Out & About #174 | Pt. 1: PC Insiders Boutique Pop-Up

Introduced to the southwest corner of King and Peter / Blue Jays Way in mid-November, the PC Insiders Collection Pop-Up has undoubtedly induced on online frenzy by providing free guided tasting tours of the supermarket chain's new holiday items.

Very few knew about the activities that were occurring inside this larger-than-life-sized nutcracker-accented building until images of the various finger foods surfaced on social media. December marked the start of insane lunch-hour lineups, beginning with a 40-minute wait, then followed by a 25- to 30-minute tour.

Waiting outside was not fun, although I did feel a tad fancier with a red carpet below my scuffed sneakers. I joined a lineup consisting of approximately thirty people around 11:45 AM, stunned to find that such a loyal number had queued when the tours would not begin until noon.

Thankfully, services did begin exactly at 12 PM as promised. Groups of approximately ten people were guided through the several door-less rooms contained within the pop-up; the remaining members of the lineup were gradually invited into the waiting area as the groups ahead proceeded to their next destination(s).

The interior was moderately festive, with prominent splashes of red and the frequent use gold accents; it exuded a vibe most middle-aged ladies would thrive in. A distinctive "Free Wi-Fi" logo had also been plastered on the podium-like hostess stand, though no one was actually able to connect to the network at all. (PC, it's time to get on it!)

Almost halfway into our wait, a round of piping hot mini puff pastries made their way around.

Relatively hungry at this point, the flaky spinach and cheese-filled hors d'oeuvre was a nice piece to keep me going, albeit still bearing a strong, buttery pre-packaged taste.

Likely the most magnificent of them all, the space was decorated with boxy origami clouds, abstract wall art in subdued hues, and two miniature train tracks - one surrounding the perimeter of the room, and the other delving to and from a tunnel located at grade with the wooden geometric figures.

The second train made its way around the track three times, each time stopping to deliver a different brunch-themed item.

In this room was the opportunity to taste three unique dishes: savoury Greek salad-topped flatbread, crisp waffles served with cookie butter and bacon-flavoured maple syrup, and a sticky cherry-and-whipped-cream-topped Chocolateer Cherry Loaf sandwich. As each plate rolled around the table, concise explanations and descriptions of the food items were provided for further understanding.

The second room, made inconspicuous by utilizing a dark curtain entrance, was termed "The Mingle Room"; in contrast to the brightly-lit, pastel-hued Brunch Room, this one was almost completely void of lights besides the main food display. Adding to the somewhat mysterious atmosphere, tufts of blue- and green-backlit mist were also emitted when we first entered.

Appetizers incorporating spicy flavours of Thai and Korean origin were served up in small platters; among these were Butter Chicken Poutine, a four-piece selection of Thai Chicken Curries Mini Hors D'Oeuvres, and Gochujang Chicken Wings.

Many of these items were overly spicy for my liking and lacked the freshness in house-prepared foods, thus causing me to opt out of tasting half of them.

We returned back to the lobby for a short break, gulping down lemon-lime water and/or lemon-flavoured sparkling water to relieve our mouths of the fieriness of the dishes we had just tasted.

A perfectly symmetric black-and-white room - coined "The Dinner Room" - was our final tasting destination.

Personally served by one the chefs who had prepared the items, we were given brief explanations on how each element on our plate had been created. From the flavourful Beet and Goat Cheese Cappellacci to the sweet yet savoury Applewood Smoked Ham, not a single item had been left out.

"Dinner" concluded with a small slice of Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Cheesecake, which boasted a silky sweet filling atop an extremely thin crust. Personally speaking, I found this to be the highlight of the entire food journey. (It could have done without the tacky jam-like berry sauce though.)

The tour terminated in a room lined with gaudily vivid gift boxes adorned with shimmering bows and a thank you speech. Attendees also had the option of bringing home boxes of Chocolate-Covered Caramel Sea Salt Popcorn or White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio & Toffee Bark.

Assuming an overly satiated condition, I barely absorbed any of the points that were touched upon, and opted out of the freebie.

​I was sufficiently satisfied considering that I had already received a free lunch, though wasn't too keen that the entire process (waiting plus the guided tour) had seized one hour and fifteen minutes of my life that I would never get back. The food quality was mediocre at best, which is to be expected of pre-packaged supermarket chain standards; no amount of culinary professionalism could revert this.

If you happen to be curious about the pop-up, then feel free to wait it out during its last week of operation and decide for yourself whether any of the items are worth purchasing.

Continue reading about my first experience at the Toronto Christmas Market HERE !