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Aisle 3
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Although the lonely, gritty stretch of Dundas West curving up from Roncy towards the Junction is known as the West Bend, traditionally it has seemed like more of a dead end. However, revitalization is underway with the opening of Aisle 3, a Vietnamese-inspired snack and cocktail bar that has brought much needed vibrancy, not to mention vibes, to this otherwise forsaken strip.
On a dark night (or equally dark winter day), the multi-coloured paper lanterns that dangle from Aisle 3’s ceiling glow like a bouquet of luminous beacons, luring curious passersby and neighbourhood residents to the bar perched on the corner of Dundas and Jerome.
Inside, warm, burnished wood, dusky speakeasy-style lighting, tumbling plants and Vietnamese tchotchkes lull you into wanting to eat, drink and get convivial. While paying homage to the colours of the Vietnamese flag, the jade and scarlet colour scheme is a little sultry and kinda sexy, impressions aurally enhanced by a soundtrack of contemporary and throwback tunes, ranging from chill-able to dance-able.
Of course, even if you’re the only option around, conviviality and vibe will only get you so far. Although – or precisely because – they are first-time owners, partners Johnny Le, Jason Xue and Nicole Tzipoloven are acutely aware that Aisle 3 needs to transcend mere Instagrammability.
While Tziploloven has a background in restaurant service and management, her fiance, Xue, and his childhood buddy, Le, are initiates. Firm friends since grade school, Le and Xue grew up in Mississauga, where they met playing basketball at the local Y. University studies in Waterloo led both into non-restaurant related careers. But having spent their formative years eating at friends’ homes exposed them to a multiplicity of home-cooked meals from the global diaspora, and fuelled their shared dream of one day opening a restaurant together.
That Le’s Vietnamese mom is an avid home-cook – and Xue is an avid fan of Vietnamese cuisine – brought their dream, and Aisle 3’s raison d’etre, into focus. (To keep the focus razor-sharp, and the flavours authentic, Le’s mom is the source, editor and taste-tester of many of Aisle 3’s dishes).
Le and Xue point out that while the GTA is home to some excellent Vietnamese cuisine, most restaurants traffic in traditional fare that caters in equal parts to Asian expats’ nostalgic yearnings for comfort food and Canadians’ newfound cravings for pho and bánh mì. Aisle 3 – whose name is a nod to the founding trio as well as the urban back alleys or “aisles” where some of the best street food can be found in Vietnam – is equally reverential to the fundamentals of Vietnam’s (multiple) cuisine(s). However, instead of a final destination, signature Vietnamese flavours, textures and ingredients serve as a point of departure for inventive flights of fusion that draw as much upon the multicultural mash-ups of Mississauga as they do the aisles of Ho Chi Minh City.
“We respect the culture of Vietnamese cuisine. We’re not just using the name to ride some culinary wave,” asserts Le. “Instead we’re staying true to its roots, while also taking it to the next step by elevating it in a modern way.”
If the next step involves injecting Vietnamese dishes with influences from around the globe, the owners are loath to refer to Aisle 3’s approach as “fusion.” While admitting that the “f” word is hard to avoid, Le explains that Aisle 3’s mission is to “use authentic Vietnamese flavours, but deliver them through different vessels.”
In charge of delivery is head chef David Le, whose Vietnamese background, coupled with a career at various acclaimed French restaurants (Côte de Boeuf, Milou, The Old York Tavern), makes him an ideal emissary.
“Professionally, I’ve only cooked French and Italian food, but my mom was always cooking Vietnamese,” he confesses. “After 15 years, this is my way to go back and reconnect with my heritage.”
In keeping with Vietnamese dining culture, David Le’s “vessels” consist of a tight menu of “family-style” share-able small and large plates, the former ideal for snacking while the latter are full-on meals. If the most exciting aspect of Le’s job is showing people how much more there is to Vietnamese food than they imagine, the most challenging aspect is introducing them to new flavours “while still keeping it familiar.”
In terms of small plates, what’s more familiar than a portion of chicken wings? If everybody loves wings, however, not everybody loves fish sauce, ubiquitous in Vietnamese cuisine, but whose pungency might “intimidate” some Canadians. Le’s workaround involves tempering the traditional marinade with a caramel glaze. Fried to a light crispness, the wings are then showered with crispy garlic, green onion, chili and cilantro. Beneath the sweet, sour, spicy and garlicky notes, the fish sauce nonetheless maintains a baseline of umami funkiness.
Also downright familiar (not to mention crazily of the moment) are birria tacos. But Vietnamese tacos? Not so much.
This wildly unexpected pairing was inspired by Johnny Le’s “two favourite things in the world”: tacos and bún bò huế. Bold and hearty, this popular Vietnamese soup is infused with crab and lemongrass. It’s also surprisingly perfect for dunking a corn tortilla into, especially a tortilla stuffed with tender slow-braised beef and oxtail, oaxaca cheese, cabbage, pickled onions and cilantro. Best part? When you finish dunking, you can slurp down all that delicious broth.
Dim sum die-hards are undoubtedly familiar with the Cantonese delicacy that is shrimp toast. David Le’s version takes a few pan-Asian twists, stuffing soft Japanese milk bread with shrimp paste and deep frying it until the exterior has darkened to a golden crisp. Bound with fragrant ribbons of lemongrass, each miniature loaf is topped with a punchy garnish of jalapeno relish, scallion aioli, dill, and chili.
“If a lemon, a grapefruit and an orange had a baby, it would be a pomelo,” says Johnny Le, describing one of the star ingredients in the pomelo jicama salad, which also includes crunchy cabbage and paper-thin lotus roots, fried to potato chip crispness. Steeped in a sweet and zingy lime-palm sugar vinaigrette and showered with lightly charred shallots, fresh mint and rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), this vigorously refreshing salad comes with crunchy shrimp chips for scooping.
David Le’s French culinary pedigree is apparent in the large plate whose name riffs on the favourite children’s game “Duck duck goose.” Duck Duck Noodles features duck confit, crispy on the outside, the meat succulent and aromatic after 48 hours of being braised in its own fat. An unsuspectingly fitting foil to this fowl is a tangle of egg noodles steeped in a fragrant lemongrass coconut curry.
For sheer interactivity, it’s hard to beat spring roll-shaped betel leaf wraps, stuffed with lemongrass-marinated lamb and beef. The delicate rolls are accompanied with bánh hỏi banh rice noodles bathed in herbs and ginger scallion oil and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. Pickled carrots, sweet pineapple, and lettuce leaves are also on hand, which is where things get interactive: Pile a roll and toppings onto a piece of lettuce, roll it up like a big green cigar and dip (or dunk!) to your delight in a bowl of briny fish sauce (inevitably making a sweet mess all over the table).
Aisle 3 uses only fresh ingredients including delivered-daily fish and seafood. You can certainly detect the mild oceanic tang of the pan-seared seabass, despite its being doused in a verdant muối ớt xanh sauce that includes jalapenos, star anise and cilantro. Garnished with gail lan and watermelon radish, it’s a subtly sophisticated dish that wears its rich tapestry of flavours with panache.
At first glance the menu’s sole dessert – a five-layer ice cream cake – seems like an outlier, lacking detectable Asian DNA, not to mention the artful presentation of the savoury options. The components involved – salted caramel pretzels, chocolate brownie, mocha whipped cream, espresso crumbs, salted caramel sauce – coupled with first impressions of excessive ooey-gooey-ness are initially daunting. However, a first bite completely obliterates such superficial judgments. Neither overly rich nor sickly sweet, the cake is subtle and complex, and so satisfying that you might order another piece.
Le, Xue and Tzipoloven originally envisioned Aisle 3 as a neighbourhood restaurant. But as neighbours showed up in droves, they realized that the hood was also thirsting for a cocktail bar. And so they brought in Hung Vo, formerly of BarChef, to devise a drinks menu that both harmonizes with, and provides a liquid counterpoint to, David Le’s dishes.
Vong and his staff have come up with an intriguing list of classic cocktails, all de-classicised by the discrete infusion of South Asian ingredients. Expect to taste lemongrass, star anise, pandam, and even pho, the latter used to fat wash bourbon which, when spiked with aromatics such as star anise and basil, could only be called an Old Pho-Shioned!
Vong’s other creations – which rotate seasonally and include featured specials – are equally alluring. Composed with warm and spicy notes, they lean towards the floral and botanical, with finishes that are smooth and silky.
His version of a highball features mesquite-infused rye and house-made chai bitters, mixed with soda for fizz and pear liqueur for sweetness. Bright, crisp and delicately smoky, its flamboyant garnish – a torched cinnamon stick –underscores Vong’s belief that a cocktail should please your nose as much as your tastebuds.
Riffing on a classic espresso martini, the Sleepless Saigon kicks off with a spirited base of Cognac and brandy. To amp you up, there’s rich and bitter Vietnamese coffee, spiked with Licor 43, coffee liqueur, cacau bitters and salted burnt honey vanilla syrup. Then to mellow you out, there’s the pillowy softness of condensed milk.
Aisle 3’s version of classic brown sugar bubble tea begins with a foundation of brown sugar tapioca pearls. Dark rum, brown sugar, ginger syrup, green tea vodka and Hojicha tea are layered on, then topped with a salted cheese foam whose tang counteracts the sweetness and adds some creaminess to boot.
Vong’s own favourite libation is a more recent take on an Old Fashioned made with tequila anejo mixed with pandan-infused mezcal, oolong tea and chocolate bitters. Earthy and smoky, with hints of vanilla and coconut, it’s one of the menu’s more bracing options.
In addition to a handful of local beers in cans and a short wine list covering the basics, there are also mocktails such as Lavender Sunset, a fizzy, citrusy, triple-tiered refreshment of lavender puree, yuzu juice and soda decorated with a lavender sprig.
In summer, you’ll be able to enjoy all drinks and dishes (new ones are constantly being added) on the outdoor corner patio with a view of the action. Action? Yes! With Aisle 3’s arrival, suddenly there’s a whole lot more going on this stretch of the West Bend.
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