Espresso BBQ Chicken, Northern Belle, Toronto

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.

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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.

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Panini, Piazza Barberini, Rome

Having recently returned to Rome, I was quickly reminded that sometimes the most simple is the most delicious. By the third bite, this panini sandwich picked up from the Piazza Barberini neighbourhood interrupted my thoughts with " Good Lord, this sandwich is awesome !" Taking a photo so that I may remember for possible replication here at home, this sandwich was most straightforward: a very seedy fresh wholegrain bread, Italian salami, oven-roasted yellow bell pepper, soft mozzarella, and arugula. I'm seduced by the mystery of Italy, and how everything tasted so amazing there ... is it the freshness of the olive oil? Absolutely wonderful.

You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

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