You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

A made to order bacon, tomato and egg sandwich, the breakfast sandwich at the Roastery in the bottom of the 401 Building may be the best thing I've had there so far. Very inconsistent soups, a lot of half heated food, and a decent spinach pie in a pinch, this brekkie option was a nice surprise as all fillings were customized. Going with just onions and butter with a pinch of pepper on the tomatoes on pumpernickle, this sandwich tied me over for a few hours, but it's nothing I can't make at home.

A breakfast meeting at L'Espresso Bar Mercurio is a great way to start the day. Rarely if never finding any good espresso when I venture into the U of T zone, someone who knows recommended we meet at Mercurio, and thank god we did. Filled with faculty and students who were not cramming in their jammies, the place had a consistent line up to the door. A decent espresso and a delicious croque madame with the right amount of bechamel sauce to ham and swiss cheese, the bread was also freshly toasted and held it all together. Made fresh to order, I will be back to sample more of their sandwich offerings, which I saw were a many.

Another fine breakfast to start the work day, this pastry is the breakfast option at Jimmy's Coffee, an indie feeling chain I had never even heard of. With a mediocre Americano, the breakfast pastry was filled with bits of scrambled egg and sausage and I had it cold. Not quite as greasy as a UK train stop breakfast roll, it satisfied the moment, but thank good ness I also had a grape fruit on my desk. 

Is an arepa even a sandwich? Arepa Cafe would make you think so. All previous Venezuela arepas I've enjoyed were broader corn shells, often with shredded chicken and topped with a spicy zesty cilantro sauce. This here was more of a burger or even a taco than a sandwich, overflowing with ingredients and dipping sauces. The arepa came pre-wrapped in paper, suggesting you pick it up like a burger and go at it, but the corn flatbread was a bit too out of proportion with what was all going on inside. I resorted to fork and spooning this mid way through as I just wasn't getting the right ratio of filling and corn and sauce in any given hand held bite. I am not sure if I am trying to make this into a sandwich or if the cafe has already turned the arepa into a sandwich and I am disagreeing with their choices, but either way, I will keep my eye out for other Venezuelan eateries.

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.

Surprised by a generous flood of bagels, cream cheese, hummus, olives, sour cream, and of course, latkes and apple sauce, the office crew had a feast that sent some of us into a deep carb coma for the rest of the work day. I opted to make a latke bagel sandwich (of course) and napped/worked away the day until another nearby holiday party in the evening, where with some fresh smoked mackerel and smoked salmon and a special helper (who some of you may recognize from many a Winnipeg sandwich post) transformed the left overs into bite size platters that barely made it out of the office at all. Accompanied by a good dose of Bison grass vodka, them smoked fish sandwiches and carb overloads make winter worthwhile. 

  Famous for its cheese spread, the 401 Richmond Party also had a nice little surprise in the form of a pulled pork slider, presented half way through the early night when round 1 and 2 of the smoked salmon platter vanished into thin, insatiable air. Coming on a solid little roll with a generous serving of seasoned coleslaw, it may have tipped the scales that evening from gluttonous to insanity.