Pickles and Porchetta, Bread Affair, Vancouver

I often avoided A Bread Affair on Granville Island due to the perpetual pan flute didgeridoo jam going on directly outside its doors, but hungry and not feeling like heading into the market, I slipped in during a musical break to see what was on offer.

As a go to bakery first introduced to me over a decade ago, I have never taken note of their sandwich display. It makes perfect sense to offer sandwiches as the freshest market ingredients are right across the way and they are already home to some of the best bread in the city.

Going for the pickles and porchetta option, I was extremely pleased to find generous spreads of fine butter visible on the bread, pairing well with the tartness of the pickles and the salty and not at all too fatty porchetta inside a perfect torpedo bun. The real winner was the mix of spicy fresh greens, whose leaves I could not all identify, but had the body texture of baby kale and the after burn of Japanese mustard leaves.

I was unfortunately in a rush and walking and talking on the phone and on my way to an appointment and had to sit down along the wharf to finish the call so I could eat this sandwich. I would like to picnic with one of these the next time around, and really take in all of its true splendors.

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.

Specialty Sandwich, Amtrak train dining car

Advertised as the "Specialty Sandwich" on board the Oakland to Los Angeles Amtrak train, this $9.75 grilled cheese seems a safe vegetarian bet, just as a bagel and cream cheese does when faced with weird processed meat choices aboard the VIA Rail in Canada. The specialty allegedly features gruyere and smoked cheddar, however each cheese was tasteless, plastic, and greasy, cooling to reveal six slices of highly processed cheese product. The crisp, somewhat grainy bread absorbed cheese sweat from inside, completely obliterating any relief that the mustard or tomato could have provided, and was thoroughly saturated in a meaty residue from the grill on the outside. This sandwich leaves the kind of mouthfeel that a glass of water cannot wash away. Note: pack toothbrush in carry-on.

Kim Anh Subs, Calgary

It's no secret I'm a fan of the Vietnamese sub. Hell, they've prevented my vegetarianism . But I do enjoy the vegetarian option now and again, especially when it's warm marinated soft tofu rather than the shredded fake meat variety. In Calgary one weekend, a friend and I found ourselves stranded in the city due to a snow storm, so lounging around 17th Avenue, cold, tired, hungry, and near broke, we popped our heads into Kim Anh Subs where he had ventured once before. Offering a whole wheat sub bun option, Kim Anh's subs were a bit more expensive than what I'm used to for a sub of this style ($3.50 is my price range), but it's Calgary, so what can you expect.

You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

Search This Blog