Italian Star Deli, Regina

Driving west into Regina on Victoria Avenue, I was heartbroken to see Italian Star Deli closed for the afternoon. All I wanted was this sandwich. All was right in the world again two days later when I had to drive through again eastward, and this delicious muffuletta was mine.

Like most Italian sandwiches, there was an array of freshly sliced deli meats, provolone, an oil and herb dressing lightly brushed on one side, but the real kicker of this sandwich was a layer of feta cheese mixed with banana peppers. Sounds demure, but together between the perfectly soft and fragrant round foccacia, interspliced with a mix of hard salami and soft hams, this was one fine sandwich.

Comes in mild (no banana peppers), medium (what I got), and extra hot (sold out!). I also saw one "double meat" half loaf, but I wasn't up for it. Thumbs up for the extra pepperoni snack wrapped on top of each loaf. Yeah.

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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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