where jess ate

After weeks of walking by the graffiti “Come and Get It!” sign situated on Spadina, just north of Queen, we had read that this pop-up restaurant had finally opened. Serving up sandwiches, poutine and salad, Mike and I dropped by for lunch this past Saturday afternoon.

The space used to be occupied by the Jamaican restaurant, Ackee Tree, and Come and Get It will only be open temporarily as the space will soon be taken over by a condo development. Talking to Jon Polubiec, the person behind the place, he couldn’t give me a definitive answer as to when they’d have to close up shop here – only that the developers wanted to break ground some time this year. Hopefully it won’t be anytime soon.

The space is bright and spacious with bright pink walls and a very low key atmosphere. What I loved about the place was the nostalgic elements they had which took my back to my childhood. Think boombox, an old mac computer, N64, Archie comics and plastic lunchboxes.

Come and Get It has quite a bit of seating, although most of it is communal at picnic tables situated at the back of the space.

Ordering is a 2 step process:
1)      Wat’cha wanna get? Options are sandwich ($8), salad ($9) or poutine ($7)
2)      Howd’ya wanna get it? Chipotle beef short rib, Hawaiian pork belly, Granny Smith chicken Caesar or herbed crunch green beans

We came here wanting to try a sandwich and a poutine. For our sandwich option, we went with the Hawaiian Pork Belly Sandwich – slow roasted hoisin glazed pork belly, pineapple salsa, pickled red onions, iceberg lettuce and crispy pork crackling on a milk bun ($8). The tender and juicy pork belly was nicely balanced by the fresh pineapple and pickled red onions. Oh, and you can never go wrong with crackling. It’s always a welcome addition! Overall, I thought it was a decent sandwich but nothing mind-blowing. Mike, on the other hand, loved it. So, go try it out and you can be the judge.

The second thing we tried was the Chipotle Beef Short Rib Poutine – house French fries, mozzarella and cheddar cheese curds, braised beef short rib, crispy onions and a rich beef gravy ($7). At first glance, the poutine seemed to be lacking in the gravy department but upon eating it, we realized most of it had settled near the bottom, so give it a good mix first. In hindsight, I should have taken a picture of it but I was way too busy shoveling forkfuls of it into my mouth.

The pieces of pulled short ribs tasted delicious with the gravy and I loved the crispy onions which topped the poutine. You’ll notice that the fries are of the thin variety, which I prefer. There wasn’t very much of a chipotle flavour to the poutine but I’m not complaining. We also added a bit of hot sauce to it which added a nice kick. A delicious poutine!

Overall, a great lunch spot. The food was solid and the service was incredibly friendly (and fast!). Make sure you come and get it before they’re gone!

At a glance:
• Temporary pop-up serving sandwiches, poutine and salad
• Nostalgic, 90’s-style decor
• Located at Queen and Spadina
• Quick, friendly service

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4 stars
• Service: 4.5 stars
• Atmosphere: 4 stars