Tag: meatball sandwich

Delicious Sandwiches at Sammie’s

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Sammie's
Location: 594 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.alwaystastysandwiches.com/

What’s this?  A new sandwich shop in Toronto that isn’t selling Italian cold cut sandwiches on some kind of focaccia-type bread?  Is that even allowed??

(They actually do have a few cold cut sandwiches, but it’s all served on hoagie rolls, so it feels a bit different from the many Italian sandwich joints that have sprung up in the last several months.)

Sammie's

I tried a couple of sandwiches.  First up: the Brisket Philly Cheese (“chopped Brisket in gravy with melted cheese and sautéed onions; our take on the famous sandwich”).

I think calling this a Philly cheesesteak is a bit of a stretch.  The sandwich contains beef and cheese, and… the similarities end there.  But you know what?  If you’re serving something this delicious, you can call it whatever the hell you want.

Sammie's

The combo between the ultra-tender brisket, the gooey cheese, and the silky caramelized onions just works.  I know this sounds vaguely like a Philly cheesesteak, but the gravy-soaked slow-cooked brisket has a very, very different (but no less delicious!) personality from the griddle-cooked beef in a cheesesteak.

The menu doesn’t mention that the brisket is smoked, but there’s a distinct smoky flavour here that makes me think that it might be.

Sammie's

I also tried the Meatball (“Beef meatballs/Tomato sauce/shredded cheese/and diced jalapeños”).

This was just as tasty as the brisket, with a generous amount of tender, flavour-packed meatballs, more gooey cheese, and hot peppers for some nice pops of spice.

Sammie's

Not much more to say about this one.  It’s everything you want a meatball sandwich to be: great quality meatballs, rich tomato sauce, melty cheese.

And the bread is quite nice; it’s fresh and fluffy, and it holds up well to the very saucy sandwiches.  It doesn’t have a ton of personality, and is really just there to highlight the various fillings; I like a nice tangy sourdough as much as the next guy, but sometimes you want the bread to just get out of the way and be a vehicle for some tasty, meaty stuff.

Average Meatball Sandwich at Little DaiLo

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Little DaiLoLocation: 111 Richmond Street West, Toronto (in the Assembly Chef’s Hall)
Website: https://chefs-hall.squarespace.com/

Little DaiLo in the Assembly Chef’s Hall currently has a garlic sambal meatball sandwich on their menu.  I just tried it; it was a meatball sandwich.  The End.

I should write a few more words, I suppose.  But there’s not all that much to say about it — despite the presence of napa slaw and garlic sambal, it’s a super run-of-the-mill meatball sandwich.  It’s perfectly tasty, but there isn’t anything about it that stands out.

Well, that’s not strictly true: though it doesn’t add all that much flavour, the sambal has a pleasant kick that makes the sandwich a bit more fiery than the norm.

Little DaiLo

The other thing that should set it apart is the napa slaw, but aside from a mild crunch, you can’t even tell it’s there.

Other than that, the beef meatballs and the sauce were standard-issue (though the meatballs in a meatball sandwich can sometimes be a bit mushy and these had a nice texture, so I appreciated that).  The sandwich is ostensibly Asian-inspired, but it tastes like what you’ll find at any number of Italian sandwich joints around town.  It’s good, but nothing about it stands out.

My only real issue here is with the bread.  It was cold and clammy.  I wish it had been even lightly toasted (or at least warmed up somehow), but it was otherwise fine.