors! Its so refreshing to see a restaurant with some character!
The menu offers 3 simple items: a poutine, salad and sandwich with the occasional daily special announced via Twitter. The matrix-style menu is quite easy to read - so combine them any way you want! The 3 meat-packed flavours consisted of Chipotle Short Rib, Hawaiian Pork Belly and Granny Smith's Chicken Caesar. On the vegetarian side, there is Herbed Crunch Green Bean.
The boys at Come and Get It know what they're doing. All having worked in the food and restaurant industry, they're not just a bunch of kids looking to make a quick buck. They pay attention to every little detail. Down to something as minor (but nonetheless important), as their choice of sandwich bun which was hardy enough to soak up the sauce from the Chipotle Short Ribs without turning into a soggy mess. The accompanying coleslaw is one of the freshest I've had in Toronto, and the perfectly thin and crispy onions are delicious.
Granny Smith's salad just goes to prove that nana knows best. It wasn't just another boring old salad. Ingredients included thin slices of apple, crispy chicken skin, and fried chickpeas tossed with a creamy dressing and slices of shaved Parmesan.
Their poutine was no doubt a calorie-buster, but the cracklings and pork belly will overshadow any urge to log your meal into your My Fitness Pal app.
Verdict:
Go! It is a cool place to hang out with a group of friends and you can hit up Queen Street West to do some shopping after. The staff are friendly and the food is good.
While owner Jon has Twitter to thank for its success, he still has trouble peddling in the local foot traffic - no thanks to the huge McDonald's at the corner of Queen and Spadina. Although they're technically signed in for a 1 year lease with a 30-day termination clause, they're confident they'll stick around for at least a few more months - and depending on the results of this test-drive, may even open up shop in a more permanent location. Starting over again would be easy-peasy considering how fast they started their engines with Come and Get It.
It's also worth mentioning that their eating utensils are supplied by Green Shift. An expensive but Earth-friendly alternative to plastic.
So if you're in the area, walk past the golden arches and try out some of the tasty goods at Come and Get It - and do it fast, before its gone.
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