Porchetta & Co. located at Exchange Tower, 130 King St W in Toronto

February 12, 13, 2020:  This was the week where I was craving burgers and sandwiches constantly.  I just somehow couldn’t get enough of the saucy meaty creations between fluffy buns and how easy it was to consume something so savory and filling with just two hands.

Thus, on a lunch break during one of the rare times where I wasn’t working on-site at the agency and where I had to pack my own lunch, I actually ventured out of the off-site office downstairs into the busy Exchange Tower food court area and searched out a good sandwich joint.  The one that stood out to me was Porchetta & Co. (Exchange Tower, 130 King St W).

I had first been to Porchetta & Co. a few years ago when restaurant hopping with two friends and we had shared their original Porchetta sandwich.

Lunch menu

On this lunch visit, I ordered the Porchetta “House Special” sandwich again and dined in.  By “dining in”, even though I had asked for my order to-go, I chose a table in the seating area for my meal.

I made my order at the cashier (it was so fast and simple), indicated I wanted it to-go (in case I didn’t finish it in time and had to leave), took the silver sign to a table of my choice, and waited for the sandwich to arrive.  I remember first asking the staff approximately how long the order would take because I wanted to ensure that I had enough time to wait for the food and eat before I dashed back to my steno job.

My to-go order that I decided to dine-in for

It didn’t take long at all for the sandwich to be ready and the food runner to find me in the dining room (about 5 minutes from placing the order to receiving the food).  The customers who were in fact taking their orders to go were all waiting by the front of the store (with all eyes on the kitchen or their smartphones) as they waited for their order.  I noticed there were a lot of food app orders (like the Ritual app) on the shelf to the left of where I was sitting waiting to be picked up too.

The Porchetta “House Special” sandwich was made with 4 oz of hand-carved porchetta, crackling, truffle sauce, Parmesan, P & Co. mustard, and Frank’s red hot sauce, between toasted sourdough buns.  It was a perfectly sized hand-held sandwich and very satisfying.  The tangy mustard went well with the porchetta.

Porchetta “House Special” sandwich. $12.95
-4 oz of hand-carved porchetta, crackling, truffle sauce, Parmesan, P & Co. mustard, Frank’s red hot sauce, toasted sourdough bun

So satisfying!

The next day was a continuation of the job and since I didn’t have a lunch brought from home, I again searched out for a sandwich shop to buy my lunch from.  Again, I ended up purchasing my meal from Porchetta & Co.  This time though, I tried their O. G. Fried Chicken sandwich.

O. G. Fried Chicken sandwich. $12.95
-buttermilk fried chicken thigh, lettuce, pickles, fresh herb ranch dressing, Frank’s red hot sauce, toasted sourdough bun

Again, I dined in and waited for my order.  There were so many more people this time during lunch than the previous day, but I still found myself an empty table to sit at.  The O. G. Fried Chicken sandwich was made with buttermilk fried chicken thigh, lettuce, pickles, fresh herb ranch dressing, Frank’s red hot sauce, and also again on a toasted sourdough bun.

Mmm, this was simply amazing.  It must have been one of the best fried chicken sandwiches I have had to date thus far.  The buttermilk fried chicken thigh meat was so moist and juicy while the breading was crispy and a tad spicy from the hot sauce.  The crispy chicken thigh contrasted with the creamy fresh herb ranch dressing, lettuce, and pickles too.  It was perfect!  I was so impressed and savoured every bite.  I actually liked this sandwich more than the porchetta sandwich since the chicken was more juicy and tender.

Look at how large it was!

My boo actually found me in the food court and joined me for lunch.  I’m glad he did because my sandwich was so big that he was able to finish the rest of it for me.  It’s one of those very rare times where working close to each other is a huge perk because we got to have lunch together.  Usually if I’m working on-site at the agency, there’s no need for me to search out lunch options because lunch is always provided in-house. 😛  I’m really glad that working off-site those two days meant two days of trying out a new eatery and discovering this delicious fried chicken sandwich. ^_^

I highly recommend trying the O. G. Fried Chicken sandwich from Porchetta & Co.!  They have two other locations (one at the Scotiabank arena and the other one on King Street West where I dined years ago).  They also have breakfast sandwiches for less than $7!  (served from 8 to 11 a.m.).