You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

  A rare sandwich meeting between Young Elvis and J.D. Salami. Meeting at Forno to sample their treats, this is JD's version of the story. Having previously sampled the ham on fresh foccacia already with thin slices of lemon (that was a full on flavour pool party in my mouth), I went back to the classic porchetta on dark bread sweetened with morsels of chocolate. While both sandwiches are cut in half, we did not share. We had a long overdue catch up, facing each other straddling the bench of treats, and cruised people coming east and west on King Street, contemplating how our tastes in sandwiches, in people, have slowly overlapped over the years, and how they have also remained distinct.

  Stopping into Northern Belle for a very last minute birthday party for a new friend en route home, I was several drinks in before I realized I hadn't had dinner and couldn't get my bike lock to work. Having a couple more drinks, I ordered the only sandwich available, which was an espresso BBQ chicken on Turkish bread. The fillings were not my jam, being more spicy in the fashion of paprika more than anything else, but the bread was very crusty good. A dense little thing, I had to withdraw from all party chatter until I finished this business here. I should have ordered the cheese platter to share if I was a more social creature, but alas. Looking around, besides the large group I was with, the place was clearly a destination for first dates. I would not recommend this sandwich for a first date.

I work a lot. I know this about myself. I live to work. Things I do not know include why I only eat bagels on the road. The same bagel. The everything bagel BELT. I can't resist it. But if that was the option at the downstairs cafe, would I get it over this homestyle bacon and egger? They fry the egg up fresh so it's that it's the last thing to be slipped into the sandwich before they wrap it up for my trip upstairs. It would be nice to have options beyond eating at the office or eating on the road. Maybe one day.

Being back in Edmonton for a wedding, the last one I'm returning for I have said, I stopped into a few old haunts, including Van Loc. The same little old ladies were behind the counter, and the prices had gone up another 50 cents. I tore open the wrapper, almost if I knew it would be the last time, and took this photo. I may never be back again, and the taste echoed that sentiment, as it was no where near as good as I remembered. I didn't grow up on these banh mis, or what I have been calling Vietnamese sandwiches. I changed all the tags today on the blog, to update where this blog has come from and where it is now. This sandwich may not have changed at all, but after all these years and all these different flavours encountered, I am saying farewell to this Vietnamese sandwich from my past. It has shaped me, and set a standard for all banh mi's, but I can't keep holding onto past sentiments. Good-bye! It's been swell.

  Art Imitates Life Imitates Art   I was very rude and brought this sandwich into a meeting and did not share. How could I share? It was so messy and hot and delicious I could not share for lots of reasons. Here below is me trying to candidly take a photo of said sandwich during the meeting under the table. The heavy scent of marinara and fried meat was a lot to take, and I took it. Oh man, I can't wait until the next meeting!

I can't remember where this was or where it was even within the city of Windsor, Ontario as I was being driven around and had no sense of the flatness. I know there's a lot of farmland around Windsor, and the city reminded me of Red Deer. However, I was treated to lunch at this unnamed place by some people I did not know very well on some hip street somewhere in the city and the menu did describe their fish burger as a modern take on the filet o' fish. After several deep google searches, I still can't find the name of this place, as apparently other restaurants in Windsor do modern takes on filet o' fishes and they didn't fare that well. This, however, was delicious. A crisp cod battered with a healthy dose of tartar sauce and pickles on a sweet brioche bun. Very good. The crisp slaw was also a real nice starter, opening up the palette with just enough tartness, and chopped sweet basil. I thoroughly enjoyed this meal, even if I will never know where it took p...

This little diner style cafe is cute enough, with several locations I keep walking by, I finally popped my head in one day between meetings on Ossington and sat at the counter. Ordering a cherry soda and a pressed sandwich, I realized with each bite that I would not be returning. The sandwich was fine, reminiscent of all the grilled paninis of the early 2000s I ate throughout my undergrad, but this was an uninspired sandwich at best. A mess of flavours between salt and grease, I quietly ate this thing, drank my cola, used way too many napkins, and will not be fooled by their turquoise trays and palatable fonts. All style here, folks, and not much substance.

What can I say? A short stop over in Vancouver led to a lot of scheduled eats to hit up all the key sushi, ramen, dim sum consumption possibly in 48 hours, but one unscheduled visit led me back to Duffin's Donuts. Lacking options in the downtown core, we actually took a cab to Duffin's to maw down a couple pieces of spicy fried chicken before getting into a chicken banh mi sub. The buns are super fresh and soft, and the carrot to the rest ratio is out of control. The woman behind the counter said it was her favorite, and I can see why. My dining companion ate everything, and I only manged to eat half a sub after the chicken appetizer, which was originally meant as a snack for later. That chicken never lasts for later. Like other sandwiches I have loved , the thin wrapping paper is somehow essential to my overall enjoyment of its contents.

  St. John's, Newfoundland has really good food. I don't know why I was so surprised by this, but I was. But most of it was very expensive, and the sandwich options were limited. Above here is a smoked Atlantic char number as The Fixed Coffee 's daily bagel special. I don't remember much about it, except that it was toasted, and that the cream cheese was prepared with pickles or dill or some blend of both. Taking it to go, I walked a few blocks in the cold August rain before I got to eating this proper, and I mostly wolfed it down before teaching a workshop. I unfortunately don't remember much of this, except that the char was really fresh, and I could have ate another one. I personally can't wait for the St. John's airport to expand as right now, the food options are terrible. Of the four options, I have tried 3 of them, and one of them is a Timmy's without a sandwich counter. This is a pre-prepared Chicken Ceasar sub, which most...