You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

A near-centimetre thick piece of gouda, big pat of butter, two perfectly tiny pickles, and ample grainy mustard on a bun. Everything about this loosely arranged plate of ingredients was perfect. This was the first of many sandwiches, sides of pickles, salty pretzels and other Germanic comfort foods that were ordered. As soon as one was done, someone at the table got another. Google tells me that some beer halls in Brooklyn are cool and frequently host DJs and jazzbands along with their wurst, but the place that serves these straight up sandwiches doesn't appear to be on the radar of the internet. 

  I always want to think that radicchio prepared in this way is a high-class Italian thing, but honestly it’s a bit strange tasting. Maybe the magic is in the pairing, and in this instance, the cheese here wasn’t quite right. They seem to have retired this sandwich since I first had it. Lest readers think that I use You Say Sandwich as a platform for complaining, I'm thrilled to report that the PLENTY Nicoise sandwich is so good I’m surprised I haven’t come across it before—my favorite salad in sandwich form! Olive tapenade, tomato, cucumber, hard boiled egg, tuna salad with green onions. This is just such an overdue sandwich concept. I once feared that these loaves would rip up the top of my mouth--the phenomena that J.D. and I tend to call “crust burn”--but they’re surprisingly gentle for the good tooth exhibited.  The roasted shallot salad dressing on the greens that accompany each sandwich is sweetly addictive.

I have only just began visiting this paradise on Alberni Street, and while I remain dumbstruck for their incredible macarons (I don't even have a sweet tooth, they are that good), I did notice a little croissant au jambon on display. Now upon further investigation, their cafe offers a range of sandwiches and even soups , and I will have to research further if I ever stop feeling flustered around the macarons. However, I did manage to pick up this croissant au jambon recently for documentation. Now a croissant itself is not a sandwich (see this for a fine croissant sandwich ), but what if a pile of fine ham was baked within with a crusty swiss cheese top? I am not sure I can convince myself, but each buttery salty mouthful made me wonder if this was not the next level of sandwiches. I know, this is a savoury baked good, but it's one of the best I have had the privilege of having. 

Since complaining about not having a decent sandwich deli around, I've been told to check out La Grotta Del Formaggio across town. As I have a rule about not visiting delis if I can help it on a weekend and as I work a day job, La Grotta has eluded me, until now. Breaking for the holidays a week early and going nowhere, I finally stopped into this deli on Commercial Drive between visits with a baby and out of town guests. A healthy sized line up for a late Friday afternoon only encouraged me to join, even if I wasn't hungry at all. I opted for the small crusty bun rather than the long bun or round focaccia, and went with a medley of dijon, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, provolone, marinated eggplants, olives, purple onion, and salami. Non grilled. The bun was a classic pagnotta, hard crusty shell with soft fluffy insides. Absorbed the vinegar and oil extremely well and one of my favorite sandwich breads always. This one holds up and they did not shy on the fillings, whi...

This is round two for Air Canada's veggie option, and it's a much better sandwich this time. Same kinda deal, boring roasted pepper, zucchini, tomato, arugula, and black olive combination, but in equal proportion to one another and more flavourful. The peppers in particular were meaty, not squishy and deflated, and even the arugula looks fresh. I didn't check the best before date, but it seems time was on our side here.

I was literally lying awake yesterday morning, thinking, reminiscing abut a good banh mi. The best one in Vancouver, Truong Giang, has been sold to new owners, and the sandwiches are now a bitter disappointment. I thought about heading over to Kingsway or Victoria Drive which would take up the better part of my afternoon, but I wasn't going to cross town for a sandwich, not today, as I had too many errands to run. The pho places around here had okay sandwiches (Angkor Express to a degree, and Pho Goodness does have a good baguette), but I feel those places privilege the pho, and the sandwich is just an after thought. I pulled it together and headed out the door, but before I could even hit my first of five stops, a "Grand Opening" sign caught my eye. A tasteful sandwich board had words like "aroma" and "Vietnam" and "flavours" and looking up into the window, also had banh mi. I walked in like a zombie to Cafe Phin and ordered their tradi...

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.

I feel special when I unpack this sandwich in its little green box from EAT at London Heathrow. The British have really got the watercress thing right.

I’m not sure how my love of the British egg salad sandwich began, but it’s my go-to choice when visiting. There are some clear right and wrong preparations of this favorite, also common during catered lunches and funerals. After unwrapping the cello package, I fear my choice of gluten-free bread will doom this version. Soon though, I am waxing on the merits of the sandwich and my museum-going companion has asked for a bite, promptly commandeering half of the sandwich as we become distracted by the excellence of watercress. It is simply the only correct garnish here. Large chunks of celery and green onion are not, and they are thankfully included in a balanced proportion in Tate Modern’s version.  We approve ,  though the salt and pepper needed a boost. After busily scooting around to choice artworks on floor two and three, we take another break, and guiltily scoff down a second. For round two we decide to give the gluten-free bread a pass and opt for what seems ...

Oh, La Bottega , how I miss you even though I hardly knew ya! I miss fresh deli sandwiches like you wouldn't believe since relocating to Vancouver. There are delis and butchers all around, but few do a sandwich. I have heard about a place over on Commercial and 1st, but I rarely make it over there during the week, and I wouldn't be caught dead at a deli counter on a weekend. La Bottega is easy and simple. Pick a bread, pick a meat, pick a cheese, and then the fixings. The whole time the two ladies were preparing made to order sandwiches, the barista not 3 ft away stood in a transfixed concentration over his crema. This here below is a provolone and spicy salami sandwich with fresh onions and olives. You don't need spread when the bread is so soft that the toppings squish into the bread and every bite. From fresh focaccia to baguettes and buns, it's a lotta sandwich for five bucks. Like a good sandwich does, I carried it in my bag for a few hours while I downed a f...

After a conference of sandwiches, how could I eat yet another sandwich? I certainly wasn't craving any more road-weary sandwiches, but I knew for the 5 hour plane ride ahead, I would need something substantial, something that wouldn't take up a lot of precious space, and something that didn't need to be reheated. Plus, the options were really limited in the nether region of the Toronto airport where I had to change planes between Ottawa and Vancouver. There was an Irish pub and a Tim Horton's and there a few cafes way off in the distance. That's where I found this, and upon lifting it, I knew it would carry me over. All the way over. I don't think I even had dinner that night. The bread itself was the main ingredient, a loaded raisin walnut affair that would be fine with a dab of butter unto itself. The slices of brie and pear were not holding up that well out of the cooler, but I ate this over two sittings on the plane and it satiated all hunger pangs ...

It was in our country's clean capital where I first had a taste of a Croque Monsieur, the delightful little ham and cheese sandwich that has warmed the cockles of my sandwich loving heart ever since first bite. It was in fact at the Moulin de Provence in the market, now far more famous for its " Obama Cookies " than anything else, where I first had this treat. I've either imagined it or read up on it, both seem as likely, but I recall this sandwich to have originated as a cupboard leftover fed to the little ones after a day at school or play. I would certainly love it as an after school or work snack, that's for sure. Consisting largely of thinly shaved salty ham with swiss cheese and béchamel sauce, the flavour combination mixed with my memories of first tasting this combination make this still the best Croque Monsieur I've ever had. Sure, it's not much to look at, and they just reheated it up in a microwave, and you have to eat it with plastic cutl...

I was in Saskatoon for a week this fall and without a car. I was spending most of my time The Mendel Art Gallery, but after Day 1 of this, I resorted to my back up plan of eating heavy breakfasts and relying on nuts and hotel fruit and granola bars to carry me through the end of the work day. Prairie style. It's not that this sandwich was inedible, but it was expensive and not satisfying. The bread was nothing special, ingredients loosely assembled and bland, but it came hot. Being hot was the best part. For the price, which was six or seven dollars at minimum, a side of potato chips could have been nice to fill out all that white space of the plate. They are getting a new gallery, and likely a new restaurant or cafe, but this existing cafe in this sweet river valley spot could really kick it up a notch as the rest of the city's restaurants were really good.

On this day, I fancied rich chocolate ice cream with a spicy ginger cookie, but the possible combinations of cookie, ice cream, or sorbet are numerous. Served in wax paper and cute mini French fry baskets to catch the chocolatey drips, these sammies look nostalgic and taste divine. 

For a lazy summer breakfast, with lots of ketchup and a side of sautéed swiss chard from a nearby farm. Can't beat it. 

While this blog documents a lot of traveling and dining out, I know Young Elvis and I also love eating and making home made sandwiches more often than not from our respective lairs. After the most recent trip, I spent the first weekend bunking down, including roasting off a free range chicken from the butcher's down the street, and rendering the carcass into stock. The meat, however, found its way into many a sandwich later that week, including this number paired with a hint of tarragon Dijon, Canadian cheddar cheese, and fresh arugula. I love a bit of that peppery arugula to go with something like chicken, and the bird itself was roasted with a simple garlic and fresh basil marinade that keeps the flavours mild, yet deep. The bread is picked up from the Euro deli just a block down where loaves are delivered daily and last half that long. I personally prefer a bit of roasted chicken skin within the sandwich, but for some reason restaurants rarely if ever offer that as an opt...

    Pret A Manger , or just Pret, are everywhere. It is because of their ubiquitous presence that I avoided them for so long. However, I caved upon boarding a nine hour flight and picked up a cheese and pickles baguette, a combination I knew I would not find on the other side.  Fairly affordable and fresh, Pret has really cornered a market on sandwiches on the go. I watched somebody bee line it for a Pret, and then mange it while walking through the busy Tube station. While I protested that she sit down and eat, she refused, but saved a last bite for when we switched trains, savouring at least a bit of that sandwich away from that windy tunnel.  I myself ate the sandwich a quarter of the way into the flight while watching Toy Story 3. Only then was I slightly road weary.  I have mixed feelings about Pret, after all, as maybe they are just too convenient.

  That little piece of paper above the cakes reads: "VICTORIA SANDWICH" I don't know if I wholly agree, but I tried one nonetheless.  Sitting in the sun outside the Tate Britain with a fellow sandwich lover, we could not agree on whether the Victoria Sponge was a sandwich, and whether the Victoria Sponge was dry or not. I thought not a sandwich, and dry, while she felt the opposite. We ate it all the same.  I don't think it's a sandwich obviously because it's a piece of cake, but also because its assembly and engagement.  You cannot pick this up and eat it like a sandwich. It requires a fork, and maybe a spoon since I felt it dry, and only the cream filling held the thing together. A sandwich, in my eyes, must be a considered sum of its parts, and this is mere filling.

Obviously I ate more than just these two pannes while in Venice for 3 days, but this is a pretty accurate summary of what I would eat midday between  ripe piches for breakfast and mind-melting pastas and pizzas for dinner. I also eat gelato all day long, but that should be a whole other blog unto itself. Running around for La Biennale di Venezia , food must be quick, and food must be sustaining. Once inside though, the food is awful and overpriced, so my only advice is to sneak inside sandwiches from nearby streets that are a fraction of the Euro and much tastier in freshness.  Vegetarian options are plentiful alongside the cured meats. My cohort Young Elvis may think I am a voracious carnivore, but if the veggies are flavourful, I eat them all the same. Pictured top is a roasted veg panne with lots of eggplant just the way I like it, and below is prosciutto and young mozzarella from within the airport. Admittedly, I prefer the latter.  

I ended up frequenting four pubs on my last day in Edinburgh before getting on the sleeper train down to London. I bunked in and waited until we pulled into Euston. I arrived with no confirmed plans on where I was going, if I was going to be picked up, where I was to head to, and I didn't even know if my phone would ever work in these United Kingdoms. It turns out when you need it to, and I settled down for this grease mess before the next leg of city trains to the very South West of the city. This sad looking breakfast sandwich would be my first meal in London and my worst meal. So, it did get better. For the curious, that slab of pink on the left is suppose to be bacon and that bit on the right is sliced up sausage links with some scrambled egg sitting on a bed of catsup. Travel food takes advantage of those too tired and hungry to care, but c'mon people, standards must be set somewhere.

The classic bacon and egg roll. I want one. Every time.  This beaut comes from Bijou's , down in the Leith Links, during a rare Scottish heat wave.

I've ordered this all across Canada, and my data from at least 20 samples confirms that every Tim Horton's outlet makes their veggie bagel sandwich differently. Some places have it on the menu, and some places are veggie bagel deniers, so you have to walk them thru it. In that case, it may take five minutes to order one, because apparently no-one ever does and it's confusing to hear the words “veggie bagel” out of the blue like that. Maybe they are trying to tell me something, and yet I persist in ordering this non-remarkable sandwich at rest stops and airports because it is only $3.50 and often surrounded by equally uninspiring choices.  I tend to opt for a multigrain bagel, toasted, with swiss cheese, mayo, honey mustard, tomato, lettuce and cucumber. When these are fresh, it's quite good. A cautionary note that some locations will give only 1 slice of  tomato, so if that is not acceptable to you, be sure to specify that you want lots of tomatoes. One person...

I have to begin by saying that The Early Bird serves a sandwich called "The Fat Elvis" which struck fear in my heart, so I did not order it. I chickened out, and  J.D. Salami may never let me live this down. I generally tend to be the 'safe' veggie-sandwich-ordering pussy here at You Say Sandwich , and sometimes I do have a little shame about that as J.D. waxes eternal on the deliciousness of meat fillings. Note the smoked bacon on this plate. Carrying on. The Toad in a Hole was more like a Toad in a walkup apartment. Huge. Served with a knife stabbed in to help tackle the thing, a very convincing psycho-billy touch for this punk styled diner. Now that I am compiling my impressions on this towering toad palace, I wonder if the avocado tempura is supposed to be the toad, peeking out from under the bread. It sure looks like one! Regardless, there are a lot of mixed metaphors happening on my plate, but the unfortunate thing about the deep-fried avocado conce...

The avocado and tomato in this chicken sandwich are extraordinarily fresh, and the whole works was free because of a VIA Rail train delay, yet something doesn’t add up. Part of the issue is the rubbery flatbread, which looks and seems satisfying at first but is actually disappointing and tasteless. The chicken has a pallid reheated flavour. Two hours from my destination still, I want to believe in finishing this courtesy sandwich, but I simply cannot. And that makes me feel like a picky jerk. 

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. 

A friend and I bumped into each other one sunny afternoon and instead of going to get that raw vegan power shake we've been texting about, we headed for Meat &Bread , which I have been to a few times . We had both been getting over different forms of illnesses, and while a power shake would have been great, life is short. However, I abstained from their meaty meat goodness and tried their grilled cheese, which I've always eyed, but never made a priority. Using crumbled aged cheddar with freshly shaved purple onion, it could have used another 60 seconds under the press. With bits of cheese unmelted and the onion not doing its job of bringing that sweetness to the mix, I only blame myself for getting the vegetarian option at a place called Meat & Bread. On the side was some form of bacon pea soup with kale. It was good.

You know it's been busy when I can't even find the time to update this sandwich blog, despite how many sandwiches I've been consuming. This one here is from Jeffrey's Cafe in Grande Prairie, Alberta, where I stayed for about a week in June and ate out for almost every single meal at some form of chain restaurant. Jeffrey's had the freshest options, but somehow, they consistently screwed up my sandwich and/or salad order every single time that I am only going to share this one sandwich that they could not mess up, and that is the hot egg breakfast sandwich. I don't remember much about it, except that the egg was hot and the bread was too big for what it was carrying, but it was nice to eat a fresh tomato and basil with my eggs for a wee change that week. I could only have recommended that they let the cheese melt on the bread as it would have provided some form of cohesion in textures and flavour. Still, better than Denny's. That is all.

This place seems to get better with each visit. Located on a street that I have no reason to walk on unless it's to go get some of this Railtown Cafe has no problem filling up their seats and handling endless line ups out the door. Doing made to order sandwiches, soups, and salad bowls, it's the kind of casual eatery I never knew I missed until it showed up in my life. It's in the set up: up front as you order is the presentation of its daily meat specials including slabs of moist braised brisket, a Jenga-style tower of thick cut "72 hour" bacon, and perfectly roasted brown chicken breasts on display in enviable cookware. I don't even know what happens between the time of payment and the arrival of sandwiches, though I recall some form of self service involved, but I would have stood in a corner to eat this melt in your mouth reuben, a sandwichland classic that I rarely indulge, but here, makes me trust in the classics once again.

I need to start taking better notes (or start taking some form of notes) to accompany these sandwiches as I am having a hard time remembering what was what and where. Definitely a sandwich had at the office, I have been staring at this sandwich photo for five minutes, examining the quality of the bread to the melange of fillings to wonder what it is and where I got it from. The bread seems of a higher quality than the usual suspects around my office, but the excess of what appears to be slaw and chicken make me wonder if this was something I had ordered for myself. The mystery isn't so much a mystery as it was a mistake. One rainy day I popped into Piknik, a place I keep walking by endless times, but never trying. I was told they had good things, but I should have trusted my chalkboard instincts. I feel like a lot can be discerned from an establishment's sidewalk chalkboard menu, and their daily specials never ever spoke to me. But alas, the soup drew me in, and to go...

Expensive, very attractive looking, super fresh arugula and tasty salmon on chewy bread. This sandwich was more about quick   film festival sustenance than a dining experience. Which is perhaps what the Lightbox resto wants, as there’s often not much time between films, and I believe that more thorough evaluation would reveal a lot of glitz without achieving total sandwich satisfaction.

With every bite, I look at this sandwich deeply, trying to penetrate the meaning of it. I chew mechanically and question whether "Vegetarian" is delicious or just soggy and underwhelming. I probably ask myself this ten times and have no answers. The bread is chewy with cartoon-like grill marks. Fillings appear to be hummus, red pepper, the kind of black olives that come from a can, arugula and possible tomato or zucchini. The canned olives are many. I imagine a huge spoon scooping into an suitcase-sized vat of prepared veggies and coming up with little regard for the olive to tomato ratio in my particular sandwich. So, there are too many olives in this tightly shrink wrapped meal. That's a problem, but I'm a captive audience. Airplanes are confusing. Early morning flights too. I'd eat this again. All bets are off. 7 bucks. Plastic only.

The grill marks look fake from here. A weary morning air traveler, I try new options when they are offered. This Timmy Ho's breakfast panini stuck to my gut all the way across the continent. I keep expecting their morning sandwiches to be better than they are, but alas, they haven't quite figured out how to usurp the all mightly mcmuffin. 

So this fella here won some award or mention in Toronto for being the best new sandwich in town. As I was headed that way, I thought I'd poke my head in to see what all the fuss was about. A familiar face stood behind the bar, and the staff and owners were generally very chatty and friendly. We do good food, is what they kept saying, so having just got off a plane and survived an evening nap, I went for the sandwich to go with the lot of bourbon. The chicken thigh was moist and juicy, and the skin was crunchy, but I guess I was expecting a bit more seasoning. The shredded pickled carrots was a great touch, the roll could have been fresher, but I didn't leave a morsel left for inspection either way. I would be back for another, and I would order bacon to go with it, as that would have been just enough salt content to bring this sucker home. I made the bacon suggestion aloud, too, and hopefully, it was remembered.

It's been awhile since I've had a steak sandwich, something to have at night with a pint or two. I was here just a few nights ago, having a pint or two and a kale salad. Things have changed. I've never had a steak sandwich for brunch before until this here time at Alice's Arbor .  Steak and eggs, maybe, but this is a flattened out hangar steak between two pieces of ciabatta, I was half way through when I realized this was an actual steak sandwich. Most steak sandwiches are more like a strip atop a piece of garlic toast. A knife and fork are often necessary tools. But not here, not this morning. Not in Brooklyn.

I don't know if this is the new amazing sandwich as mentioned in the sign, but it wasn't that amazing. A cold roast chicken sandwich with greens, the best part of this panini was the bread. Damn their bread is so good, I would order another one just for the bread.  For some reason, I expected a warm sandwich, as their egg salad is so warm and delicate. I guess it was just too simple, something I could and have made at home, though I would have heated it up. 

  Moments before I took this photo, my future self was standing real close to the sign, looking it up and down, and then looking in the direction of the arrow, before moving on in a real slow, casual pace. 

Attending a conference in uptown Manhattan is a disaster for cheap breakfast options. Nothing is even that good, and overpriced, so on the second day of said conference, I stopped for a breakfast roll at one of the many corner shops in Bedford. I haven't had anything called a roll since Scotland times, and here lies a cheesy eggy bacon roll made fresh to order. I also eyed the pulled pork, but I restrained myself. Eating it as I waited for the subway, the train ride into Manhattan seemed half as long for some reason.