Grilled cheese, two ways, Toronto

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 owners of several popular bar and restaurant establishments around the West End who have spruced up the menu with fresh ingredients, I ventured in to try the new fare. While decor appearances look basically the same with a bit of fixing up, the greasy spoon menu has been also only lightly touched up. Ordering their grilled cheese with fries, a very basic soppy sandwich on bad bread came out with over burnt fries. Disappointed in their treatment of the classic grilled cheese, I expressed my regret of ordering fries over salad, but the server just waved it off saying people crave fries at a diner. Yes, so I would have hoped that the fries and greasy spoon classics would have been better.

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!

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