You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

With every bite, I look at this sandwich deeply, trying to penetrate the meaning of it. I chew mechanically and question whether "Vegetarian" is delicious or just soggy and underwhelming. I probably ask myself this ten times and have no answers. The bread is chewy with cartoon-like grill marks. Fillings appear to be hummus, red pepper, the kind of black olives that come from a can, arugula and possible tomato or zucchini. The canned olives are many. I imagine a huge spoon scooping into an suitcase-sized vat of prepared veggies and coming up with little regard for the olive to tomato ratio in my particular sandwich. So, there are too many olives in this tightly shrink wrapped meal. That's a problem, but I'm a captive audience. Airplanes are confusing. Early morning flights too. I'd eat this again. All bets are off. 7 bucks. Plastic only.

The grill marks look fake from here. A weary morning air traveler, I try new options when they are offered. This Timmy Ho's breakfast panini stuck to my gut all the way across the continent. I keep expecting their morning sandwiches to be better than they are, but alas, they haven't quite figured out how to usurp the all mightly mcmuffin. 

So this fella here won some award or mention in Toronto for being the best new sandwich in town. As I was headed that way, I thought I'd poke my head in to see what all the fuss was about. A familiar face stood behind the bar, and the staff and owners were generally very chatty and friendly. We do good food, is what they kept saying, so having just got off a plane and survived an evening nap, I went for the sandwich to go with the lot of bourbon. The chicken thigh was moist and juicy, and the skin was crunchy, but I guess I was expecting a bit more seasoning. The shredded pickled carrots was a great touch, the roll could have been fresher, but I didn't leave a morsel left for inspection either way. I would be back for another, and I would order bacon to go with it, as that would have been just enough salt content to bring this sucker home. I made the bacon suggestion aloud, too, and hopefully, it was remembered.

It's been awhile since I've had a steak sandwich, something to have at night with a pint or two. I was here just a few nights ago, having a pint or two and a kale salad. Things have changed. I've never had a steak sandwich for brunch before until this here time at Alice's Arbor .  Steak and eggs, maybe, but this is a flattened out hangar steak between two pieces of ciabatta, I was half way through when I realized this was an actual steak sandwich. Most steak sandwiches are more like a strip atop a piece of garlic toast. A knife and fork are often necessary tools. But not here, not this morning. Not in Brooklyn.

I don't know if this is the new amazing sandwich as mentioned in the sign, but it wasn't that amazing. A cold roast chicken sandwich with greens, the best part of this panini was the bread. Damn their bread is so good, I would order another one just for the bread.  For some reason, I expected a warm sandwich, as their egg salad is so warm and delicate. I guess it was just too simple, something I could and have made at home, though I would have heated it up. 

  Moments before I took this photo, my future self was standing real close to the sign, looking it up and down, and then looking in the direction of the arrow, before moving on in a real slow, casual pace. 

Attending a conference in uptown Manhattan is a disaster for cheap breakfast options. Nothing is even that good, and overpriced, so on the second day of said conference, I stopped for a breakfast roll at one of the many corner shops in Bedford. I haven't had anything called a roll since Scotland times, and here lies a cheesy eggy bacon roll made fresh to order. I also eyed the pulled pork, but I restrained myself. Eating it as I waited for the subway, the train ride into Manhattan seemed half as long for some reason.

Sometimes I go back through my phone and have no idea where or what a sandwich is about. This is one of those times. From the grain on the table, I can assume this is in my office. The sub looks drippy, so I mustn't have walked far. Perhaps this is a sample from Viet Sub on Robson, a place I often walk by and always wanted to try. I may have picked up some take out there in-between meetings. I don't recall how this all went, so obviously the sandwich did not make a lasting impression.

Taken in Kowloon, 2012.