Banh Mi Ba Le, Toronto Edition

Always on the look out for Banh Mi's wherever I go, I literally did a 180 on Spadina Avenue when I overheard some folks speaking about "sandwiches . . . further ahead." I was in a pinch for time and only had 15 minutes, but I followed my gut and came across this place on Dundas.

Being familiar (if not intimate) with Ba Le in Vancouver, I wondered if there was any connection between the two. As it goes, it does not appear to share any recipe overlaps, as the assorted meats differed in grade. The guys ahead of me in line were basically drooling while they waited, having ordered something that visibly looked like spam, and which one guy said to the other, it looks and tastes like spam, which is probably why I like it so much . . .

I have never eaten spam, I don't think, but maybe the liverwurst in this version was just spam spread thin. Sigh. It was three bucks, so I would probably eat there again.

Comments

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.

La Esquina Del Chilaquil, Mexico City

The original spot for torta de chilaquiles, the line-up to La Esquina Del Chilaquil was down the block by the time I arrived at 9:30AM. Workers ran back and forth from their corner pop up tent to an indoor kitchen out of sight to refill bins of red sauce, green sauce, fried meat, and chilaquiles. Only operating for about 5 hours a day from 8:30 to 1PM or whenever they sell out, the hype was strong, and the hype was real. While a torta is your run of the mill sandwich, chilaquiles is a popular breakfast dish of fried tortilla chips served with hot salsa. Some have called this dish a soggy nacho, but I don't think that this description does justice to the level of salsa involved. Yes, the chips are soaked in salsa, but if the salsa is fresh and deeply flavourful, then what's the problem? Apparently, this was the first place to load the torta with a heavy helping of chilaquiles. In my mind, this would be a mess, and in my hands, it was one of the messiest wettest sandwich expe...

Patanisca (Codfish Cake), Brazil Bakery, Toronto

Going from one meeting to a lecture between the 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. time frame, I stopped in at Brazil Bakery on Dundas for one of their ready-made sandwiches. Choosing the patanisca (codfish cake) over the fish filet, even though the filet had a heft to it, I thoroughly enjoyed the codfish, which was not overly salty, and kept its flaked integrity in the generous mixture that was as big as the bun it came on. I actually ate it over two sittings, one right before the talk, and eating the remainder later at home.

You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

Search This Blog