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Food Food & Drink

Teara Lab gives sandwiches a Japanese twist

Sandwiches aren’t exactly a staple in Japan, but you’d be forgiven for thinking the glossy, marble-swathed new Teara Lab sandwich shop (181 College, at Henry, facebook.com/tearalab) was part of a string of Japanese franchises. In fact, it’s a brand-new concept from the folks behind the popular KaKa All You Can Eat in Markham. 

The concept stemmed from KaKa chef Frank Liu’s off-the-clock experiments with classic Japanese dishes. Now, on their menu of roughly 10 sandwiches, sweet chicken teriyaki is piled sky-high on a bun with sharp provolone, and pork tonkatsu shows up on crustless white bread with plenty of tomato to cut the grease. 

Less typically Japanese, but no less delicious, are roast beef with horseradish mayo and a red wine-braised short rib with mushrooms and creamy havarti on an egg bun. For vegetarians, there’s a pulled pork-style sandwich made of shredded, slow-cooked king mushrooms. “Most places do chicken and pork – the only thing we can really change is the sauce,” Liu says – so he sunk plenty of time tinkering with his wasabi mayo and tonkatsu sauces. Rounding things out in the topping department are crispy-fried onions, which show up on many of their dishes.

To round out their combo meals ($11.99-$15.99), there’s seasoned fries (boxes of fried crispy onions served as a stand-in on media preview day), matcha slashes and Japanese marble sodas. The place looks primed to keep the lunch crowds from U of T and the nearby hospitals sated – while whetting downtown appetites for what reps say is KaKa’s projected downtown opening in November.

nataliam@nowtoronto.com | @nataliamanzocco

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