Postcard from the road: ummmm, sandwiches

When I'm getting ready to hit the road (for business or pleasure), there are two things I generally research along with the usual lodging, transportation, blah, blah, blah. First, where's the nearest scooter shop and, second, will I be able to eat a sandwich from "the show."

And, by "the show" I mean the 2002 PBS documentary by Rick Sebak of WQED, "Sandwiches That You Will Like." In case you haven't seen it, this fun show explores the unique sandwiches available in various parts of the United States. I've seen the show several times and even bought the book which recaps everything, gives you recipes and includes some unseen tidbits from the show.

While we tucked a list Toronto area scooter shops in our trusty travel folder before leaving home, I must admit that I had not done my homework on local sandwiches--we were going to Canada after all and Toronto did not make "the show."

So, I couldn't have been happier when on day two of our journey north, after two disappointments (being unable to photograph the town with the unfortunate name of "Little Hope" and searching in vein for the historic lighthouse of Dunkirk), we sat down for lunch at a place specializing in wings and Ryan said, "they have Beef on weck."

Beef on weck (pictured above) is served in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The kummelweck (roll), kaiser like with pretzel salt and caraway seeds, is topped with slow-roasted rare roast beef and served with horseradish and, in our case, au jus. The roast been on our sandwich was quite tender and flavorful and the roll was yummy (although I'm not a fan of caraway seeds). All in all, I couldn't have been happier with this unexpected find on day two. And, happily enough, the restaurant manager was able to provide us with directions to the lighthouse at Dunkirk (more on this later).

As an added bonus, our explorations in downtown Toronto on Saturday took us to Chinatown and we enjoyed Banh mi sandwiches (pictured below), another favorite from "the show." We've had these yummy sandwiches, a Vietnamese baguette topped with a variety of good things, before, but not since moving from Northern Virginia more than a year ago.

note: travel log not posted in real time