Is a cinnamon bun a sandwich? Why not?

Definitely not a sandwich, because you can't pick it up without making a mess.

I get this question a lot: "Would you call this cinnamon bun a sandwich?"

Okay, you got me. I've never been asked it, but I've imagined such a scenario many, many times. 

The answer is no. It's not a sandwich. "Why not?" I've often imagined being asked in shocked awe. 

Easy: it's not easy to eat with your hands without excessive mess. 

Let's get theoretical. If it was easier to hand-hold it was would be considered an open-faced vanilla cream cheese frosting sandwich with a raspberry cinnamon bun frame. 

"But you have to bake it," someone might say. "Doesn't the fact that it's not in an edible state prior to baking disqualify it from sandwich-hood?" 

Iin this case the essence (the frosting) is added after the cinnamon bun is baked, so it's not unlike baking bread then adding a slice of ham, which is clearly a sandwich. 

But the above is not a sandwich. Too messy. See the Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition for more. 

Club Bagel at Rosemary Rock Salt

Guess how much I paid for this?

Not bad, lots of meat, but I was stunned into silence when it occurred to me I paid nine dollars for it.

Nine. Dollars. 

Of money.

?

Grilled Cheese at Kafka's Coffee and Tea

Executed well.

This was a well-executed grilled cheese sandwich from Kafka's Coffee and Tea, a cafe near Main and Broadway in Vancouver that serves well-executed coffee and tea. Everything they do seems to be well executed.

Crudtités Thon Baguette Sandwich in Paris

Bought this delicious crudités thon (tuna) sandwich at one of my favourite bakeries in Paris. A relatively nondescript boulangerie on Rue du Faubourg du Temple, a block east of Place de la République.

The bread was perfect: light and crispy, biteable, tasty. The dressing on the tuna was buttery and lightly salty.

Ate it in a square nearby, on the way to buying a printer at FNAC.

5€20 including drink.

Location:Paris

Smoked Ham Sandwich, Grilled at the Dirty Apron Deli

What a great sandwich!

A sandwich gentled filled with mayo, parsley, pickle, smoked ham and a couple other elements on perfectly grilled white bread. I mean, seriously, the grilling job on this bread was artistic. A thin crispy layer of toastedness, rippled like a Greek sandbar, soft and biteable.

Ideal proportions. No mess, nothing on my hands, but lots of flavor. The condiments were present but not gooey.

Well worth the $7.99. Topped it with a fantastic root beer.

In hindsight, the parsley was the key to unlocking the flavour.

Dirty Apron Cooking School and Deli
540 Beatty Street, Vancouver

Thanksgiving for a turkey sandwich

Overcooking the turkey has terrible consequences for the next day's sandwiches. That's what was going through my head yesterday as I cooked the bird, debating whether to take it out of the oven.

I did. It was the right decision.

This sandwich was perfect: moist meat on soft white bread --- leftover from the stuffing recipe --- with cheddar cheese and just a few dabs of Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Pepper, in fact is the second most important ingredient.

This conforms to the definition of a sandwich because the essence is of a naturally formed, not shredded or formed into a weirdo shape, like a burger. Amazing.

Hot Smoked Salmon Salmwich at The Kaboom Box

A nice sandwich. Not easy to eat sitting on a bench though.

There was a seismic shift in the street food landscape in Vancouver in 2010 when the city started a program to increase the number of food carts. The Kaboom Box, formerly Fresh Local Wild, is one of 91 vendors currents permitted, with another 12 set to launch in May of 2012.

Vancouver's climate isn't always ideal for street food. When it's cool out, or rainy, eating outside isn't comfortable. Plus, not all foods were meant to be eaten on the street. The ideal dish is contained in some way, not too messy, and doesn't require utensils. That's why hot dogs are such a popular item, obviously. The bun frame protects your hands from sauces. For sandwiches to be successful on the street, vendors must be reserved in the amount of sauces and toppings they tack on.

The Hot Smoked Salmon Salmwich from Kaboom Box was really nicely done, with tender, tasty meat, and just enough spicy mayo and maple-mustard slaw. The bun was lightly toasted and fresh. It was a bit messy, but I found a bench to sit at, and used the tray to contain my spillover. I'll be back for me.

- - -
The Kaboom Box
Price: $7.14
Located on the northwest corner of Robson and Granville in Vancouver.
Or check the location of all Vancouver food carts.

From the Kaboom Box website: "The Kaboom Box was founded to bring fresh, sustainable, healthy and local food to the streets of Vancouver. We use only the best ingredients, sourced locally whenever possible, and prepare all our food fresh to order with care and love of the trade. We are committed to serving only Oceanwise seafood and sustainably produced meat. Likewise we use organic vegetables whenever possible and are committed to using biodegradable and compostable packaging."

A Sandwich With Tapenade, Olive-Style

Memorable sandwich toppings come in many forms, some of which are spreadable.

I got into olives recently.

Why it took 26 years I do not know. I think the green was a turnoff.

But one day in 2005, at 1-For-1 Pizza (you pay for one, you get one) on Bank Street in Ottawa with my friend Steve, I ordered a fresh slice full of black olives. There were too many. It was very salty.

But the flavour stayed with me.

Soon I was craving them all the time. Now I buy black olives by the tiny bagful at the Richard Lenoir market on a tri-weekly basis.

This sandwich, loaded with olive tapenade freshly made by my wife, was delicious. Try something like it.

Chocolate Donut Sandwich

Great for breakfast

It shouldn't be a surprise that this chocolate donut is a sandwich. It has a frame (the dough) and an essence (the chocolate) and can be picked up without excessive mess. As long as the dough is baked first, and the chocolate added later, it's a sandwich. And this is obviously the case. See the CUSD for more.

The chocolate is actually Nutella, which I don't like in large quantities. Hazelnut does not always agree with me. But for a day's first meal, few sandwiches are finer.

Roast Chicken Sandwich

Just add pepper.

Bought a roast chicken at the Richard Lenoir Market, near Bastille. The leftovers made two days worth of lunch.

Dagwood Gets His Sandwich

One of many possible permutations of the Dagwood sandwich, by Boar's Head.


Dagwood Bumstead, the classic comic-strip character from the Blondie series, finally got his sandwich. And it's about time. He's been around for over seventy years, but never seems to get the chance to chow.

Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes are scheduled to open in early November 2006, with aggressive plans for expansion. Launched by Dean Young, son of the strip's creator, Chic Young, the shoppes will sell lots of sandwiches, which is good. I just hope they respect Dagwood's legacy by focussing on craftsmanship and quality rather than pumping out platefuls of tasteless drivel.

While the Dagwood Sandwich has been an official entry in Webster's Dictionary for a few years, there's doesn't seem to be a standard set of ingredients, besides stacks of meat and cheese, thick slabs of bread, and a healthy appetite.

Calamari Steak Sandwich at Duarte's Tavern

Duarte's Tavern, Pescadero, CA



The Calamari Steak Sandwich


If you happen to search for "Pescadero, CA" in Google, you'll find that the first listing is for Duarte's Tavern.

There's a good reason for this.

Just east off the Pacific Coast ("Number 1") Highway, between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, population 670, Pescadero does not boom. It does not tremble with activity. It does, however, serve some of the best food in the U.S.A., at Duarte's Tavern.

My wife came across Duarte's in the book Roadfood, and by the description, the restaurant was well worth a stop. We were hungry and eager to tuck into a late lunch and the olallie berry pie we had read about.

Wood panelling everywhere. Cold, fizzy root beer. And artichokes. It was quickly apparent that we were in artichoke country.

I rarely ask wait staff for their opinion on items from the menu. With many summers spent in working in a restaurant, I understand the urge to rave about every item. (“The liver? Outstanding!”) But at Duarte’s, I needed some guidance if I was to take the leap into a calamari steak sandwich. The rave seemed genuine, and the waitress was spot on: it was tender and tasty. My favourite sandwich in a long time. Breaded and herbed up, on a French roll. And the olallie berry pie was like nothing I've had before.

85-Pound Sandwich

For those unfamiliar with the conversion rates, 85 pounds is roughly equal to $170 CDN. That's a pricey meal by most measurements, but for this sandwich it's about right.

The McDonald sandwich, named for its creator Scott McDonald, executive chef of Selfridges department store in London, is a rare beast. It's loaded with tender Wagyu beef and other expensive, edible items carefully staged on a platform of "24-hour fermented sour dough bread."

You know that's some high quality bread if it's been fermenting for 24 hours. I've had the 12-hour fermented stuff and I'm sure it just doesn't hold a candle.

In all seriousness, I wouldn't hesitate to dole out $170 for a McDonald. At a hefty 21 ounces, it's worth its weight in pounds.

The Scone Witch -- A Delicious Hex

The salmon sconewich: quite buttery


As a hungry wise person once said, "You can't make sandwiches on bread alone."

Okay, I may have paraphrased that. But I think the people at The Scone Witch (388 Albert Street, Ottawa) heard it the same way.

They serve up a wicked variety of sconewiches, which, as you might expect, feature tasty sandwich contents framed by a buttery scone. Although you may prefer to eat them with a knife and fork, most sconewiches classify as sandwiches, since this decision has more to do with looking refined than the degree of mess the sandwich creates --- a key tenet in the Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition.

Pictured above is a poached salmon concoction. The scone was light and fresh, and, though small, rather filling. Served with a salad, it leaves you satisfied. Not excessively suffonsified.

The restaurant's location is a little odd, though well suited to its name. Set up in a house just west of the business district in downtown Ottawa, it's surrounded by parking lots. One might expect the interior to be dank and cave-like, fortunately it's clean with lots of natural light.

The Scone Witch is a real Ottawa treat. If you haven't tried it, do. I'll be back soon.

My rating: four broomsticks.

Meatball Subs are NOT Sandwiches

Wanted: a roundburger


This poster has been floating around the 'net for a little while now. Given its relevance to DSI, and its substantiation of my view that a meatball sub is NOT a sandwich (it's a Roundburger -- see my Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition from August 25, 2005) I thought I should post it.

The rumour I've heard is that this image is a likeness taken from a real "Wanted" poster of an infamous criminal from the American west, over 110 years ago. This guy apparently realized, moments before being gunned down following a daring bank heist, that the Meatball Sub cannot be classified as a sandwich due to the non-natural formed shape of the meatballs — just like a burger, which also exists in another class.

I haven't checked Snopes yet to verify.

Crêpes West

Every time my fiancé and I cross into Pacific longitudes we make three stops: Café Crêpe, Cupcakes, and the best hotdog stand ever.

Cupcakes and the best hotdog stand ever do not relate to sandwiches, so we'll deal with them another time.

Crêpes are sandwiches—French sandwiches—with origins dating back to classical Roman times. They have a frame and a filling, and do not entirely hide the tasty innards, placing the crêpe well within the Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition (unless, of course, they are filled with an uncut burger patty or something equally bizarre).

Sweet or savory, equally at home on a plate or palm-wrapped, crêpe s are versatile. The one pictured above, an easy favourite, hosts spinach and feta. The buttery softness of the shell warms and melts the cheese, gooing up each bite.

But the beauty of the crepe, as with all sandwiches, is its ability to contain. Wrapped in a crinkling waxy paper, there is little fear of mess. You can the check out the massive maples and Douglas firs of Stanley Park, the shops and runners on Robson Street, the fleeces and hiking shoes at Kitsilano, confident that you're not leaving any precious crêpe on the sidewalk.

What a great city.

Homemade Panini

Melting the cheese is key


I got a sandwich maker recently. It's one of those appliances on the verge of impractical, especially if you don't have much storage space in your kitchen. Do people really use them, or do they just sit waiting on the shelf, between the juicer and the waffle maker? Valid questions.

For the record, my waffle maker sees frequent action, and so has the sandwich grill.

The joy of grilled sandwiches is in the bread, bun or whatever your outer layer. Lately, I've been buying beautiful baked ciabatta loafs. They're dense, heavy and the perfect size. And when you grill em right, they form a crisp outer crust that warms the contents of your panini.

The other reason to have a sandwich grill is, of course, to melt cheese. It really doesn't matter what type, as long as it's flowing.

The sandwiches pictured above had ham and turkey, old white cheddar, honey mustard, sweet pickles and tomatoes. I spray the grill with oil, squeeze it down, and a few minutes later we're ready.

They are close to perfect.

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.