Praying for cheese at the Sacred Wheel

Nothing signals gentrification quite like a new cheese shop. Just off of Oakland's popular Telegraph Street on Shattuck Avenue is what appears to be the neighbourhood's first: the Sacred Wheel, established in 2011. Boasting many extremely pricey, locally sourced, and esoteric cheesy treats, the shop also carries all the things you'd want to see on a serious cheese tasting board, little pickles, chutneys, those little wheels of fig pate, olives, and such. I took note of the soft-ripened Bellwether Farms Crescenza, an almond, apricot and fig fruity thing, and a free sample. Just in case a 12-15 dollar hunk of fancy dairy goodness seems steep, thankfully they also have lunch, which is not too pricey at all. For 6 bucks I tried the 1/2 Grilled Cheese Trinity with Tomato and Pabst Blue Ribbon soup. The thinly sliced sourdough and three-cheese sandwich was pretty straight up, but the soup was a heavenly creation indeed. Tangy, lip stinging tomato goodness that balances the greasiness of the cheese and makes me take note of their changing daily soup n' sandwich specials for next time.

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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.

Madrid Sandwich, Trans-Europe Cafe, Glasgow

Nestled in the heart of Merchant City, the Trans-Europe Cafe is a quiet little spot that boasts a selection of classic gourmet European sandwiches. Stopping in after a meeting a few doors down I felt I needed a pick-me up, and so I went with what I thought would be the spiciest, the Madrid: chorizo with pesto and mozzarella. The sandwich was all right, but not classic or gourmet, though perhaps relatively so to the aforementioned toasties. The flavour was arguably more Italian than Spanish, or worse, it was sort of American, as it was still a hoagie bun, just sliced diagonally and pressed. The accompanying sides of coleslaw, argula salad (which they listed as spinach), and salted crisps were a nice touch, as was my spiced apple tea. Taking a quick look over their menu , I would return to see what Zurich is all about.

Breakfast Sandwich, Avenue (Camden) Diner, Toronto

The Camden Diner, or more generally known as Avenue Open Kitchen on Camden Street, is a classic greasy spoon near my new work place, and already I'm trying to limit my visits to once a week. This classic breakie sandwich of generous proportions of eggs and bacon on white toast came with a couple packets of ketchup, delivered fresh on morning before an early film screening during TIFF. With few and far between options around that festival, this sandwich was a treat and sustenance to carry me through another long day of sitting in dark, windowless rooms.

You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

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