THE POPPY pistachio + strawberry + plum + cheddar

Life is rosy folks. (Is how I started off this post when I began the draft TWO MONTHS AGO. Following is a more whiny post of how I'm feeling currently.) But I think it's apt that I made such a rosy sandwich for a post about being in such a crummy mood, 'cause it's sort of cheering me up just to look at it. 

What do you do when you have the travel bug, but no real freedom or funds? No, seriously, I'm asking. I'm going a little crazy in my tiny, stiflingly hot sublet in The Junction, save for this one coffee shop I've found that I pretty much want to live at, and should start doing all my computer "work" from. I've been thinking a lot for the past two years, but more specifically since my last move, about moving out of Toronto again, and I think a lot of those could be solved by as little as a two week stint somewhere else. Really, I'm not asking for much. just to get away, and maybe be reminded that Toronto, my first real love, is a place where I really want to be. Having lived in other places, with plenty of new amazing things about them that Toronto doesn't have, I couldn't get Toronto out of my mind. I would talk about it constantly, like an ex you're still hopelessly not over. I missed the music scene. I missed the food and coffee scene. I missed the creativity, and passion, and individualism that goes into every storefront here. Europe totally doesn't have that, save for in small, excepted pockets. So I'm in this constant dilemma of wanting to leave, and in a way being totally ungrateful for what an idyllic place this is, and thinking I really should just use my powers to change my life here, and make it look like how I want, rather than try to jump ship and build one again somewhere else. How do you know when it's time to let go, or time to (wo)man up? I guess the real answer is it's always time to (wo)man up. Just someone get me outta here for a few weeks or something, k? 

THE WITH A TWIST bacon + lemon + plantain

Go start a personal project. Pick something you inherently love, and set yourself to work at it. I usually don't like being directive, but sometimes, you just need the encouragement and for someone to tell you, your personal interest project/hobby isn't stupid. Hell, mine is making sandwiches. It makes you happy, and that's really the means, and the ends of it. You do it for yourself, and maybe others will appreciate it, but that's not why you do it. And this isn't coming from a super go-getter self-starter either. Naw. Sometimes, the rest of all life's tribulations, and your own failings catch up with you, and you'll be glad you have that thing you work on, for no other reason than your own satisfaction. And it will give you that, every time. That which can only be accomplished by doing something, because you find it inherently satisfying. No amount of nights out, cat videos, or retail therapy can give you that. And maybe you'll even develop some skill at it, and have something to be proud of, and to share with others. Or not, 'cause that's really not the point.

But anyway, I really like making sandwiches. It's not my only thing, but it's one of them. And the other week, I got a really nice message from someone for whom sandwiches is also, his thing. As much as I don't care if anyone understands the sandwich thing, it was really nice to know there are people out there. He proposed doing a sandwich off. I'm always happy to test my sandwich making imagination, so I accepted, and here's the result. What's the twist? Details after the jump.

THE BLUE SNAPPER breaded snapper + blue cheese + brown tartar

Middle-class poor is when you haven't earned the things you think you deserve, but work out affording them anyway. Here's a sandwich that was straight up, out of my daily food budget, and FUCK, it was worth it.

Rant to follow, holler if you #relate:
"AND THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!" ...is something that got said surprisingly a lot in some of my former households, and apartments with my friends through our early and mid 20s. Whether it was just being too drunk to take care of our stuff, or too drunk not to loose it, throwing hazardously crowded parties, or being too hungover to... I'm sure there was more to it than that. Cats? Was it... no, we didn't have cats. ANYWAY. I'm at a point now in life, where I'm realizing I CAN have nice things. I'm an "adult" now (sort of)... I can, have nice things. I just... don't really?

THE WALK IN THE PARK red anjou pear grilled cheese

The sandwich is sublime, and memorable, without an ounce of try-hard. Like my favourite shirt, I could eat it every day of the week, but instead break it out with the infrequency to keep it special. 

This sandwich, for me, will always be a classic. It's effortless, yet impressive. Simple, while still totally indulgent. It's a laid back, unpretentious grilled cheese, with sophistication. Like the sandwich equivalent of linen. It's also a top shelf idea for any occasion, any company. It's my take on a sandwich I used to order all the time at my favourite food spot in Toronto. On lazy days, or days, I would head out across Trinity Bellwoods park, visit the small galleries down the Ossington strip, then hang a left, and head for my favourite park-adjacent brunch hangout. It's got a classic, 50s diner layout, but none of the kitch. It boasts an all teak bar, with crystal glassware shelved behind, a vintage beverage fridge, and an open-air oyster icebox. The booths are small and intimate, each with a tall coat stand, that serves as a canopy in the cold months, with so many coats. The menu is short, and very carefully chosen. It's the kind of place I couldn't afford at night, but my friends and I used to frequent the brunch menu. We'd get a few dishes, share them around. It's simple food, done with an instinctual flourish. My favourite was their grilled cheese with bartlett pear, served with a chilli tomato compote, and a side of olives. It was a ritual I'd do when I needed out of a funk, or any time I'd have an out of town visitor. That, and a walk back through the park, could cure anything.