Meat & Bread's gives you 4 sandwich choices, and the menu varies everyday (they post it on their website each day). The original Cambie location has their staple, (porchetta with salsa verde) a special of the day, a meatball sandwich of the day, and a grilled cheese. There is always one vegetarian option on the menu, and they also have a daily soup and salad. The menu is short and sweet, but it was still difficult for us to choose!
As soon as we walked in the door, an employee was on a step-ladder marking the porchetta as "Sold Out" on the giant menu on the wall. I think Stephen would have been disappointed if it weren't for the daily special. Here's a let-down: I forget what was in it. It was lamb, but that's about all I remember. I meant to go on their site later that day, but I didn't get around to it. I'm the worst blogger ever. Anyways...he got that. Whatever it was. Just look at the picture. I picked the aged white cheddar grilled cheese with shaved onions. Both of our sandwiches were served with mustard made in-house, and mine also had a sweet and mildly spicy sauce. We didn't order sides this time, but we've heard they're worth trying.
It was love at first bite. Don't you hate when there is so much bread that you can't bite into the sammy? Or when there is 2 inches of lettuce? Or the lack of sauce or cheese makes it so dry you need to drink water between each bite? Or when there is so much sauce that your bread is mushy? Meat & Bread have come very close to mastering the art of sandwich making. The bread-to-filling and the filling-to-sauce ratios were perfect. The lamb sandwich's bread (seemingly also made in-house, we saw a batch coming out of the oven) was crunchy and flaky, the lamb was tender and juicy, the sauce was savoury...it was a really good sandwich.
I think mine was better though. I couldn't believe how flavourful the cheese was. No matter how aged or sharp, I always consider cheddar to be a mild cheese (namely relative to ripened or blue cheeses). It doesn't usually make for the best grilled cheeses in my opinion. Whatever cheddar they are using at Meat & Bread has such a concentrated flavour that I'm almost suspicious about there only being cheddar in there. Had the texture been different I would have almost accused it of being processed cheese because it tasted too good to be true! It was perfectly pressed, the onion flavour was sweet and subtle, and the mustard and spicy sauce accompanied it perfectly.
I was in the mood for something sweet, so we got the one and only dessert option: their maple bacon chocolate bar. Seriously, after hearing what it was, how could we resist? It really tastes like maple and bacon, without them being overpowering. It had little pockets of maple/meaty/salty covered in smooth milk chocolate. Drool. Go get one...or five.
The space is not huge. You can sit at the bar, or at one of the small tables, and there is one long, cafeteria-style table where you just take a seat where there is space. There was a line of people when we arrived, and the tables were always full. The turn-over is quick enough that there is always a free seat once you get your food.
We really have no choice but to go back to try their porchetta and soup and salads. The value for your money is spot on. The sandwiches are an average of $8, which is higher than a $5-foot-long, but the quality of ingredients is worth it.
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| Stephen's Lamb Sandwich |
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| My Grilled Cheese |
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| Maple Bacon Chocolate Bar (w/ ingredients!) |
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| View From the Table |
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| View From the Outside |
THE STATS - Out of 10
Taste: 8 - Ingredients are fresh and expertly matched
Creativity: 8 - Not your run-of-the-mill sandwich place
Service: 5 - Can't say much about it since its not a sit-down
Bang for your buck: 8 - You pay for gourmet
Overall experience: 8 - Not too shabby for meat and bread
Would I go back? Yes, I'd definitely like to try a few more menu items, especially the porchetta.
Who would I recommend it to? If you're looking for a no-fail lunch, go here. Even though they have a vegetarian option, I don't think I would have been satisfied with only tasting the grilled cheese. Don't bring your vegetarian or vegan friends. Don't bring your kids either. There is no room for your big ass stroller in there.
For what occasion? A quick lunch
It was better than: Subway
It wasn't as good as: Mom's Grilled Cheese (we had it later that weekend)
Expect: A little bit of a line. It's also a little noisy, so don't expect a lot of post-meal conversation.
Top 50 Worthy? Sure. They have great sandwiches and I'm confident that anything they put out will be amazing. But #4-worthy? I'm not sure about that one.
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