You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

Recently I ordered two grilled cheese sandwiches in the same week. I didn't take photos for either, because they were eaten and ordered so quickly that I forgot everything that led up to the last crumb consumed. But I will say that each sandwich determined something for me. Determined whether I would return to these establishments and how their kitchen was operating. As a happenstance run in catch up get together, I ran into a friend at one place and bicycled over to the Wallflower back patio on her recommendation to have a proper catch up and to get some food in me. Ordering a grilled cheese immediately before my friend even arrived, her deviled eggs still arrived before my sandwich was delivered. But the wait was worth it. A hot crispy buttery sandwich with a good cheesy stretch and a side of firm ruffage, I would definitely return to try more menu items from what I always thought was just a drinking hole. Later that week, hearing that Skyline diner had been bought up by ...

Eyeing this Vie & Nam place in Halles de la Gare since my last visit through, I grabbed a grilled pork banh mi to go this time, which I will say, was a mistake. Making it hot and fresh, the bread does not fare so well once wrapped in its own heat bubble. This is a sandwich that you need to eat immediately, but rushing to do a bunch of other things before hopping on the train, the sandwich grease soaked through half the paper bag by the time I unwrapped it onto the train, and the bread unfortunately went soggy and then dried out. Still, I am willing to give it another shot though. Next time.   MB says: Way too dry.

The third and final stop of the MB sandwich tour July 2016, Mtl ended at Wilensky's. A place I have seen on various food channel shows, the light lunch counter serves primarily the "wilensky special," a fried bologna sandwich with or without swiss or cheddar cheese and mustard.  Seemingly nothing to sneeze at, the crispy round bread is really comforting to bite into, making this ultimately a comfort food. Warning us that we could share one special, but that they won't cut it, we took turns biting through the tower of fried bologna and chopping down the sour pickles and a fresh cherry soda. The bread remains hard to define, not a regular bun, or like two bottom patties of a corn or egg based recipe, it was more of a shell than a bun.  Overhearing the counter conversation, which I'm sure they have said over and over again, this will be the last generation of Wilensky's running the counter, and I'm just very appreciative that I got to try this li...

The smell of Serrano's roasted potatoes and chicken is intoxicating. If I wasn't on stop #2 of a sandwich tour with MB, I would have ordered a plate. Instead, we opted for a chicken sandwich, dark meat, lettuce on the side. The size of the crusty bun is respectable, but the filling was a bit lacking. From seeing the woman behind the counter pull apart the meat with her knife and fork, I wish I could have had a smaller bun or more meat. One of our dining companions opted for the breast meat, and her sandwich was twice as thick. I am left with thoughts of whether I could have doubled down on the dark meat, or perhaps I should have gone with my instinct of getting the plate, with potatoes, with a bun on the side, and assembling my own chicken plate sandwich, with a few of those potatoes smashed into the sandwich as its own creamy layer.

This photo makes me blush. As stop #1 on a mini sandwich tour with Millie Burger,  Lester's is for sure a contender in the Mtl smoked meat sandwich race and the crowd is nowhere near as annoying as other places. The rye bread was notable for holding together under such duress. Salty and soft, we should have ordered pickles. Next time, I'm trying your club sandwich and hot dog Sulfites be damned.

So I have to admit, I had never been to Le Pick Up before. I tried once, many years ago, but it was too busy. Waiting in line for a sandwich is outrageous. It turns out the owners feel the same, as since those heydays, Le Pick Up has also closed on Sundays because it was just too busy. They consciously decided to close shop on their busiest day, because sandwiches are not about rushing. So sauntering down one day with Mille Burger leading the way, we had the mission to try as many sandwiches as possible in one go. Standing in line with Jaime Lannister behind us, we ordered a breakfast sandwich, a grilled haloumi, and a faux pulled pork to share with a spruce pine soda as a chaser. First: the breakfast sandwich/dep dej. Hearty multigrain bread to start the day, a fresh fried egg sits on top of bacon and some ruffage. The kicker is the chipotle mayo, a move I have only ever seen out East, where of course a bit of spicy mayo is what every morning bite needs. While we were su...

Brazil Bakery and Pastry remains my go to sandwich spot for sandwiches on the go. A small basket near the back has prewrapped sandwiches ready to go, and there's a real assortment of cold deli cuts, vegetarian options, and the occasional fried meat/fish option.  Thinking the panado was fried fish, as past options would lead me to believe, panado in fact a breaded chicken cutlet, very similar in texture and taste to a chicken fried steak. In a hearty sesame roll with lettuce and tomato (the former I could have done without), it was a great 3+ hour train snack.

I love Caribbean Queen, but this sandwich was a mistake. Her usual deliciously succulent and spicy jerk pork goes so well on her rice and peas, while would I try to fit it into a sandwich? The bread was more of a big flatbread bun and it could not even try to hold together the mess. Eventually just opening it up and eating the meat and leaving the rest, I admit it was my mistake to order it, but has anyone ordered this and been happy with it?

  Mystery Sandwich: (Consumed between February to July 2016).  Exact location: unknown.  Notes: A flavour comes back to mind and mouth looking at this fluffy egger sandwich with sauteed greens. Melted cheddar cheese. Surroundings look suspiciously homey.  Potential guess: Bivy, morning sandwich.   Mystery sandwich: (consumed sometime between May and July 2016).  Exact location: unknown.  Notes: at first appearing to be part of a banh i series, upon closer inspection, I am not so sure. Looks to be a turkey and swiss, which is something I never order.  Potential guess: I am wearing black pants, and it being the height of summer, when was the last time I wore black pants may unlock where and when I ate this sandwich and what it was. 

  I was suspicious when a vegetarian friend told me that Montréal did Vietnamese food better, and not just because she was vegetarian. I had tried first hand for myself years ago, and what I remember tasting was bland, watery, and a cruel joke. However, time moves on, and I am willing to try again, and I am glad I did.  Taken a stroll up to Saint Denis, there was no shortage of banh mi options, but Carla B led me directly to Hung Phat, and being ravenous and greedy, we each ordered a tofu banh mi AND an order of salad rolls. Normally that combination should be no problem, but I was unfamiliar with the heft of Hung Phat's servings, which had a weight and density that did not compromise its deliciousness. A substantial sandwich if I ever saw one, I could barely finish the salad rolls, but of course I did. Carla B saved the rest of her sandwich for later and passed on the rolls, and I hope she does not mind me saying this publicly. Our early friendship may have been fo...

Desperate for some morning grease after a late night of who knows what, a couple of us from the conference wandered the extra block to get the good coffee at Les Brulerie Saint Roch . This sausage sandwich matin was nothing to write home about, nor was the service despite ordering en francais, but it was piping hot and held me over for a few hours, which is all it's suppose to do. And I needed to be held over as the conference lunch bags were filled with these ultra skinny sandwiches literally smeared with a bit of (tuna/veg pate/chicken salad). After eating one, I kept wondering where the rest of my lunch would arrive. It never did. This sad BELT was ordered and consumed at Gare du Palais,  Quebec City's wee train station. Taking an early train out, I held the mayo.

Stopping through Ottawa for 12 hours en route to the Yukon, I was taken to the new Elgin location of Morning Owl , a coffee house that specializes in sandwiches. Behind a glass case of fresh sandwiches, I was torn between the breakfast sandwich and a sandwich for later. Unwilling to choose between the two, I chose both. First up was the breakfast sandwich, a standard layering of fresh egg, bacon and cheese on a toasted crumpet. Standing alone, it is fine and good, but what pushes it to form is the homemade tomato jam on the side, which arguably is more of a jelly. A perfect texture to complement the hot and crusty sandwich.  Next up was the oven roasted tofu* with marinated artichoke hearts (jalapeño cheddar). The scone-like bread also had jalapeno embedded, and each bite was hot, fluffy, and heat-inducing.  While I had meant to save this sandwich for later, it arrived warm, ready to go, and so, I went to town, and had the best plane nap afterwards. *My fellow d...

On a not so recent Suburban eating adventure, my hosts called ahead to Guru Lukshmi , a not so typical dosa place in Mississauga that was described to me as "a family run business that's been taken over by the first born who went to business school and is really into night clubs." Whether this is true or not, it felt true, so we will go with it. While I didn't manage to snap any shots of the decor, I will just tell you that it's amazing. Jam packed with families, first dates, and appetite, there was even an overflow waiting room in a nearby and defunct shawarma place in the same strip mall because who could compete? Guru Lukshmi is not messing around with getting people in, getting people fed, and getting people out. While we each had our own dosa, whose batter is by far (so far it's not even comparable) the best dosa batter I have ever had, we also all shared a Sandwich Uthapam, though really only two and a half of us ate...

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am a lover of the Croque Monsieur. And yet, I rarely ever eat them. This is the first CM I have had in Toronto, and thank goodness I saved myself until now. Having only ever had beverages at Bivy, it never occurred to me that they had food options until I had a late afternoon meeting there and had not eaten lunch. While normally I would just get a soup, their option that day was tomato, and not trusting it to be a sweet and not sour tomato soup, I went full hog and ordered the Croque Monsieur. If it was bad, I was hungry enough that it did not matter. But no and behold, it was not bad looking, and not bad tasting either. While the bechamel was almost indiscernable in taste, but present in texture, everything else worked very well together to make this a warm, delectable treat. The bread was fresh and did not harden half way through the meal into a soggy lump; the cheese was excellent and not overly oily under the intensity of the broile...

  My go to fat man sandwich has been squarely placed onto the shoulders of Tony and Nick's Place .  I have worked my way down their meat-only menu from steak, veal, meatball, and now, sausage (I see now that there's a chicken option, a choice that I somehow never really seem to see or remember). A split sausage in a solid bun with marinara, I prefer my sausage sandwiches with a sauteed bitter green like a broccolini or turnip greens. Alas, the veal and meatball options remain tops, and I will try that chicken one day. Following a meeting in the vicinity one morning, I haven't visited Nonna's Place in over a year, and while I wasn't even that hungry, I had to order their veal. The first real breaded veal cutlet sandwich I have ever tried was at Nonna's, and while my loyalty has waned for some extensive field research, I return with a new found appreciation for what Nonna does right.  First, the marinara at Nonna's is the best. Hands down. Swee...