Not all sandwiches are great, some are merely good — or worse, meh. Think I’m wrong, or maybe just visited when the wrong person was behind the counter? Let me know. I won’t change my mind, but I will listen.
- Arepa’s reina pepiada — the curvy queen, pictured above. I was really excited to try this traditional Venezuelan sandwich made with grilled corn meal bread, filled with roasted chicken, avocado, red onion and coriander. Sound delicious, right? Except that the bread, which is shaped like a small pita pocket was WAY overstuffed with the fillings, which ended up being more like chicken salad, and not the slices of roast chicken I imagined. It was just too much, and yet, as far as flavour was concerned, not enough.
Arepa, 490 Queen St. W., arepacafe.ca, $9 - Bay Cities’ Godmother is the talk of the town in Los Angeles, so when I visited a friend who lives nearby, I made a point to pick one up. Plenty of meat and cheese — genoa salami, mortadella coppacola, ham, proscuitto and provolone — with plenty of options for toppings (the “works” includes mayo, mustard, onions, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, Italian dressing and mild or hot pepper salad). The Italian roll was as it should be, strong enough to contain all it held inside, but not too tough to take an easy bite into, but for a sandwich that’s legendary, I was let down. It was fine. That’s all. A glorified sub, really.
Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery, 1517 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, Calif., baycitiesitaliandeli.com, from $5.75 - Murrays’ Chicken Tiki Tzatziki sounds fun both in name and ingredient list: sliced chicken breast, sauteed onions, tomato, tzatziki, french fries (inside). It was forgettable. The bread wasn’t dry exactly, but really could’ve been more moist, the fillings flavourless. I wanted to like this place, because I love its branding, but I came away disappointed.
Murrays Sandwich Emporium, 671 Queen St. W., ilovemurrays.com, $8
