You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

Baos have really become all the rage and I first wrote about this during a Taiwanese food festival that I stumbled across in Vancouver a few years ago. The steamed bun sandwich, or bao, has made its way across North America as the latest sandwich craze following the rise and plateauing of the banh mi, including Mean Bao , which already has two locations in Toronto and dedicated to all things bao. Sampling a bao and some dim sum one afternoon, the baos were heftier than I had imagined. Incredibly filling and large for a bao, this pork belly and cucumber number definitely has satisfies appetites with North American sizes and Taiwanese flavours. My dining companions were very pleased with their selections, which included the Tofu and Enoki bao and the Pulled pork bao. The sui mai dumpling shared amongst us was subpar at best. As I work pretty close to both Mean Bao locations, I have surprisingly not returned, as the soft bun is something I associate with desserts or best on thei...

Settling down for a night at This End Up , I was torn between the fish po'boy and the Hogtown Cubano, but after some weighing and deliberation, I opted for the fish po'boy and ordered a slab of pork belly for the salad. I feel this was a strong decision. While this meal was preceded and proceeded by many a cocktail, pint, and boilermaker, I do recall that I enjoyed this sandwich more than the fried chicken thigh sandwich on their menu, which is saying A LOT. A fish sandwich may not be everyone's cup a tea the same way a fried chicken sandwich is, but in terms of flavour, texture, and experience, I very much have to recommend the po'boy. At this rate, I don't know if I'll ever make it to the Hogtown Cubano with its pork belly AND peameal bacon, but maybe that is just for the best.

I was literally lying awake yesterday morning, thinking, reminiscing abut a good banh mi. The best one in Vancouver, Truong Giang, has been sold to new owners, and the sandwiches are now a bitter disappointment. I thought about heading over to Kingsway or Victoria Drive which would take up the better part of my afternoon, but I wasn't going to cross town for a sandwich, not today, as I had too many errands to run. The pho places around here had okay sandwiches (Angkor Express to a degree, and Pho Goodness does have a good baguette), but I feel those places privilege the pho, and the sandwich is just an after thought. I pulled it together and headed out the door, but before I could even hit my first of five stops, a "Grand Opening" sign caught my eye. A tasteful sandwich board had words like "aroma" and "Vietnam" and "flavours" and looking up into the window, also had banh mi. I walked in like a zombie to Cafe Phin and ordered their tradi...