Skip to main content

Croque Monsieur, Bivy, Toronto

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am a lover of the Croque Monsieur. And yet, I rarely ever eat them.

This is the first CM I have had in Toronto, and thank goodness I saved myself until now.

Having only ever had beverages at Bivy, it never occurred to me that they had food options until I had a late afternoon meeting there and had not eaten lunch. While normally I would just get a soup, their option that day was tomato, and not trusting it to be a sweet and not sour tomato soup, I went full hog and ordered the Croque Monsieur. If it was bad, I was hungry enough that it did not matter. But no and behold, it was not bad looking, and not bad tasting either.


While the bechamel was almost indiscernable in taste, but present in texture, everything else worked very well together to make this a warm, delectable treat. The bread was fresh and did not harden half way through the meal into a soggy lump; the cheese was excellent and not overly oily under the intensity of the broiler, and the ham was mild, not too salty, not too thick.

I will go back for other dining options, this I know, and I will return for this Croque Monsieur, no doubt.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Marché Hung Phat, Montréal,

  I was suspicious when a vegetarian friend told me that Montréal did Vietnamese food better, and not just because she was vegetarian. I had tried first hand for myself years ago, and what I remember tasting was bland, watery, and a cruel joke. However, time moves on, and I am willing to try again, and I am glad I did.  Taken a stroll up to Saint Denis, there was no shortage of banh mi options, but Carla B led me directly to Hung Phat, and being ravenous and greedy, we each ordered a tofu banh mi AND an order of salad rolls. Normally that combination should be no problem, but I was unfamiliar with the heft of Hung Phat's servings, which had a weight and density that did not compromise its deliciousness. A substantial sandwich if I ever saw one, I could barely finish the salad rolls, but of course I did. Carla B saved the rest of her sandwich for later and passed on the rolls, and I hope she does not mind me saying this publicly. Our early friendship may have been fo...

Haloum Grille, Depanneur Le Pick Up, Montreal

A friend and I agreed the personality of the sandwich changes with each person who prepares it, and today we felt something was a little less than parfait with our Haloum Grille. Folks at Le Pick Up seemed stressed . The longest wait ever, and our lunches sat around too long. Temperature of the cheese is important to experiencing haloumi’s firm the texture and the release of its saltiness, and I prefer when it’s grilled directly before entering the sandwich.  Creamy spicy slaw of red cabbage, carrot, and kale soothes the major crust burn associated with the crispy multigrain toast. Ideally it’s the bread that should be soft and the haloumi that gets to shine as the crispy grilled champ that it is.   Nevertheless, we stayed for hours at the back picnic tables, chatted with the servers, overheard some drama about the evening closing procedure, broke a dish, and spilled a coffee. A good day. 

Hen's Deli, Milwaukee

  My mini midwest tour continued to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a place known more for breweries and deep fried cheese curds, but my timing was fortuitously aligned with the recent opening of Hen's Deli . Located in the neigbhorhood of Walker's Point, in a former hole in the wall soup shop, Hen's began at the local farmer's market under the name Clark Street Sausage Co. Establishing a fan base with unusual items (for Milwaukee) such as ramen and a pork pastrami sandwich, their brick and mortar location offered a small, but mighty menu of established favorites along with some new offerings on rotation.  I was on my way out of town as I learned about Hen's, which is unfortunate timing for me. Stopping in with some locals in the morning, we got several breakfast bagel sandwiches to go on the everything bagel with sausage. Without a doubt,  their house made sausage patties served as the foundation that held it all together. Tucked on top was a slippery little muffin tin egg (...