You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

There's really no way to have photographed and salvaged this sandwich from Serrano's. The last time I posted about this sandwich, I was dreaming of smashing a few of their creamy, fluffy potatoes inside the sandwich, and here the dream is. I will only get the sandwich this way from here on it. 

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.

Young Elvis reporting with more of a photo essay here, as I got some time on my hands. I'm stuck in the airport with $20 travel delay voucher from the airline and Starbucks seems to be the best option. Hidden under huge poofy bread -- the kind that one quickly grows weary of chewing -- is a pretty decent piece of grilled chicken, and quite a few leaves of slimy lettuce. Not bad.

 As the new kid on the block in the perpetually dined out West End, Greenhorn has fast become a favorite for espresso lovers and geeks. While their brew is really good, my curiosity swayed towards the sandwiches, and so far, it's a hit and a miss. First up is this roast chicken sandwich I grabbed to go. At a heavy price, the sandwich fit cozily into the palm of my small hands, which was a disappointing and expensive lunch. The flavours of the chicken were overpowered by the balsamic and cherry tomato mix, and the bread was a skinny baguette that tasted a bit underdone to my taste. However, as it goes, I tried their grilled cheese sandwich for a sit in meeting shortly there after, and the experience was a far better one. Certainly not the best grilled cheese I've ever had, their use of a softer cheese yielded a more melt in your mouth experience than the stringy chewy bite one expects of a grilled cheese. Good bread crunch, and if in a bind, I would order it ...

I've walked by The Dirty Apron countless times, and you think I would have walked in at the mere hint of SANDWICHES so prominently written across its chalkboard, but something kept me away, perhaps because I felt the sandwiches would be made by those taking the cooking classes, and well, I don't want an amateur. On the suggestion of someone who was briefly in town and ate their take out sandwiches for a week, I thought I would try it out en route to a meeting. Offering both baguettes and paninis, I opted for the baguette to see what they're really made of. Choosing the roast chicken sandwich that comes with chipotle mayo, roast tomato, parmesan, and watercress and a few anchovies, I agree with Young Elvis's recent observation that watercress is a damn fine complement in a sandwich. That said, I had a few issues with this sandwich. While the chicken was fine and accented by the anchovy, there seemed to be more chipotle mayo than chicken, and the baguette t...

While this blog documents a lot of traveling and dining out, I know Young Elvis and I also love eating and making home made sandwiches more often than not from our respective lairs. After the most recent trip, I spent the first weekend bunking down, including roasting off a free range chicken from the butcher's down the street, and rendering the carcass into stock. The meat, however, found its way into many a sandwich later that week, including this number paired with a hint of tarragon Dijon, Canadian cheddar cheese, and fresh arugula. I love a bit of that peppery arugula to go with something like chicken, and the bird itself was roasted with a simple garlic and fresh basil marinade that keeps the flavours mild, yet deep. The bread is picked up from the Euro deli just a block down where loaves are delivered daily and last half that long. I personally prefer a bit of roasted chicken skin within the sandwich, but for some reason restaurants rarely if ever offer that as an opt...

The avocado and tomato in this chicken sandwich are extraordinarily fresh, and the whole works was free because of a VIA Rail train delay, yet something doesn’t add up. Part of the issue is the rubbery flatbread, which looks and seems satisfying at first but is actually disappointing and tasteless. The chicken has a pallid reheated flavour. Two hours from my destination still, I want to believe in finishing this courtesy sandwich, but I simply cannot. And that makes me feel like a picky jerk. 

I don't know if this is the new amazing sandwich as mentioned in the sign, but it wasn't that amazing. A cold roast chicken sandwich with greens, the best part of this panini was the bread. Damn their bread is so good, I would order another one just for the bread.  For some reason, I expected a warm sandwich, as their egg salad is so warm and delicate. I guess it was just too simple, something I could and have made at home, though I would have heated it up. 

I was dining across the street at Sergovia tapas bar when I was discussing with a foodie friend the possibilities of sandwiches nearby. We were feasting on Iberico de Bellota and so we had a lot to chew and muse upon. We asked our server what her favorite sandwich was and she said it was the roast chicken sandwich right across the street at Stella's. How convenient. A roast chicken sandwich is nothing to sneeze about, but when done right, it is nourishing and comforting all at once. Now there is a difference between a rotisserie and a roast chicken sandwich, the former is juicier, but the latter has a home cooking feeling. You decide. With a dab of homemade cranberry on homemade bread, paired with a nutty ceasar salad, this chicken sandwich was pretty damn tasty. And cheap! Oh, Winnipeg, how you steal my heart. Stella's Cafe and Bakery