cold cuts – Page 2 – Michael Eats

Seriously Good Sandwiches at Alfie’s Sandwiches & Market

Published on September 19, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 36 Baldwin Street, Toronto
Website: https://www.alfies.ca/

Alfie’s is part of the recent wave of Italian sandwich shops sweeping the city. And hey, if all the sandwich shops can be this good, sure — open a million of them.

It’s hard to pick here. The menu is split into two halves (“classic” and “signature”) with 10 sandwiches each. And they all sound extremely tasty.

After some deliberation, I went with the Parma Classico: “24 Month Prosciutto Di Parma, Lemon basil Pesto, Artichoke in Oil, Truffle Aioli.”

Wow, it’s good. I mean, if you put a decent amount of high-quality prosciutto in pretty much any sandwich, it’s going to be tasty. And yeah, the prosciutto here is pretty fantastic.

But everything else in the sandwich complements it so well, from the zippy pesto to the generous amount of tender artichoke to the creamy aioli. I’m not really a fan of truffle oil, but it’s used sparingly enough that I didn’t find it particularly objectionable. Everything here just works.

It’s all served on some pretty great quality sourdough flatbread (“Alfie,” in this case, is the name of their sourdough starter). It’s crispy, chewy, and flavourful, and stands up quite well to the generously filled sandwich.

On another visit, I tried the Alfie’s Roast Beef (“House-smoked Roast beef, Sliced tomato, Chilli oil, Roasted Pepper, Baby Arugula, Rosemary and Roasted Aioli”), and it was just as good; the chili oil, in particular, really makes the roast beef sing.

Tasty Subs at Lambo’s Deli

Published on January 12, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 176 Bellwoods Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.lambosdeli.ca/

Lambo’s is one of those places that’s pretty much always busy, no matter when you go. Though it’s certainly possible for a place like this to be overhyped, generally speaking, if you’re doing that well, you’re probably doing something right.

And indeed, Lambo’s is doing something right. They’re a sub shop, with nine classic deli subs on the menu. I went with the Italian Trio: “Soppressata, mortadella, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, pickled red onion, arugula, pesto, Calabrian chili spread.”

It’s a very tasty sandwich, with a great balance between the salty meats, rich cheese, zingy pickled onions, and flavour-packed pesto and Calabrian chili.

It seems a bit pricey at $16, until you get it and realize that each overstuffed sandwich is easily big enough to feed two.

I also tried the Caprese: “Fresh mozzarella, tomato, balsamic glaze, arugula, breadcrumb gremolata, pesto.”

I will admit that I missed the meat in this one, but it was still quite satisfying — in particular, the addition of the breadcrumb gremolata is actually quite ingenious. I wouldn’t have thought to put breadcrumbs in a sandwich, but it brings a nice crispiness that works well with the soft cheese and tomato.

A Solid Sandwich at Banh Mi Tan Dinh

Published on November 11, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3415 Dixie Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.instagram.com/banhmitandinh/

If you’re craving a banh mi in this particular area of Mississauga, you’re all set — within a five minute drive of this place, there’s Banh Mi Saigon, Banh Mi Ba Le, Banh Mi Nguyet Minh, and Bot Chien Saigon. I’ve been to all of them at this point, and some are definitely better than others, but honestly? You can’t go wrong with any of them. There isn’t a dud in the bunch.

I ordered the same assorted cold cuts banh mi that I always get, and it’s a very good version of a classic sandwich.

The bread itself is a bit on the dry side, which holds it back from greatness somewhat, but otherwise everything is right where it should be, with a nice assortment of meaty cold cuts, creamy pate and mayo, and zippy pickled veggies.

I wish there were a bit more pate, but then I wish that of pretty much every banh mi I eat — I’m starting to wonder if most banh mi shops are being stingy with the pate, or if I just like my sandwich to be pate-heavy.

They asked if I wanted hot peppers, and yeah, of course. I could have used a few more, but the peppers that are there add some nice pops of spiciness to the sandwich.

Quick Bites: Banh Mi Nguyet Minh, DeCourses Cafe, The Tuck Shop x Breadhead

Published on March 25, 2024 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Pork roll, cured pork and pate banh mi from Banh Mi Nguyet Minh

Not much to say about this one, to be honest. It was a perfectly tasty banh mi; not the best I’ve had, and not the worst. The bread was a bit overly crunchy (it was a bit of a mouth shredder) and I wish there were more pate, but it was otherwise a solid banh mi.

Breakfast sandwich from DeCourses Cafe

DeCourses Cafe is a charming little brunch spot that does quite well (it was packed when I visited, and had a steady stream of people picking up take-out orders). The menu mostly consists of brunch standbys; I went with the breakfast sandwich (“white artisan bread, bacon, fried egg, cheese blend”). Nothing about it particularly stood out, and it really needed something with some zippiness to cut through the richness of the egg, bacon, and cheese, but it was a solid breakfast sandwich. I enjoyed it.

Apple crumble croissant from The Tuck Shop x Breadhead

Note: I’m working on a bit of a backlog at the moment, and apparently this bakery is now defunct. Oh well; here are some thoughts on a bakery you’ll never get to try.
The Tuck Shop x Breadhead is a tiny little bakery that has a small but interesting variety of pastries on offer. I went with the apple crumble croissant, which has the general shape/configuration of a pain au chocolate, but with apple crumble stuff instead of chocolate. It’s very tasty — it’s not nearly as sweet as you’d expect, with a decent dose of apple crumble flavour encased in a good quality croissant. It didn’t exactly blow my mind, but I quite enjoyed eating it.

Stellar Banh Mi at Ba Le House

Published on March 16, 2023July 1, 2025 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1125 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: None

Ba Le house is clearly doing well — it’s actually an off-shoot of Banh Mi Ba Le, which is in the same plaza just a few stores over. I guess business was brisk enough that they were able to open a second store (which is a bit confusing — if you try to order a banh mi at Banh Mi Ba Le, they’ll direct you to Be Le House instead).

I’m very glad that this place is doing well. There’s actually another, completely unrelated banh mi joint around the corner in the same plaza, Banh Mi Saigon, and I sort of figured that Ba Le would be about the same — good but not great.

I could not have been more wrong. I got the classic assorted cold cut banh mi, and holy moly it was good. Probably the best banh mi I’ve had in the GTA.

Everything about it just works; it’s meaty, porky, and delicious. The proportion of cold cuts (which I’m guessing that they make in house, and which are a cut above the norm) to zingy veggies to fresh bread is just right. There’s a nice slathering of creamy mayo and tasty pate, it’s got a mild but noticeable kick, and a slight sweetness from the hoisin.

And the bread is great; it’s got a delicately crispy exterior and a fluffy but substantial interior that holds up to all the filling quite nicely. A lot of banh mi can wreck the roof of your mouth if you’re not careful; this one has a delightful crispiness that you can still eat with aplomb. No risk of mouth shredding here.

The sandwich comes up to five bucks even, which is an absolute steal for the level of quality that they’re serving up. It’s so good.