Morning Owl Elgin x 2, Ottawa

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 diner, a regular sandwich companion over the years, was rather shocked at my ordering of a vegetarian option. Things are changing around here, but sandwiches are for lyfe, and meat-based diets are not.

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.

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