Still Alive

My plant-based diet means though I love the pastries at Barbershop I only tried their sausage roll the one time. It was tasty but my biased stomach prefers the flakiness of patê sô. Nobody makes this snack as it is a niche food. A general business like Nguyen Huong in Chinatown does carry them, but they are merely edible there. Nothing compare to the tasty ones you can get catered in Montreal.

When I got an Instagram tip that a store near Bathurst and Bloor probably sells authentic versions, I had to check it out. So on Friday, I made my way over to Rustle and Still. It turns out that this Vietnamese coffee house used to be sandwich shop Sky Blue Sky. Outside of its music-related moniker, the previous business didn't tempt me back more than twice over the last decade. From what I can see, this new shop was popular with the locals for its coffee made from specialty Vietnamese beans and iced drinks.

But people were also looking over its small menu of banh mi. I spotted the patê sô sitting in the display case. Its roll shape, instead of the traditional square pastry, threw me as well as its' low price of $2. I also ordered a vegan banh mi ($8.50) and a Vietnamese slaw ($6.50). While waiting for my order, I looked over the space. It had a clean Scandinavian décor vibe combined with some homey touches of welcoming plants. Little Korea isn't known as a coffee hang-out zone but I could see Rustle becoming that neighbourhood spot.

The pastry was only a 2-bite snack but it was good. The meat was fragrant and tasty but in general, it wasn't quite up to snuff for me. What makes a sô is the thickly layered mouth-feel of good puff pastry, everything else is secondary. I enjoyed the tofu banh mi, too. This was actually vegan-friendly with an excellent mushroom/almond pâté substitute. Most banh mi shops might offer a tofu option, but you know it's not really vegan. The only negative is that their pickled condiments were on the sweet side. This seems to be a recent trend including at Komi in Bloorcourt. The slaw was a mix of cabbage, peanuts, and fried shallot with a black pepper vinaigrette dressing. It was a good crunchy salad but I feel missed the point of a Viet slaw. First, unlike tangy Western salads, a Viet slaw tilts in the savoury/umami direction with its fish sauce-based dressing and fresh herbs. Second, it should provide a softer chewiness without being mushy and not the usual experience of grazing on grass.

Originally from Vietnam, the owners came to Toronto as foreign students. I don't know if these changes reflect an evolving palate over there or an adaptation to local tastes here. I don't like it myself but these small nit-picks aside, I enjoyed visiting this place. I would probably love Rustle and Still even more if I was a coffee drinker.