This just in: Drake BBQ pop-up shop

Last week I had the opportunity to taste test some of executive chef Anthony Rose's BBQ offerings at the Drake hotel, even though the tender Texas chopped beef brisket and Carolina pulled pork sandwiches won't be served at the hotel. Instead, they'll be dishing out hot sandwiches to go in the very storefront that housed the season-specific Scoops + Tee's this summer. Drake BBQ, the hotel's latest pop-up shop, is set to launch October 22nd.

The menu is to the point: “Everything is cooked low and slow, smoked with local applewood, and we’re only serving three main sandwiches because our goal is to do a few things really, really well,” said chef Rose as I crunched away on one of the best pickles I've ever had -- a Tymek’s Old Sour Pickle.

After nibbling my way through some brisket, Ontario-grown Kernal red-skinned peanuts (bet you didn't know there were Carolina forests two-hours from Toronto), New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips and the most delicious cherry cola ever (Boylan's), I think you'll want to eat here because the food is great, the price is right, and they're open late (or, until the meat runs out). There will also be whoopie pies for dessert.

Plus, it's a pop-up shop, so it's terribly trendy, and, you never know when it's going to disappear, only to be replaced by something like Drake Panties + Ketchup.