You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

  Art Imitates Life Imitates Art   I was very rude and brought this sandwich into a meeting and did not share. How could I share? It was so messy and hot and delicious I could not share for lots of reasons. Here below is me trying to candidly take a photo of said sandwich during the meeting under the table. The heavy scent of marinara and fried meat was a lot to take, and I took it. Oh man, I can't wait until the next meeting!

I continue to be obsessed by Forno Cultura 's sandwiches. I wrote about it only once before several months ago, and since then I've tried them all now. Still I still have no clear favorite, but the porchetta and the prosciutto are in it to win it. Here above is the rainbow of porchetta on their dark baguette with hints of chocolate baked into the bread. I sometimes don't know what is happening in my mouth. Once I went there three times in one week. The same women work there every day, and I feel I like I want, nay, need to be their friend. Their other fares like their breakfast options and their cookies are amazing, too, and sometimes I don't even get a sandwich, but looking at this now I should probably go get one tomorrow.

I had this exact same sandwich 2 years ago at Marco Polo airport in Venice. It's from the gift shop which is basically an over priced Italian deli, but that doesn't stop me from getting dry pasta and oils and a sandwich every time. Even if it's an airport sandwich, it's my last bites of a great Italian sandwich filled with young mozzarella and delicate prosciutto on a fresh crusty roll before I land somewhere in North America where the ingredients will just fall short. This is somewhere in Amsterdam en route to Germany en route to what became the longest train ride of my life. What should have been a simple 2 hour train ride became a hellish 6 + hour journey that led us to the border of Germany and back and then south and then over and then through the German city line where I had to follow a young student who kindly made small talk with me on her way home for a summer break who found America fascinating. Thank goodness I ate this weird tuna melt from Starbucks (w...

Every once in a while I will find a photo on my phone that eludes my memory. I have no recall as to where this came from, but I can make some guesses. - The bread reminds me of the plain panne from Le Gourmand - The filling looks like melted cheese and marinara sauce, likely with a cutlet as this looks too flat for a meatball - Le Gourmand doesn't do a marinara sauced sandwich. - The paper wrap looks greased through, like a fast food joint - I have no recollection of eating this or if it was delicious or disgusting. - That probably means it wasn't very good, but not bad enough to be offensive. - Would I remember if given the option again? - And would I order it again?

1. Nick and Tony's Meatball Sandwich I ate two of these meatball sandwiches in one week it was so good.  I want to try them all. And I will. 2. Veal Sandwich, California Sandwich I wish I had put a pencil next to this sandwich to give a better sense of the size of this monster.  Each half was a two hander and I went through a stack of napkins the size of this loaf. It was so spicy and I had immediate heart burn and I liked it.  3. Veal Sandwich, San Francesco Foods I was less impressed with San Francesco.  Over sauced soggy bread. This was not finished. 

This right here is the best sandwich I've had so far in Toronto. Mark it. Slab of quality prosciutto and fresh Buffalo mozzarella with basil, in a perfecto Italiano baguette. Look at the density of that crust to bread ratio. It was magnificent. Forno has been a stop for espresso and cookies, but I am going back for their selection of sandwiches from now on. One of these monsters will satisfy the day. Such a beacon of hope in a largely disappointing downtown core.

  In my persistent hunt for a good Italian sandwich in Vancouver, I was repeatedly referred to Cioffi's , which lies just outside of Vancouver boundary, literally on the otherside of Boundary Road in Burnaby. By and by, I ended up having my last sandwich in Vancouver in a moving van, helping another friend move (albeit move furniture from my home to hers), and we ended up driving up Burnaby Mountain to drop off one of the handy movers. On the way, with empty bellies and a sofa bed safely tucked away, I ran into Cioffi's for three sandwiches and san pellegrinos while they maneuvered the cube van in the hostile parking lot.  For some reason, I thought I was getting a big hoagie style sandwich, and not a grilled panini, but that's all they were offering. With a few premade numbers and fresh grilled, I perused the aisles of oils and dry goods and meat and cheese selections, and was largely non plussed. There is a more than decent selection, but I'm glad I didn't ...

While I’ve eaten some noteworthy sandwiches in the past year (gloopy mess from Marius in Montreal, I’m looking at you), none have been really inspiring enough to write about until now. And besides, I’d much rather start things off on a positive note. At first, the “lard bread” description almost scared me off, but the classic tomato, basil, roasted red pepper, mozzarella combo was too much to pass up. In the end, a very good choice, enjoyed while sitting in a rickety chair out front of Mazzola’s, watching Brooklynites walk their myriad dogs and kids on the first sunny day of the season. My sources tell me that the sandwiches are a relatively recent addition to the menu here, and I will definitely be back for more. Whatever lard bread is, it is wonderful. Soft and a little chewy without being at all hard, golden brown almost croissant-like exterior, and not a hint of crust-burn. Okay, okay those might be bits of bacon in there adding a little spice, but I stopped being an...

 It was during my last trip to Toronto where I noticed deli signs glowing the mysterious and alluring siren call of a "Hot Veal Sandwich." I was a passenger in a car when I first noticed this, and the driver suggested the markets, which I take it to the St. Lawrence Markets, but that sounded high end, and I wanted the real deal. This last time out, I was wandering the long way towards a studio visit near the chocolate factory, and came across Nonna's Place on Bloor. Mildly starving and sleep deprived, I walked in to a pretty good vibe of a table full of construction workers mawing down their sandwiches. Ordering the hot veal sandwich with mushrooms and onions, I sat down with my San Pellegrino aranciata and waited.   I did not know that I was about to eat the sandwich of my dreams right here, right now. A perfectly tender and juicy hot breaded veal cutlet slathered in marinara sauce with the requested mushrooms and onions sat between a perfect crusty bun. This i...

  I always want to think that radicchio prepared in this way is a high-class Italian thing, but honestly it’s a bit strange tasting. Maybe the magic is in the pairing, and in this instance, the cheese here wasn’t quite right. They seem to have retired this sandwich since I first had it. Lest readers think that I use You Say Sandwich as a platform for complaining, I'm thrilled to report that the PLENTY Nicoise sandwich is so good I’m surprised I haven’t come across it before—my favorite salad in sandwich form! Olive tapenade, tomato, cucumber, hard boiled egg, tuna salad with green onions. This is just such an overdue sandwich concept. I once feared that these loaves would rip up the top of my mouth--the phenomena that J.D. and I tend to call “crust burn”--but they’re surprisingly gentle for the good tooth exhibited.  The roasted shallot salad dressing on the greens that accompany each sandwich is sweetly addictive.

Driving west into Regina on Victoria Avenue, I was heartbroken to see Italian Star Deli closed for the afternoon. All I wanted was this sandwich. All was right in the world again two days later when I had to drive through again eastward, and this delicious muffuletta was mine. Like most Italian sandwiches, there was an array of freshly sliced deli meats, provolone, an oil and herb dressing lightly brushed on one side, but the real kicker of this sandwich was a layer of feta cheese mixed with banana peppers. Sounds demure, but together between the perfectly soft and fragrant round foccacia, interspliced with a mix of hard salami and soft hams, this was one fine sandwich. Comes in mild (no banana peppers), medium (what I got), and extra hot (sold out!). I also saw one "double meat" half loaf, but I wasn't up for it.  Thumbs up for the extra pepperoni snack wrapped on top of each loaf. Yeah.

A staple to any good Edmontonian, the Italian Centre Sandwiches (hot or mild) are the go-to meals for anyone who enjoys their cold cuts. As an assembly of everything from capicolli to mortadella, the real secret in my opinion is the slice of provolone and the thick spread of the red vegetable spread and an olive oil marinade they brush into their baguettes. There were the days when you had to order them at the deli, until they caught on and started premaking them. While that is certainly time saving, the option to change up the ingredients are now gone, which was always a crap shoot to substitute anyways from getting the most delicious concoctions to having someone yell at you for wanting to substitute. I often grab one with a bag of kettle chips and an orangina or limonata, some sort of citric acid to cut the sodium nitrate. Highly recommended.

JANE. Jane is the main thing you need to know about the Bag Lady, a tiny living-room styled eaterie in London, Ontario. It could just as well be inside my head, the sandwich shop of my dreams, with its robin's egg blue walls, vintage housewares overflowing, and Jane and her team of cheerful powerhouse women in cute aprons making up delicious food everyday. The place is full of love, the sandwiches are full of veggies, spreads, meats and cheeses then wrapped up in adorable napkins and tied with twine. Or laid out on a pretty plate. The one I can't seem to shake off is the crusty grilled Italian, with tomatoes, spinach, mozza and a secret pesto spread that completes the charm of this sandwich. Red pepper, butternut, tomato soups or fruity, nutty salads could accompany should you wish. Brunch is excellent, but if you're really lucky, lounging on the couch, you'll smell an impromptu eggplant parmesan cooking and Jane will bring it out just before you go fully crazy with ant...

Driving through Saskatoon, the stop made on the way was at the soon-t0-be moved Mendel Art Gallery. Nestled in the beautiful river valley, we stopped in at the Gallery Cafe for a bite to eat, and a soup and sandwich combo was really the only option. A tasty tomato cream soup was basic and classic, and I had the Italian panini which unfortunately had a thick spread of tomato paste between the mozza and cold cuts. Otherwise, it would have been perfectly delicious, or maybe a simple replacement of vegetable spread would have done the trick. On our way back, we stopped on Broadway and checked out the Diner. I call it "the" diner because it's the oldest one, with a full on Elvis shrine, which of course is important to this blog. I had the daily special of pulled pork with a salad, which seems like a contradiction, but I couldn't stomach another plate of greasy fries. The sandwich filling was surprisingly good, probably because it was saturated with sugar, and the bread was...