Why: For 20 years City Sandwich has been keeping it simple with sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. Located just west of the Regal City Center theater in downtown Vancouver, the shop is open four days a week and offers a menu with nine breakfast options served until 10:30 a.m. and a whopping 27 premium, all-natural meat and vegetarian choices for lunch. Sandwich bread is sliced ¾ inch thick and filled with enough ingredients to make each sandwich a meal by itself.
What I tried: I tried the No. 3, a sandwich made with egg salad, cheddar and a piece of leafy green lettuce; and the No. 23, a vegetarian sandwich made with lentil and sage Field Roast.
Unlike many egg salad sandwiches, which are a combination of dry and soggy, City’s was fresh and moist. The eggs were chopped a bit larger than usual, allowing more texture, and there was a very generous amount of egg salad between the two thick slices of fresh whole-wheat bread. The flavor of the cheddar cheese didn’t significantly impact the flavor of the sandwich, though the leafy greens brought a welcome vegetable taste. If you’re tired of wimpy egg salad sandwich encounters, definitely give this one a try. You won’t be disappointed.
The Field Roast sandwich contained thin nonmeat lentil patties — similar in size to that of a thick slice of salami — chipotle mayonnaise, pepper-jack cheese, red onion and leafy green lettuce. Not being a huge fan of mayonnaise, I opted to leave it off the sandwich. I found the combination of ingredients very flavorful. The lentil patties had a hearty lentil taste with a hint of herbs. The onions were sliced extremely thin, so their flavor did not dominate the sandwich’s other flavors, only complimented them. The pepper-jack cheese brought a spicy kick, and the chipotle mayonnaise added a smoky flavor. I found this sandwich to be a terrific alternative to a meat one, and my favorite of the two that I tried, for its flavor and uniqueness.
