I’m never really satisfied with these little sandwich and coffee chains that we’ve got around the city. Druxy’s, Cultures, Bagel Stop, Coffee Time, the list goes on. Unfortunately, Croissant Tree does little to stand above the rest.
With only a handful of locations, all based in Toronto, the franchise isn’t exactly in your face unlike the bigger guys such as Tim Hortons, and most locations are tucked in small street corners or within malls. According to their website [Psst, your Joomla favicon tag is sticking out!], the name has been around since 1981.
Having one right nearby where we work, Ashley and I decided to finally try it out. I’ll admit that they do have a nice patio, but we didn’t bother sitting outside with the weather being a bit breeze.
Pasta Salad
Ashley ordered a simple pasta salad (if you’re wondering why there’s no tomatoes, it’s because she requested to leave them out) which she described as excellent, and not too tangy. I, myself, went with a bit of comfort food, grilled cheese and a fruit salad.
Fruit Salad and a Panini Pressed Grilled Cheese
I wasn’t expecting much to come out of this grilled cheese, as it’s a simple sandwich to begin with. Two slices of bread and some cheese, possibly butter the sides and pan fry it til crisp. Well at Croissant Tree, they don’t pan fry, or butter it. They just shove it in a panini press, and wait for it to toast. Not that I don’t mind, as the less butter and frying, the better. But this is a grilled cheese.
My fruit salad was good. The fruit was really fresh and it did contain the usual coctail of fruits: melons, grapes, kiwis. What it lacked were berries, and there was hardly any kiwi in the salad.
The lone kiwi in my salad
Overall, it was a decent quick lunch for under $10 without any frills. The upside is that the location we went to near Church and Bloor has a nice patio, which will be perfect once the warm weather rolls around and stays.
Average Price: $4-$5 per sandwich, $8 for a combo with a salad
if you’re looking for an awesome sammich place, consider trying urban herbivore (http://www.herbivore.to/). i’ve gone there twice having 2 different sammiches (bbq seitan and celery root, i think) and they were freaking DELICIOUS.
I’ll totally have to check it out sometime soon! Thanks Helen!