After a long day of moving me in with my dear friends, I wanted to treat them to good eats that in a casual and comforting environment. We headed to the Fuel House which was the ideal place for the mood and vibe we were looking for. In the intimate space formerly known as Olivia's just tucked off College behind Cafe Diplomatic on Clinton, it's the perfect place for comfort as it's an old restored house with dim lights, and a gorgeous back patio.
The menu is focused on snacks and sammies with an asian twist with favourites like deep fried pickles and poutine so we order them immediately! (We did just finish a move so we were starving). Additionally we try the pork belly confit cubs, chick pea fritters and grilled octopus crostinis on the suggestion of co-owner Mack Chiu. There are two beers on tap - Beau's and Sapporo with the great presentation of the samurai sword as the tap handle.
The deep fried pickles are juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside and totally what we were craving. The poutine was made with real cheese curds with a good base gravy which gave it a good flavour so I was tremendously happy about it. The chick pea fritters are soft and musky as you would expect chick peas to taste. 
The grilled octopus were seasoned well and tender which is good. The highlight on the snacks were the pork belly confit cubes served with a house made hoisin sesame sauce. The sweetness of the sauce was delicious compliment to the saltiness of the pork.
However one of the main reasons I came here was to try their pork belly bahn mi sandwich.
I have heard a lot of reviews on the Fuel House's version of the classic vietnamese sandwich with pickled veg and cilantro. It came in a baguette and was full of textures with good crunch and the perfect pickled salty flavour with a little kick with a spicy sriracha sauce added in. Bahn Mi's are picking up in popularity (they also serve a tofu bahn mi) and it wouldn't surprise me to see many other versions of elevating this basic sandwich with more sophisticated ingredients. (Secret menu item perhaps??)
Other mains we tried were the fish tacos two ways. They were served on soft corn tortillas which my friend Lloyd was a bit nit picky about because it made for a more starchy flavour. I thought it was take on two applications of white fish (tilapia) tacos. One with pickled onions, lettuce, cilantro and remoulade. The other had pea sprouts, pickled ginger and wasabi mayo.
Also we had the fuel house burger which was a good classic burger served with the regular trimmings of ketchup, coleslaw and mayo.
As the weather heats up, the Fuel house will be opening up their garden patio and hosting BBQs and pork roasts. I can't wait to go back and enjoy!
**** stars
Fuel House(416) 846-4217
53 Clinton Street (at College)
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