sandwich – Page 2 – Around the World in 196 Plates

Country #020 – Israel (Sid’s Deli)

Published on November 15, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 160 McCaul Street, Toronto
Website: http://www.sidsdeli.ca/

I know, I know — I’m cheating. The type of deli that Sid’s is serving up is an American Jewish phenomenon, without much (if any) connection to Israel. Sid’s should really fall under the United States on this blog, but since I’ve already covered that country, here we are.

Hey, if you don’t like it, start your own international-cuisine-themed blog.

The fact is, I couldn’t resist writing about this place. There aren’t many things I enjoy more than a really good smoked meat or pastrami sandwich. When a new deli opens in the city? I’m all over that.

Sid’s menu features the usual assortment of deli classics; I went with a pastrami sandwich, and had it with a bowl of matzoh ball soup on the side.

I really wanted to like this — there’s a dearth of really great deli sandwiches in the GTA, and none that I know of in the downtown core (and no, Caplansky’s hasn’t qualified as anything better than okay in quite a stretch). So I was crossing my fingers for greatness; alas, it wasn’t even good. It was catastrophically overseasoned. Like, it was kind of insane how overseasoned it was.

The flavour was nothing but black pepper. You could basically tell that there was a tasty piece of pastrami under there, but it was completely obscured under a deluge of overbearing spice. You couldn’t take a bite without crunching down on whole peppercorns. It was unpleasant.

It’s a damn shame, because the pastrami otherwise seems to be right where you want it to be. I went with the hand-sliced option, which was cut into perfectly thick, yieldingly tender slices of fatty — but not too fatty — beef. I had a bite or two where the fat was slightly unrendered and tough, however, for the most part it was perfectly cooked.

But this wasn’t pastrami — it was a pepper sandwich with meat.

It came with a small side of coleslaw, which wasn’t much better. It tasted okay, but it was weirdly mushy. The soup, at least, was quite good. Despite my deli love, this was my first taste of matzoh ball soup, and yeah — I can see the appeal. The matzoh ball essentially performs the same function as crumbling crackers into soup, only far more substantial and satisfying. Aside from that, it was just an above average chicken soup. Tasty stuff.

Country 013 – Germany (Otto’s Berlin Doner)

Published on July 26, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 256 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://ottosdoner.com/

I don’t know if doner is the first dish that springs to mind when you think of German cuisine (it’s definitely a thing, though), but I was in Kensington Market, stumbled across this place, and thought: Yeah. Why not?

As it turns out, it was only the restaurant’s second day in existence, which is much sooner than I’d typically write about a place — but since the food and service were both quite good, I’m going to assume (or hope) that they’ve managed to avoid the kinks that can gum up a brand new restaurant.

The menu is fairly simple, with a few different types of German doner, along with currywurst (Bratwurst topped with a sweet curry sauce) and a handful of sides. I went with the veal and lamb doner, because whenever I see lamb on a menu, I have a hard time saying no.

Packed with a generous amount of tasty, well seasoned meat that’s topped with a salad’s worth of fresh veggies (tomato, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, and onions) and your choice of sauces (the man behind the register suggested yogurt and hot sauce), it’s probably not anything that anyone is going to get too excited over, but it’s a very good sandwich.

The bread is a highlight, and probably the most distinctive thing about it — it’s perfectly toasted, with a great, crispy exterior, and a fresh, fluffy interior. It’s much more substantial than the typical pita you’d get in a shawarma sandwich or a gyro, but it suits the doner perfectly.

The sauces probably should have been a bit more abundant (I got plenty of sauce-less mouthfuls), but aside from that it was a fine sandwich. Mighty fine.

My dining companions tried the halloumi doner — which featured breaded and fried pieces of halloumi cheese in place of the of meat — and were both quite impressed. I’ll have to try that one next time.

Country 007 – Mexico (Tenoch)

Published on May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 933 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: http://tenochrestaurant.com/

I seem to be focusing disproportionately on Spanish-speaking countries so far. This is completely unintentional; I’ll have to try to mix it up for the next few countries. But first: Mexico.

I mostly wanted to try Tenoch to sample one of their tortas, a popular Mexican street food that basically entails cramming as much food as possible into a crusty roll.

We started, however, with the chorinachos, which finds delicious house-made tortilla chips layered with a crumbled, mild sausage (chorizo, I think), refried beans, sour cream, and enough melty cheese to feed a small family. Though it was immediately apparent that we had over-ordered (this imposing pile of food is more than enough to feed two very hungry people on its own), these nachos were so good that we were happy to overindulge.

Two sauces were provided: the first was a bright green mix of seriously spicy hot peppers and avocado, and the second a creamy brown hot sauce that was one of the tastiest sauces I’ve had in quite a while. It had a rich, smoky flavour and an addictively fiery spice-level. It was amazing.

I asked the waitress what it was, because seriously: I want to eat this all the time on everything. Sadly, the answer (the name of the pepper the sauce is made from) pretty much went in one ear and out the other. It was a lot of words, and it was Spanish, and I should have written it down but I didn’t, like an idiot. Anyway, they make the sauce in the restaurant, so it’s not like I could have gone to the supermarket and picked up a bottle.

Whatever that stuff was, it was profoundly delicious, and if you come here and they don’t give it to you, you need to ask for it. That might be tough without knowing what it’s called, but trust me, make it happen. You won’t regret it.

Next up was the main course: the Tenoch Torta, described on the menu as coming with “tomato, onion, beans, avocado, mayo, cheese, shredded roast chipotle pork, ham, milanesa, egg, pastrami, and wiener sausage.”

Yep, it’s all in there. Everything. Don’t even think about ordering this sandwich on your own. My dining companion and I split one, and each half on its own was the size of one enormous sandwich. When you first pick it up, the weight of it shocks you. It’s gigantic.

It’s also delicious, if a bit overstuffed (shocking, right?). There’s just so much food in there, and though it’s all tasty (the chipotle pulled pork stands out as a highlight), I think there’s probably a little bit too much stuff going on.

Just eating it was a challenge. There’s only so wide that you can open your mouth, and even taking your biggest, most exaggerated Guy-Fieri-style bite, you’re not going to be able to cram it all in there.

Like the nachos, this would have been more than enough to feed two hungry people, and like with the nachos, I was very happy to overindulge. This is top-shelf Mexican food. I can’t wait to go back.

Country 003 – Cuba (La Cubana)

Published on March 15, 2015March 15, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 392 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://www.lacubana.ca/

I wasn’t even sure if I was going to write about La Cubana — it feels more trendy than authentic, but I’ve got 196 countries to get through, so I’ve got to take ’em where I can get ’em.

I started with the Corn Frituras, which are kind of like hush puppies, only way lighter and fluffier. Dipped in the perfectly tangy sauce that came on the side, they were addictive and amazing. I could eat about a million of them.

One of the reasons I wanted to check this place out was the episode of You Gotta Eat Here that featured La Cubana. In particular, the Medianoche, which comes with braised short rib, looked quite enticing.

Apparently the brunch Medianoche is completely different, because I got a ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top. I googled it, and it seems like this is a more authentic version of this dish (sans the fried egg). I probably wouldn’t have ordered it if I had known, because I’m not a huge fan of ham and cheese, but yay for authenticity I guess?

Anyway, it was a fine ham and cheese sandwich; there just wasn’t anything particularly interesting about it. My biggest issue was the bun, which was unpleasantly dense, and honestly just got in the way. The sandwich was also a huge, greasy mess, so after a couple of bites I tossed the top half of the bun and ate the rest of the sandwich with a fork and knife.

The sandwich comes with rice and beans, red cabbage slaw, and tostones. Rice and beans has a tendency to be a bit dry, but not this version. It’s definitely above average. The slaw was kind of like a much more subtle sauerkraut — also tasty. The tostones (essentially a mashed and fried plantain) had a pretty good flavour, but had the approximate texture of rubber cement that’s just about to harden. I’ve never had tostones before, but I’m going to assume something went wrong there.