If It Acts Like a Croissant

Kerry's lunch


The croissantwich is a rarely discussed but genuine genus of order "sandwich."

And what a tasty order.

The morsel above, courtesy of Kerry, features cream cheese, crabmeat, and... I think I see some ruffage in there. Truthfully, I'm a little in the dark. I need Kerry to set it straight. Those are her hands too.

It looked good, so I had to show the world one of the few ways to improve on a French pastry.

Just add crab.

Marcello's: Brown-Bagging It

Ask for the special sandwich sauce


Marcello's has a few locations in Ottawa, and they're all jampacked at lunch on weekdays as hungry government workers discuss how to appease stakeholder coalitions. There's always a steady line at the sandwich counter, which must do tidy business custom-making sandwiches on fresh slices of whatever-you-want.

They do well, I think, because they keep it simple. The sandwiches I order could just have easily been made at home. Roast beef, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, pepper and mustard on fresh rye bread. Nothing tough about that. Except, perhaps, the freshness of the bread, and, of course, the special sauce -- the ingredient that keeps me coming back.

At four bucks apiece, the price is fair. If you're looking for a standout sandwich, something original, you should go someplace else. But if you're looking to fill your brown bag with a tasty sandwich, Marcello's delivers.

Summertime Sandwiches at the Ugly Iguana

Unbalanced, from a meat placement perspective


As winter turns to spring, guys' minds turn from thoughts of shovelling snow to visions of three-dollar sandwiches that don't skimp on the cold cuts.

The Ugly Iguana is hopping in May. As soon as the sun's out and the snow's gone, people populate the patio and line up to take away the arguably famous, arguably meat-filled sandwiches.

The one pictured above was not mine. It was DSI-regular Jason's, and he was not pleased with:
a) The amount of meat, and
b) Its unthoughtful placement on the bun

We decided to snap a pic.

It seems summer's rising humidity levels are inversely proportional to the meat distribution (a little something for the economists) on Ugly Iguana sandwiches. As the summer passes the amount of meat on these sandwiches tends to decline. Someone suggested the cause was the rising price of roast beef. I don't often trade on that market so I can't claim to know the going rate for a bun-full, but I'd say this sandwich was not a long-term investment.

I don't even know what that last part meant, but the search for the greatest sandwich continues.

Blue Gardenia: Invisible No More

Ample meat, roasted


On Ottawa's Bank Street just up from Laurier there sits Blue Gardenia, a diner-type lunch place. I must have passed it a hundred times before even noticing it. But that's my problem, and a whole other blog topic.

Recently it came into focus, like a 3-D puzzle. Probably a trick of light, or my hunger instinct told my eyes to find me a sandwich place worthy of my appetite. Maybe I blinked at the right time.

The place was packed. I ordered the roast beef sandwich. Fries. Had to wait a little while, standing crowdedly near the till. The staff was nice, unobtrusively friendly. I couldn't really tell who was working and who was just searching for mustard.

The sandwich was solid. Not exceptional, but definitely satisfying. Meaty and warm. Salty, but not puckeringly so. Plus, my Pepsi was ice cold, and the fries were crispy and hot. The peripherals cannot be disregarded.

It wasn't the best sandwich in the galaxy, but I will return to the Blue Gardenia. If I can find it.

White Spot Doesn't Hit It

Disappointing


I was out on the West Coast recently, the Vancouver area. For lunch on one sunny, mountainous day, I hit the comfort food staple White Spot. Opinion about this place is magnetically bi-polar; there are those who swear by it, and those who swear at it.

I ordered a roast beef dip, harkening back to my lunches in Queen's University's Leonard Hall cafeteria, where the 'dip' was a daily treat/torture device. Given White Spot's reputation, and my previous tasty excursions there (try the burgers), I expected to be met with a sandwich far exceeding anything scarfed during those undergraduate days.

Wrong.

First of all, it was small. Mean-dog small. Secondly, it was small.

Plus, the roast beef was quite fatty, and the fries weren't that great, and my pop was flat, and the dipping sauce -- the 'au jus' -- was thin. And it wasn't cheap. I could have got the same sandwich at a mom and pop diner for two-thirds the price.

Still, that's better than the price of eating at Leonard Hall cafeteria: tuition, plus room and board.

** Been to White Spot? What did you think?