3513 Swail, Cote-des-Neiges | Tel.: 737-9283
Hours: Don’t go before 11:30 a.m. as they don’t start the grill until then.
don’t really want to write this and I don’t particularly want you to read it. But if you find yourself in line in front of me sometime on a hot sweaty day, do ignore that icy glare and please be sure to say hello.
So what the hell am I talking about? A new neighbourhood eatery that I want to guard jealously for myself. It goes by the astonishingly creative name of “Sandwiches & Brochettes” and is housed arbitrarily in a space where failed businesses are the soup du jour. Here’s hoping it lasts more than six months. Perhaps if you all go patronise it, it will prosper, you’ll all go away and I’ll have it to myself again.
They make great sandwiches. They certainly aren’t pretentious, but everything is hand-assembled right in front of you, everything is lovingly served with a smile and everything tastes great.
Don’t bother examining the room for “atmosphere,” because you won’t be eating in it, and a good thing, too; it looks as if Khalid’s uncle (I’m guessing they’re Moroccan) came by, put on a lick of paint and somehow got a vast charcoal burner through the door, then threw everything else together as an afterthought. The only sit-down eating is on a jerry-rigged “terrasse” which consists of about four small tables outside. (I wonder what they’ll do in winter.)
It’s the charcoal burner that makes the magic. You can choose from hot (charcoal-grilled) sandwiches or cold. I don’t know why anyone would choose the latter. None of the sandwiches is over $5. There’s something for barbecued chicken for $20 but that might be a whole chicken; I’m not sure. The “menu” is scrawled on a couple of sheets of paper tacked to a central pole.
lovely place setting and stack of lettuce are both care of Chef Nick ...
You get a choice of tuna, brie and something called “Dinde en poulet” (Turkey in chicken?) in the cold section, and hamburger, merguez, kefta (ground meat), shish taouk (spiced chicken), filet mignon (!) and the aforementioned barbecue chicken in the charcoal category.
It’s obviously family run. The charcoal man will ask you which one you want and then he’ll select from among a large rack of pre-prepared skewers in front of the large charcoal grill and put them on to cook. Then the toppings lady will pull out a nice-looking 6-inch baguette and ask you what toppings you want. There’s a delectable garlic/mayonnaise sauce, another of whose name I had no clue when she said it but could have been tzatziki, dijon or yellow mustard and regular mayonnaise. You can then choose from thin-slice red onions/ tomatoes/ shredded lettuce/mixed red hot peppers/cornichons/olives/pickled jalapeños/green peppers or cucumbers. This all gets layered into the baguette, which then awaits the filling. When your choice of meat is nicely grilled he’ll bring over the skewer and sashay it into your sandwich. Then, he’ll clamp the sandwich between a grill holder and grill the whole thing for a couple of minutes.
The filet mignon sandwich I had was succulent, smoky, crispy, moist, fiery (chilies) and cool (cucumbers) all at the same time. Delectable. The shish taouk was a delicately yogurt-marinaded breast of chicken which changed the nature of the entire sandwich into one reminiscent of a Casablancan souq at high noon with berbers chasing you. Sort of. You get the picture.
They have a couple of salads and pastries but you won’t be needing those. It’s the charcoal you’re after.
Taking away these delights wrapped in paper folded twice and hurried home to be adored for less than $5 is indeed incentive for me not to want you to have any.
So be nice when I see you in line. – Reviewed by Chef Nick
