You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

I’m not sure how my love of the British egg salad sandwich began, but it’s my go-to choice when visiting. There are some clear right and wrong preparations of this favorite, also common during catered lunches and funerals. After unwrapping the cello package, I fear my choice of gluten-free bread will doom this version. Soon though, I am waxing on the merits of the sandwich and my museum-going companion has asked for a bite, promptly commandeering half of the sandwich as we become distracted by the excellence of watercress. It is simply the only correct garnish here. Large chunks of celery and green onion are not, and they are thankfully included in a balanced proportion in Tate Modern’s version.  We approve ,  though the salt and pepper needed a boost. After busily scooting around to choice artworks on floor two and three, we take another break, and guiltily scoff down a second. For round two we decide to give the gluten-free bread a pass and opt for what seems ...

I was in Saskatoon for a week this fall and without a car. I was spending most of my time The Mendel Art Gallery, but after Day 1 of this, I resorted to my back up plan of eating heavy breakfasts and relying on nuts and hotel fruit and granola bars to carry me through the end of the work day. Prairie style. It's not that this sandwich was inedible, but it was expensive and not satisfying. The bread was nothing special, ingredients loosely assembled and bland, but it came hot. Being hot was the best part. For the price, which was six or seven dollars at minimum, a side of potato chips could have been nice to fill out all that white space of the plate. They are getting a new gallery, and likely a new restaurant or cafe, but this existing cafe in this sweet river valley spot could really kick it up a notch as the rest of the city's restaurants were really good.

Whole pieces of freshly roasted turkey, made in house, thick and still sizzling crispy bacon that melts in your mouth like chocolate, mayo, crisp lettuce and real tomatoes. Yep, this is the real deal. I really appreciate when bacon goes into my sandwich hot. Other sandwiches on offer include a straight up BLT, Grilled Cheese, Steak Florentine and Pear and Gorgonzola, with loads of great desserts, beer and breakfast to boot. No one seemed shy about having a craft beer with lunch on a Saturday at noon. Felt a little chintzed by the tiny side bowls of chili, but I've had a very satisfying full bowl of that before, though it seems the recipe has changed since to include more rice or barley.  The Grove is across from SFMOMA and the Museum of the African Diaspora, making it the perfect museum lunch that's not actually in the museum. 

Long standing as the best gallery cafe across this fair land, the VAG cafe has the best atmosphere for relaxed chilled out coffee meetings, solo lunches, or something more formal. Ducking in on a rainy afternoon for a quick bite with my mum in the dwindling hours of the afternoon, we shared a perfectly grilled Mediterranean panini and kale salad. There was no skimping of artichokes either, which is possibly one of the most underrated sandwich ingredients out there. I hope when they move the gallery, that they'll keep the cafe in tact.

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...