Posted by Rod Weatherbie in grocery, prepared foods, shops on February 29, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Per Se Foods
563 Queen Street West
416-594-0303
Ilene Fattore spent last Thursday trying to recover from the big Queen West fire.
The fire that wiped out most of a city block indirectly affected businesses further along the strip as far as Augusta. The hydro was out, freezers were off, food had to go. So the staff at Per Se Foods spent the day taking care of stock and refilling the ready-to-go counter from scratch. “We just opened up and every hour we’re closed counts,” Ilene said.
Per Se Foods and Catering opened in December and had a lot of folks wondering if Thomas Keller was moving north, but this is an entirely different operation. Ilene, a painter and former art teacher, found herself working in her husband’s business, one of the Bruno’s Fine Foods locations, where she got involved in the purchasing and sourcing. Although not a foodie at the start she now loves keeping up with food trends.
The choice location, right next door to the Healthy Butcher, wasn’t a fluke. “We were looking at a location further down the street, but the real estate broker called and said, ‘You don’t want that location, trust me, something else has just come up.’ And he brought me down here.”
The broker asked Ilene if she wanted to open next to a butcher. He felt the location was perfect and the landlord was looking for a tenant like her. She said the two businesses are definitely complementary. “We have products he doesn’t and he does things we don’t. People can find what they need between us.”
A lot of the dry and bottled products at Per Se are Italian, a reflection of Ilene’s heritage and previous experience at Bruno’s; lots of dry pastas, olive oils, and vinegars. But the shop also offers a range of prepared meats and salads as well as fresh fruit, vegetables and cheese.
Ilene is particularly proud of the rosemary beef tenderloin which comes out of the kitchen rare and smelling like Sunday dinner. But it’s their yellow beet salad that stands out. Beets can be a hard sell for some people - Ilene said she didn’t care for them in the past - but even she was won over. It’s sweet, citrusy and aromatic, the beets cooked just right.
Ilene said she was nervous opening the shop, but her location seems right and the products, while sometimes pricey, aren’t out of range for a neighbourhood that's up-and-coming.
And despite the fire taking out a good chunk of the commercial strip and the residences on top of it, Ilene said she knows that will all be rebuilt. She hopes to be in business to see it.
OMG! I've been to per se and let me tell you it is just FABULOUS! Ilene is a wonderful woman, who really knows how to help you out. The skor brownie I had MELTED in my mouth. I'm so happy everything is working out for her and all the best in the future! Per Se is going to be the next EATONS CENTRE! Watch out, it'll be big and soon. To all the readers who are currently reading my post, know that if you go to Per Se foods, you will leave with a huge bag of food and an even bigger smile. So go, be my guest and experience the best thing thats happened to Queen West.
My BEST regards,
Taylor G.
I've worked in the area for over 10 years and had high hopes for this new business. Everything looks great but I noticed that around Easter, once the Ace Bakery hot crossed buns they carried reached their best before date, they just removed the stickers with the best before date, rather than removing the "expired" stock from their shelves. This was very disappointing and casts a shadow on the integrity of their other products.
Love this place. They have many healthy selections for lunch, and it's the perfect place to fill the gaps from a brown bag lunch. Favourites are the yummy curry chicken salad. Only thing I would say is that the chicken breasts, which I get often, are slightly on the overcooked side. Otherwise, this place is a gem.