Life is complete with a sandwich shop nearby

JANE. Jane is the main thing you need to know about the Bag Lady, a tiny living-room styled eaterie in London, Ontario. It could just as well be inside my head, the sandwich shop of my dreams, with its robin's egg blue walls, vintage housewares overflowing, and Jane and her team of cheerful powerhouse women in cute aprons making up delicious food everyday. The place is full of love, the sandwiches are full of veggies, spreads, meats and cheeses then wrapped up in adorable napkins and tied with twine. Or laid out on a pretty plate.
The one I can't seem to shake off is the crusty grilled Italian, with tomatoes, spinach, mozza and a secret pesto spread that completes the charm of this sandwich. Red pepper, butternut, tomato soups or fruity, nutty salads could accompany should you wish. Brunch is excellent, but if you're really lucky, lounging on the couch, you'll smell an impromptu eggplant parmesan cooking and Jane will bring it out just before you go fully crazy with anticipation.

Open early till afternoonish, get there early.

The Bag Lady, 474 Pall Mall St. at Maitland, London, Ontario. 519 642 4222

Comments

Monty’s Bakehouse wrap, Air Canada

I’d rate this wrap as strange. Its packaging created expectations of a more appetizing experience, which it was not. After a vastly superior egg salad sandwich from London Heathrow, I could not greet this airplane freebie with serious interest, but at least it was hot, and at least I could review it for this blog. Steaming contents were oozy and largely undistinguishable, but suggested some kind of red pepper or sundried tomato origins.

Specialty Sandwich, Amtrak train dining car

Advertised as the "Specialty Sandwich" on board the Oakland to Los Angeles Amtrak train, this $9.75 grilled cheese seems a safe vegetarian bet, just as a bagel and cream cheese does when faced with weird processed meat choices aboard the VIA Rail in Canada. The specialty allegedly features gruyere and smoked cheddar, however each cheese was tasteless, plastic, and greasy, cooling to reveal six slices of highly processed cheese product. The crisp, somewhat grainy bread absorbed cheese sweat from inside, completely obliterating any relief that the mustard or tomato could have provided, and was thoroughly saturated in a meaty residue from the grill on the outside. This sandwich leaves the kind of mouthfeel that a glass of water cannot wash away. Note: pack toothbrush in carry-on.

Kim Anh Subs, Calgary

It's no secret I'm a fan of the Vietnamese sub. Hell, they've prevented my vegetarianism . But I do enjoy the vegetarian option now and again, especially when it's warm marinated soft tofu rather than the shredded fake meat variety. In Calgary one weekend, a friend and I found ourselves stranded in the city due to a snow storm, so lounging around 17th Avenue, cold, tired, hungry, and near broke, we popped our heads into Kim Anh Subs where he had ventured once before. Offering a whole wheat sub bun option, Kim Anh's subs were a bit more expensive than what I'm used to for a sub of this style ($3.50 is my price range), but it's Calgary, so what can you expect.

You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

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