Date of visit: Tuesday, 5 November 2013
On Tuesday, I had an exam on Yonge/Bloor. A few days before the exam, I had already decided that I would walk up to Black Camel for a post-exam celebration sandwich. This café had been on my Toronto to-eat list ever since reading about its slow roasted brisket and roasted pulled chicken sandwiches. You could see how popular it is by the fact that they have a Twitter account to tell the world when they have sold out.
Cool shopfront. No name, just a camel!
I ordered a cup of coffee and a sandwich. The coffee was too light-tasting for my preference. I'm not saying the coffee wasn't good, but I like my coffee like I like my men - STRONG. For the sandwich, I had the Slow Roasted Beef Brisket sandwich with Black Camel BBQ sauce. I didn't know I could get a second sauce/condiment for free, even though it was written on the menu (thanks to post-exam blindness). I should really have ordered it with chipotle mayo / horseradish.
Normally I prefer something lighter (such as Roasted Pulled Chicken) but I felt like eating something more flavourful after an exam. Besides, someone left a tip on Foursquare saying first timers should go for the Slow Roasted Beef Brisket sandwich with Black Camel BBQ sauce. (Why do I trust Foursquare tips?)
Layer upon layer of tender and juicy brisket, which took five days to prepare - three days to marinate, twelve hours to cook and twenty-four hours to rest.
So much sauce was dripping that after a few bites I had to stop eating and clean my hands! That's why they gave me a wet wipe.
Rating: 3/5
Food: According to various reviews and websites, Black Camel is the one of the best, if not the best, sandwich shops in Toronto. And I was let down. The beef brisket was tender and flavourful but I'm not a fan of the bun. The sandwich was wrapped in tin foil so it was natural to think the bun would be warm but it wasn't! Their Twitter keeps track of the number of buns remaining so you would think it would be good, but sorry to say it felt rather like a supermarket bun to me. But apparently it's called a Portuguese bun and it's a signature??? A lot of people seem to like it, though.
I still believe my experience could have been better and I was just unlucky. I would go back to sample the Roasted Pulled Chicken sandwich and Pulled Pork Shoulder sandwich and perhaps have the Eggspresso Breakfast Sandwich for breakfast. Time to eat something other than Timbits for breakfast. I want to eat everything on their menu!
Environment: Located in Rosedale, a nice neighbourhood in Toronto, Black Camel is a great spot for people-watching. It is a small shop with several bar stools indoors and four tables outdoors. As a devoted food blogger, despite the cold, I sat outside so I could take better photos. Though I was close to freezing to death, I enjoyed watching the world go by as I sipped my coffee.
Service: There wasn't much service as Black Camel is a café. But from my interaction with the barista/cashier and from eavesdropping on other customers' conversation with her, she was as nice as she could be in a busy café.
Price: Sandwich + medium coffee = $9.59. I wouldn't say it was cheap but it wasn't expensive either. Plus the sandwich was incredibly filling and it got me into a semi-food coma...
Black Camel
4 Crescent Rd
Toronto, ON
M4W 1S9
Canada
Website
"I like my coffee like I like my men - STRONG"
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHAHAHA epic B-)
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