Toronto’s Best Sandwiches: a mozzarella avocado melt from The Rectory Café
By Karolyne Ellacott
Good eats on the island (Image: Karolyne Ellacott)
Now that the nights are brisk, and the midday sun tempered, it’s the perfect time to make the haul over to the islands. A mere ferry ride away, Toronto’s cluster of islands is an ideal place to escape the city pace and indulge in a little exploring by foot, bike or canoe. Though carting around a picnic basket seems idyllic, we opted to grab a sandwich on the patio of the The Rectory Café.
Tucked away on Ward’s Island, which is dotted with picturesque homes of some 400 families, the café is a remnant of years past. Back in the ’50s, periodic flooding encouraged the Toronto government to start razing island homes (it doesn’t make sense to us either). The former rectory — a stucco-faced building created using, it is believed, reinforced concrete — was able to escape its intended fate thanks to its sturdy structure. Housing the Centre Island’s priest for years, the building transformed into a charming dining spot and gallery space back in ’93.
Our sandwich pick is the mozzarella avocado melt ($13). Starring lemon-marinated buffalo mozzarella from Vaughan’s Bella Casara, slices of avocado and grated curls of citrus-infused cucumber, the sandwich is housed inside a potato scallion bun from Bäckerhaus Veit. On the side is a salad that’s drizzled with some pesto and balsamic vinegar. Dining on the café’s sunny back patio affords a view of the Leslie Street Spit, and will make city life seem light years away.
The Rectory Café, 102 Lakeshore Ave, Ward’s Island, 416-203-2152
More of Toronto’s best sandwiches:
A vegan-friendly BLT from Tori’s Bakeshop
A Wilco-inspired vegetarian offering from Sky Blue Sky
Peameal bacon on a bun from Carousel Bakery
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