Hearty, cheap pork bifana sandwich at Edmonton’s Portuguese Canadian Bakery

There’s nothing like an old-school European bakery. Nothing fancy. Loaves in white, whole wheat, hearty rye. No descriptive words like artisanal, stone hearth, wild yeast or multi-generation sourdough starter. Just bread and buns, stacked in bins and tossed into plastic bags for customers.

Portuguese Canadian Bakery, in the east end of Edmonton, is like that, though it does bake those wonderfully chewy corn breads, in yellow or white. There’s also a grocery and a little lunch room, where you can order sandwiches piled with deli meats.

But I’m here for something new for me: a pork bifana sandwich on a kaiser roll. Essentially, it’s breaded pork cutlets, grilled till they have a nice crispy skin. Mustard and mayo are the offered garnishes. Really, anything more would distract from that crunchy pork essence.

A perfect light lunch, for four bucks and change. Toss in a sizeable couple of round corn breads ($1.00 apiece) and a few cold cuts, and I’m stocked with sandwich fixings for a few more days. 

Portugese Canadian Bakery
5304 118 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta
Weekdays 7 am-6 pm, Saturday 7 am-5 pm. Closed Sunday