You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

JANE. Jane is the main thing you need to know about the Bag Lady, a tiny living-room styled eaterie in London, Ontario. It could just as well be inside my head, the sandwich shop of my dreams, with its robin's egg blue walls, vintage housewares overflowing, and Jane and her team of cheerful powerhouse women in cute aprons making up delicious food everyday. The place is full of love, the sandwiches are full of veggies, spreads, meats and cheeses then wrapped up in adorable napkins and tied with twine. Or laid out on a pretty plate. The one I can't seem to shake off is the crusty grilled Italian, with tomatoes, spinach, mozza and a secret pesto spread that completes the charm of this sandwich. Red pepper, butternut, tomato soups or fruity, nutty salads could accompany should you wish. Brunch is excellent, but if you're really lucky, lounging on the couch, you'll smell an impromptu eggplant parmesan cooking and Jane will bring it out just before you go fully crazy with ant...

Nuff said.

Milk Truck is far too cute to take seriously, until you take a bite from their Jarlsberg grilled cheese and a sip of their fresh and soothing tomato soup and you know this is a real contender. I have personally favoured the Jarlsberg grilled cheese for years, but never have I seen a professional offer the choice. With its mozza-like stretch in a far more dense and chewy capacity, Jarlsberg offers grilled cheese lovers a savoury option to the sometimes too oily or runny options. I don't know what kind of bread they used that day, and if you look at their ever changing menu, they have a preference for gourmet Pullman bread, which makes me love them even more.

I admit this looks slightly pornographic, but we are talking about a lobster roll here, so we're close. Making a special trip to the Brooklyn Flea Market , located in the gorgeous foyer and basement of the former Williamsburg Savings Bank, I headed straight to the food at 10:30 a.m. for the lobster roll. The two dudes working the Red Hook Lobster Pound stall weren't near ready, so I ran through upstairs and came back within 30 minutes for a late breakfast lobster roll, Connecticut style (warm and buttered with paprika vs. Maine style served cold with mayo). Suffice to say, it met all expectations, and if I had another $15 in change in my pocket, I woulda tried the Maine style roll. Addendum: I don't think this needs to be said that if you don't like lobster, you shouldn't have the lobster roll. In fact, if you don't LOVE lobster, you probably shouldn't have the lobster roll. Because the flavour of this sandwich is pure lobster.

A Hero sandwich is very American. Basically, a hero sandwich comes on an Italian submarine, so, when you get the chicken parm hero, you're getting a venerable slab of crusted chicken in marinara sauce on a bun the size of your arm. Yes, it was amazing and delicious with every mouthful, but I will also share that I got sick later that night. Perhaps I wasn't ready to eat an entire chicken in sandwich form, or that the sauce and cheese were a bit too rich to go in one sitting, but whatever the case, I have no regrets. This is what one of my dining companions had, the Meatball Hero. I took a big bite. And yes, I would do this all over again too. 5th Avenue Diner , where you can still get a cup of homemade soup for under $2!

I think this is a grilled cheese sandwich from Lester's Deli at Trudeau in Montreal (YUL). Wanting something hot instead of another premade cold sandwich, I opted for a grilled cheese, a taste of homemade, after wading through customs on my way to the States. I sure watched the guy make the sandwich, and it was by far NOT one of the top cheese sandwiches I've ever tasted. Using processed sliced cheese and regular bread with lots of butter, it was like the kind of grilled cheese sandwich you used to have at your friend's house after school. It did the trick, but you still looked forward to a real supper when you went home. I personally cannot wait until Winnipeg (YWG) gets their new airport. Sure, the current Brutalist architecture is a sight to behold, but their amenities suck hard. This is the best I could do for breakfast, a Harvey's sausage and egg sandwich. Terrible bun, lame sausage, bad tomato, at least the egg was fresh, but c'mon, Harvey's, at least pret...

So apparently for years now I've been calling this anarchist book store/cafe "Moon Dragon" until finally, someone with some decency informed me that it's actually called Mondragón . I doubt I will stop calling this place Moon Dragon, being a total hippie hang out and all, with power carob balls and always plenty of lentils on the menu. But holy damn, is their Southwestern Fried Tofu Sandwich a treat. I'm not sure what type of tofu they're using or how they're making it crisp up without losing the tofu texture, but served with what can only be described as a salad between a bun, it's a great little snack to push you along whether you're about to defy order or uphold it.

Beano on 17th may be known for its coffee and hipsters, but their daily sandwich specials are a nice treat too. That day, the only one left by the time it was dark outside was this delicious brie and red hot jelly number with a touch of arugula. They don't spare a dime to use some good crusty bread, which makes a sandwich like this really shine. Could have done without the tomato, especially when it wasn't even a good fresh tomato, you know the kind I'm talking about, that's red and sweet but also a bit meaty like. That would have been good.

We had wanted to go to another place around here, but it was closed on a Monday morning, so we strolled on to Crossroads . Nothing special breakfast bagel sandwich and their option of a fresh squeezed juice was a Tropicana juice box, but it was cheap. Three of us ate and drank for under $20 bucks, including a thick slice of cranberry bread for the road.

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.