The Reveal – Assembli
Pizza and salad: No doubt you’re craving one or the either at least one day of the week - or like me, every day and always both.
So Vancouver concept Assembli focusing on only the two is a no-brainer. And picking Toronto as its first location in Ontario? Hella smart.
Because custom-made, build-your own food that’s pretty good for us is always a good idea.
Provisions & Tipples
Ordering couldn’t be easier - choose your lettuce base/grain and crust, then list off your desired toppings. The bonus here? There’s over 50 items, so you can change your order up on the regular. And go ahead and pick as many as you want - the price remains the same. That’s right, you can pile on unlimited proteins, cheeses and other premium items as you want, and the price for pizza and salad stays steady at a cool $14.**
If decisions aren’t your strong suit, choose carefully crafted options such as Smooth Crimini Kale Pizza with roasted mushrooms, artichokes and kale, and and O-Mega Brainiac Salad boasting beets, blueberries and walnuts - just three of the ten ingredients.
Speaking of ingredients, these are the good ones. Island City Baking developed the dough using “00” flour. Everything is fresh, non-GMO, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, local and organic when possible. Gluten-free and dairy-free are by request, with a slew of options for vegetarians, vegans, and carnivores alike.
Pies come in at 11 inches, with classics - Pepperoni, Cheese, and Hawaiian - arriving at 6 inches each. Cooked in an electric oven, they take just two minutes, so the wait time is doable. And salads aren’t dinky afterthoughts either. Portions are generous (48 oz. = 6 cups), as are the proteins, so there’s no chance of being hungry 20 minutes from now.
Drinks include sparkling water, San Pellegrino, and a Coke machine that allows you to customize your pop with 60+ options available.
Food diary
Root Cause
Though roasted root veggies are at the heart of this ‘za, it feels rather decadent. Like Thanksgiving instead of just pizza. With mozza, roasted garlic & red onion, and slathering of spicy tomato sauce.
Backyard BBQ
Messy: Yes. Tasty: Absolutely. The medley of roast chicken, mozzarella, cheddar, onion, peppers, cilantro, barbecue sauce, yogurt and bbq drizzle, and corn salsa delivers a barbecue vibe. Bonus: being simultaneously pizza, it’s the best of both worlds .
HawaiI 5-0
The always controversial topping - pineapple - gets elevated here with a sprinkling of chili. Paired with oversized triangular slices of ham atop mozzarella and spicy tomato sauce, it’s familiar enough to please, but distinct enough you’ll order it again.
Open Sesame
A healthy filler-upper by way of brown rice, spinach edamame, carrots, peppers and cucumber, gets an Asian flourish thanks to cilantro, sesame seeds, and zesty ginger sesame dressing.
Kale, Caesar
We’re all versed in the Kale Caesar by now, but what takes this one up a notch is the massive serving, and even bigger addition of fresh herb-roasted chicken breast amongst fresh kale, romaine, croutons, and heavy dusting of parmesan. Dinner is served.
Backdrop
Build It By Design created a simple streamlined space with industrial touches of metal and wood, and pops of green and red throughout.
Names
Higher ups Owner/Operator Stephen Plunkett
Numbers
Drop a pin 373 Church St.
Ring, ring 416-591-8687
Come on in Mon-Sun 11am-11pm
Please be seated The restaurant accommodates 20 guests.
---
**Funny story. A guy was in having his pizza with seven toppings. The day before, he’d come in and got basically one of everything but decided that it was overkill (though delicious). Experts haven’t quite agreed on the exact number that’s ideal, but they do see eye to eye when it comes to rule of thumb, “The simpler, the better.”