Xin-Jiang cumin beef rolls, Peaceful Restaurant, Vancouver

While a roll is a sandwich in the UK, I've never had a sandwich in China, though I've had many tasty meaty morsels tucked between freshly made dough-based pockets.

The issue once again of what makes a sandwich reared its ugly head as I ate this western-style (or alternately, "Beijing-influenced") Xin-Jiang cumin beef roll. The sesame covered pan-breads are the best thing about this dish, and they themselves are often ordered to eat, as they are flaky on the inside and crispy on the outside, and go with anything that you put into it. Sounds like a sandwich, but is it?

One of the best dining experiences I repeat whenever I visit Hong Kong is at a Beijing restaurant with hands-down the BEST lamb dish ever. They come as separate dishes, but they go together always as you stuff the lamb into these little sesame rolls that comes with a sharp spicy sauce to ladle over the whole mess. I want to buy a plane ticket right now just to have one.

Are they sandwiches? No, because they must be assembled and eaten all at once. But they have the same spirit of a fine sandwich, and deserves an honorable mention. These on the other hand, are more sandwich-like in form, and definitely more westernized than Beijing-influenced.

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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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