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Sandwiches on the go! Central Belt, Scotland


I grew up with Marks and Spencer as an exclusively high end clothing store, so it was to my great surprise that you can get all sorts of sandwiches and jaffa cakes en masse at any M&S store along with cheap tees and anything else you would need.

This selection of bite size rolls including British ham salad, British chicken salad, and egg salad, was a nice little treat on a busy travel day, and their other snacks and wraps have been not so bad. The packaging is simple, though not ideal for travel.

(A side note: A Glaswegian told me that she finds it comforting when she sees a M&S, to know one is nearby, and I can only possibly relay the same affection for Shopper's Drug Marts, though their sandwich selection is nowhere sufficient.)


There are boxed sandwiches everywhere you go, especially in Edinburgh, and this lemon chicken salad concoction was from the cafe at the Royal Botanical Gardens, which paired with their homemade soup, was a bit of a disappointment. I've had worse, but that's not really a compliment. The packaging was also flimsy, as was reflected in the stacking of the sandwich, was did not hold together well. Poor form overall.


Now, a bagel sandwich is something I never go for, but as the boxed sandwiches were consistently disappointing, I lined up at the Bagel Factory for a freshly made sandwich.

Surprisingly decent bagels with interesting options, including this spicy halloumi filling, the packaging was also of note as it was incredibly sturdy and kept the bagel sandwich warm and intact by the time I opened it on the train, and it came with a drink for a very reasonable price. They may need to work on their marketing though, as they're selling these bagels as America's best kept secret to staying healthy . . . are they so secret that even the Americans don't know about them?

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