Recent eats through trains, planes, and more planes

I had this exact same sandwich 2 years ago at Marco Polo airport in Venice. It's from the gift shop which is basically an over priced Italian deli, but that doesn't stop me from getting dry pasta and oils and a sandwich every time. Even if it's an airport sandwich, it's my last bites of a great Italian sandwich filled with young mozzarella and delicate prosciutto on a fresh crusty roll before I land somewhere in North America where the ingredients will just fall short.

This is somewhere in Amsterdam en route to Germany en route to what became the longest train ride of my life. What should have been a simple 2 hour train ride became a hellish 6 + hour journey that led us to the border of Germany and back and then south and then over and then through the German city line where I had to follow a young student who kindly made small talk with me on her way home for a summer break who found America fascinating. Thank goodness I ate this weird tuna melt from Starbucks (which incidentally had the only hot sandwich in the train station). The salad comes from one of the other vendors whose chilled sandwich offerings were not great. I just needed something warm and not a burger, and this tuna melt was as close as I could get at the central train station in Amsterdam. It was a sad day and I would not eat again for another 10 hours.

I don't know why I ate this, I must have been very hungry. Oh wait, this was what they gave us on the flight into London via Dusseldorf. I don't think I finished it. The meat was crumbly.

This is how I remember eating on the tube from Heathrow to the East End. Bought it at at a WHSmith (where else) and the sandwich I remember nothing about as I was just an animal who tore through the packaging, but boy did I miss them Monster Munch bits. I still think about that woman who became addicted to these big salty crunchy munchies that it was all she ate for ten years, and I get it. I do.

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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