White Bean Ragout, PLENTY cafe, Toronto

You try to plan ahead for travel by buying a nice sandwich/salad combo from a fancy place downtown, then arrive at the airport, catch one whiff of thai express and the possibility of enjoying that sandwich evaporates.

Like delays, travel moods and cashew chicken cravings cannot always be anticipated. What I'm doing at the airport with a vegetarian white bean ragout sandwich I can't say. Regardless, today downtown does no better than Pearson's food services, so I'll propose some cranky renovations. First, apply Nigela Lawson's chickpea recipe to the white beans. Delete all the small chunks of filler veggies (carrots? really?) and eliminate or drastically cut the salad greens, then substitute long strips of grilled zucchini seasoned with lemon. Throw in some fresh mint or dill, and feta. Or whateva. Just an ingredient, I don't even care what. Look at what's beside this thing: more salad greens. I want to shout, what's the point? They must be making a killing with the markup on this $10 lettuce wrap. I find this fact much more insulting than the foam hockey puck bread that passes for a $12 sandwich at Pearson.

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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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