The Reuben, Railtown Cafe, Vancouver

This place seems to get better with each visit. Located on a street that I have no reason to walk on unless it's to go get some of this

Railtown Cafe has no problem filling up their seats and handling endless line ups out the door.

Doing made to order sandwiches, soups, and salad bowls, it's the kind of casual eatery I never knew I missed until it showed up in my life.

It's in the set up: up front as you order is the presentation of its daily meat specials including slabs of moist braised brisket, a Jenga-style tower of thick cut "72 hour" bacon, and perfectly roasted brown chicken breasts on display in enviable cookware. I don't even know what happens between the time of payment and the arrival of sandwiches, though I recall some form of self service involved, but I would have stood in a corner to eat this melt in your mouth reuben, a sandwichland classic that I rarely indulge, but here, makes me trust in the classics once again.

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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.

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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