Reggie's Old Fashioned Sandwiches, Toronto

Of all the sandwiches on their extensive menu, why did I pick the Roasted Vegetables? Walking past Reggie's on King St just before noon, I popped my head in to see what was on the chalk board. I wasn't even really that hungry, but I knew I had a long day ahead of me and I still haven't met a sandwich I can say 'No' to.

The table in front of me was devouring a selection of sandwiches, and so after ordering and turning down a free sample of their inhouse carrot cake, I sat down awaiting my own basket of roasted veggies.

The sandwich was a mouthful of perfectly grilled zucchini and red peppers, a bit heavy on the eggplant, but the real gold here was the tomato pesto against the good crisp bread. If I had only know the bread was this good, I would have gone for the grilled cheese filled with aged cheddar. Alas, by the time I finished this beast, the place was crawling with suits, and I'm not really sure if this place was really my sort of digs.

I must confess: I once had a really great roasted vegetable sandwich, an anomaly from some post-meeting catering tray, and it's never really panned out for me ever since.

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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.

Haloum Grille, Depanneur Le Pick Up, Montreal

A friend and I agreed the personality of the sandwich changes with each person who prepares it, and today we felt something was a little less than parfait with our Haloum Grille. Folks at Le Pick Up seemed stressed . The longest wait ever, and our lunches sat around too long. Temperature of the cheese is important to experiencing haloumi’s firm the texture and the release of its saltiness, and I prefer when it’s grilled directly before entering the sandwich. Creamy spicy slaw of red cabbage, carrot, and kale soothes the major crust burn associated with the crispy multigrain toast. Ideally it’s the bread that should be soft and the haloumi that gets to shine as the crispy grilled champ that it is. Nevertheless, we stayed for hours at the back picnic tables, chatted with the servers, overheard some drama about the evening closing procedure, broke a dish, and spilled a coffee. A good day.

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