I know, at a place called Meat & Bread, you should be ordering meat. But all the delicious meat sandwiches on offer at this downtown Calgary location—crackling porchetta, meatball, corn beef and chicken—weigh in at about $12.50.

For the quality and quantity, it’s still a great deal, at one of my favourite sandwich shops in Calgary, located in the historic Grain Exchange Building. But for the purpose of this series—Calgary lunch for less than $10—I have to go for the one vegetarian option on the menu, an eggplant Parmesan sandwich, for $9.

It features roasted, organic eggplant, kale, marinara sauce and Parmesan aioli, all crammed into a fresh ciabatta bun. Even if you’re not normally a fan of eggplant and kale, you should like this soft, flavourful blend. You can add a dip, such as a habanero cilantro cream, for $1.50, but it’s not essential and does push the tab over $10.

The eggplant sandwich makes for a light lunch, which if you’re famished, can be complemented with a fine soup or salad, but again it adds $5 to the cost.

Meat & Bread
821 1 Street SW, Calgary
Weekdays 11 am-4 pm. Closed weekends
403-764-6225