BEAR Steak Sandwiches is the newest small business already making a significant impact on Toronto's food scene. Only soft-launched in early May, the duo behind it all, Ricardo Barrientos and Aki Erenberg, have already gained a massive wave of support from their Little Italy community and beyond online, who are all eagerly awaiting to give them a try.
Despite having a limited menu, with one stand-alone signature item, the pop-up has garnered early success. Proving simplicity can go a long way; BEAR Steak does one thing and one thing exceptionally well. A flank steak sandwich on a Portuguese-style bun with generous amounts of homemade chimichurri.
BEAR Steak gets its name from a combination of the owner's initials, reflective of the idea of them coming together to create one stellar product.
Erenberg says the concept of their business was sparked the previous year, "One night last summer Ricky grilled us up some steak sandwiches using his homemade chimichurri, and eight months later we still had it in our minds! We decided to emphasize the idea of quality, to support local, and to bring together the neighbourhood as our passion project, and that one day a week we would come together and provide Little Italy with a sandwich they too couldn't forget."
Business partners, Ricardo Barrientos and Aki Erenberg.
Erenberg notes that while the steak and chimichurri sandwich idea isn't reinventing the wheel, the quality of the products they're using and the emphasis on supporting their local neighbourhood, in particular, sets them apart.
Their beef is sourced from Grace Meat Market on College Street and their Portuguese rolls are from Golden Wheat Bakery just down the street, who also provide the Portuguese egg custard tarts -- Pastel de Nata they offer for dessert.
After initially serving up sandwiches for family and friends in the backyard of Barrientos' family home on Palmerston and gaining a lot of traction online, the duo decided they had to briefly leave their outdoor grill and the community atmosphere that was built around it behind. They knew they needed to move fast into a space that would best accommodate the large volume of orders they began to receive -- and that they did.
In less than a week, Barrientos and Erenberg pivoted to temporarily set up shop last week in a commercial kitchen behind Scadding Court Community Centre and this week, they're yet again drawn out of their space last minute and are currently on a mission to find a new location for pick-up spots this Sunday.
What's even more intriguing about BEAR Steak Sandwiches is that you can see how dedicated the duo is to working towards building the perfect sandwich via their Instagram. Before selling their product, you can scroll back weeks prior to see the progress they documented of their journey to officially creating their signature sandwich.
From their decisions on what bread would work best to why the texture and flavour of a beef flank versus a veal flank for their purposes would work better, it's a nice touch to see how much attention and care did go into crafting their product.
According to their Instagram, each steak is sous-vide for 2 hours, then typically grilled medium-rare to serve. Barrientos' homemade chimichurri truly is the best complement to their sandwich, with its vibrant green sauce layered in abundance within. Fresh herbs, garlic, chilies and more drowned in a pool of olive oil soaks up exceptionally within the bun and adds the ultimate smooth, garlicky burst of flavour in every bite.
As they continue to grow, Erenberg says, "Our menu offering will always have 'the Sammy' as the star of the show, but we're hoping to rotate menu items as our suppliers (Grace Meat Market and Golden Wheat Bakery) have new offerings to serve. We support local; you eat well, everyone wins!"
To get your hands on the new must-try sandwich in Toronto, you'll have to pre-order yours on their website. Pre-orders open on Monday and close at 5 p.m. on Fridays -- but that's assuming they won't sell out prior to that deadline. Pick-up is on Sundays and as previously mentioned, BEAR Steak is again searching for a new home, ideally a more permanent kitchen fixture.
As the hunt for the perfect space continues, the duo hopes to soon find themselves outdoors, grilling in Barrientos' backyard again sometime soon. Be sure to follow BEAR Steak Sandwiches on Instagram to get some top-quality sandwich content and keep up with their journey, including where they'll be operating out of next.
