assorted breakfast sanwiches, Toronto

Before catching a late AM train, I popped into one of the massive underground and overground foodcourts beneath the financial district for a bite to eat. Pumpernickel's may have been located on one of the second-floor food courts, if I am recalling correctly, as the place I initially tried going to wasn't ready for lunch orders. All in all, this was not a bad spinach omelette bagel. The bagel was just good enough to be edible, but nothing amazing, but the omelette was really hot and not too greasy and I felt quite full afterwards, which is harder to do than you'd think.

Nothing like a bit of a cheese string to tug at the heart strings. Nothing fancy here, but consistent and tastes of care, I grabbed this hot egg and bacon sandwich from Sidebar on Spadina, just south of Camden, or Richmond, a real hole in the wall that most people never notice as it's also a few steps down from pedestrian level. Everything is always prepared fresh, but it's never overly seasoned and has been assembled by a pro, which I can't say for many of the breakfast sandwich places in the area. They also have a case of salads and pre cut veggies if you need a hit of vitamins, and their lunch time maki rolls and miso soup are also worthwhile.

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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.

Madrid Sandwich, Trans-Europe Cafe, Glasgow

Nestled in the heart of Merchant City, the Trans-Europe Cafe is a quiet little spot that boasts a selection of classic gourmet European sandwiches. Stopping in after a meeting a few doors down I felt I needed a pick-me up, and so I went with what I thought would be the spiciest, the Madrid: chorizo with pesto and mozzarella. The sandwich was all right, but not classic or gourmet, though perhaps relatively so to the aforementioned toasties. The flavour was arguably more Italian than Spanish, or worse, it was sort of American, as it was still a hoagie bun, just sliced diagonally and pressed. The accompanying sides of coleslaw, argula salad (which they listed as spinach), and salted crisps were a nice touch, as was my spiced apple tea. Taking a quick look over their menu , I would return to see what Zurich is all about.

Haloum Grille, Depanneur Le Pick Up, Montreal

A friend and I agreed the personality of the sandwich changes with each person who prepares it, and today we felt something was a little less than parfait with our Haloum Grille. Folks at Le Pick Up seemed stressed . The longest wait ever, and our lunches sat around too long. Temperature of the cheese is important to experiencing haloumi’s firm the texture and the release of its saltiness, and I prefer when it’s grilled directly before entering the sandwich. Creamy spicy slaw of red cabbage, carrot, and kale soothes the major crust burn associated with the crispy multigrain toast. Ideally it’s the bread that should be soft and the haloumi that gets to shine as the crispy grilled champ that it is. Nevertheless, we stayed for hours at the back picnic tables, chatted with the servers, overheard some drama about the evening closing procedure, broke a dish, and spilled a coffee. A good day.

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