Category Archives: Sandwiches

Soup’s Always On at Primal Grounds

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Primal Grounds 3

African peanut soup and “half” egg sandwich at Primal Grounds Cafe

In all my road-trip travels through western North America, I don’t recall many cafes specializing in soup. So it’s great to find, only a few blocks from my house, Primal Grounds Café & Soup Company.

Here, you can choose from three daily house-made soups plus peruse a big cooler packed with some 40 types of frozen soups to take home.

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Just some of the frozen soups available for takeout

The latter covers a vast spectrum—including chicken mulligatawny, Moroccan lentil, chipotle lime sweet potato, Lebanese cauliflower and Doukhobor borscht (about half the soups are dairy free, all are gluten free).

I’m eating in, so I order a heaping bowl of African peanut yam soup, chockfull of veggies, and a “half” egg salad sandwich, featuring thick slices of organic cracked rye and molasses bread. It’s a filling, delicious lunch for only $12; no room for the famous carrot cake.

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Here’s the complete list

Primal Grounds has been around southwest Calgary for more than 30 years, moving not long ago into the current location in a Glamorgan mall that includes a London Drugs and a Jerusalem Shawarma outlet.

The next time, I’ll have to reacquaint myself with Primal Grounds’ legendary turkey and cranberry sandwich, chased with a cup of coffee made from local Noble Tree Roasters beans. And I’ll start working my way down the long, long list of excellent soups.

Primal Grounds Cafe
5255 Richmond Road SW, Calgary
Monday to Saturday 7 am-7 pm, Sunday 7 am-6 pm
403-454-5282

Best Road Trip Food & Drink of 2018

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Sought and Found 4

Best Coffee: Caleb and Kitty Leung make exacting coffee in their gorgeous Sought and Found Coffee Roasters in Calgary, Alberta

Vancouver Island 4

Best coffee mugs: Katy Fogg’s sublime, hand-thrown mugs, at Tin Town Cafe in Courtenay, B.C.

East Calgary 13

Best brunch: Deane House, Calgary

La Baguette muffin

Best muffin: La Baguette, Revelstoke, B.C.

Edmonton coffee 21

Best doughnut: Made-to-order Portuguese-style doughnut at Edmonton’s Ohana Donuterie

Southeast Arizona 36

Best Bakery: Don Guerra’s Barrio Bread in Tucson, Arizona

Vancouver Island 17

Best bakery treat: Focaccia bread at Fol Epi in Victoria, B.C.

BreadMeat 3

Best sandwich: Meat balls on ciabatta at Meat & Bread in Calgary

Southeast Arizona 11

Biggest Feed. A tie: Sandwiches for three (three days!) at Salt Lake City’s Grove Market

B.C. West Coast July 2018 17

And the Oinker At Bubba’s Big Bites in Chilliwack, B.C.

Grande Prairie 1

Best Mexican: Owner James Nelson and his made-to-order corn tortillas at El Norteno in Grande Prairie, Alberta of all places

Southeast Arizona 231

Best hot dog: Can’t beat the Sonoran hot dogs in parking lot Ruiz in Tucson

Sunshine Coast 49

Best beer: Belgian-style Townsite Brewery in Powell River, B.C.

Vancouver Island 27

Best burger: Chucks Burger Bar, in Sydney, B.C.

Edmonton coffee 6

Best complimentary breakfast: The Le Creuset pots were the clincher at Hyatt Place Hotel in Edmonton

Atco Cafe 6

Best restaurant architecture: ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen Cafe in Calgary

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Best farmers’ market: cSPACE in Calgary

Market Bistro Canmore 5

Best service: Brande at Market Bistro in Canmore, Alberta

Southeast Arizona 255

Best gas station experience: Maverick in Fillmore, Utah

Monkman iPhotos 17

Best foraged food: Wild huckleberries on Monkman Pass Trail near Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

Southeast Arizona 272

Best dining experience: As always, incomparable Carmen making fresh tacos in Hamer, Idaho

Pictures From a November Road Trip to Southeast Arizona

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November is a perfect time for hiking in Tucson

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Hoar-frosted lines on the long, glorious drive down the I-15 in Montana

Southeast Arizona 7

Never too soon to promote Christmas: Willard Bay State Park north of Salt Lake City

Southeast Arizona 10

Sandwiches for three at Grove Market in Salt Lake City

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Trendy Welcome Diner in Tucson, Arizona

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Feathery cacti at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

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Wild turkeys in southeast Arizona

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Hole in the U.S.-Mexico fence near Montezuma Pass in southeast Arizona

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Sign in Bisbee, Arizona around mid-term elections

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Wintering sandhill cranes at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, northeast of Bisbee, Arizona

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Majestic Gadsen Hotel in the border town of Douglas, Arizona

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Superb, eroded volcanic rock pinnacles in Chiricahua National Monument in southeast Arizona

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My first sighting of a coatimundi in Chiricahua National Monument: Three feet from the car window; never paid attention

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Razor-wire fence surrounding U.S. Border Patrol compound, near Willcox, Arizona

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Can’t visit Tucson without a trip to Ruiz’s for a Sonoran hot dog

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Early-morning red rock driving near Page, Arizona

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Power plant near Page, Arizona at dawn

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“Can I park your yacht for you, sir?”

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The Maverick gas station experience in Fillmore, Utah

Southeast Arizona 263

Swans along Highway 91 in southern Idaho

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Hoar frost above hot spring along Highway 91

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The incomparable Carmen making fresh tacos in Hamer, Idaho

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Dead great horned owl at a rest stop along the I-15 in central Montana

Sorry, We’re Open

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Grande Prairie 16

This roast-beef sandwich, at Soups in Beaverlodge Alberta, was definitely worth a year’s wait and 3,000-km-plus of driving

Thank God for persistence. Or pig headedness.

Last summer, we drove 1,000 kilometres from Calgary to near Tumbler Ridge, in northeast B.C., for a backpack. Just past Grande Prairie, Alberta, we stopped at a recommended lunch spot, called Soups, in Beaverlodge. Closed for the week. Strike one.

The bad luck continued when at the very trailhead, after a long gravel-road drive, was a hand-made sign: trail closed because of wildfire. On our way back through smoky Beaverlodge, a week later, we stopped again at Soups. Still closed. Strike two.

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1,000-plus kilometres of driving leads to this surprise

Because we’re dim-witted creatures accustomed to suffering, three of us headed back this summer for another crack at said backpack. Of course, we stopped at Soups for a mid-morning break. Closed for a staff break. Strike three.

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Would you like that beaver smoked?

The smoke in the mountains was still rather thick, but the Monkman Pass trail was open and we persevered through a wonderful week of waterfalls and alpine lakes. So things were looking up when we stopped at Soups, on the way home. What do you know, it was open.

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Hiking amongst the tarns in Monkman Provincial Park

Packed to the rafters, in fact, at mid-week lunch. Who knew so many people lived in little Beaverlodge? Or made it their favourite place for a bite out?

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Soups is a bustling place, when it’s open

We grabbed the last free table and watched the bustling staff deliver house-made soups and hefty sandwiches to the expectant diners. Many of the sandwich meats are made in house, as is the thick, soft bread; customers are, charmingly, asked if they want their sandwiches on “white or brown.”

What we wanted, after a week of hiking and dehydrated meals, was big, fresh and tasty. And Soups delivered on all counts, serving up honking sandwiches of roast beef and bayou chicken. Chased with a fresh-baked cinnamon bun.

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“Take that picture and let me chomp down on this bayou chicken sandwich”

And then into the line at the till, where long-time owner Luvie Castro chatted with all the customers, at least the ones paying the bill.

Who knows if I’ll ever go through Beaverlodge again. But if I do, it’s definitely worth a stop to see if Soups is open.

Soups
908 2 Avenue, Beaverlodge, Alberta
Weekdays 7 am-3 pm. Closed weekends
780-354-3111

Huge Bites in Chilliwack, B.C.

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B.C. West Coast July 2018 17

Gee, I wonder why they call this the Oinker? At Bubba’s Big Bites in Chilliwack, B.C.

I walk into Bubba’s Big Bites, in Chilliwack, B.C., with a deer-in-the-headlights look as I survey all the lunchtime dining options.

“Your first time here?” co-owner Julie asks after a glance at my slack-jawed face.

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Julie and Sascha are the fun-loving couple who own Bubba’s

“Yeah. What’s your signature sandwich?”

“The Oinker.”

Let’s see: pulled pork, ham, crumbled bacon, a couple kinds of melted cheese, bbq sauce—all squeezed inside a thick, half loaf of bread and, if that’s not enough carbs, served with a side of potato wedges. Having just backpacked about 100 kilometres, I’m feeling rather piggish, so let’s go.

Sadly, I’m still not up to the task. The five wedges, from a rather large potato, are a meal in themselves. And thank goodness there’s a hefty serrated knife thrust inside the sandwich, because there’s no way I’m getting my jaw around the whole thing.

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Half the fun is reading the big board

It’s all great, fresh stuff. Still, I take half to go, and that wonderful sandwich is still feeding me a couple of days later.

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This is about all the seating at this hole-in-the wall spot

Bubba’s is a fun, lively place, thanks to the energy and personalities of its owners, Julie and Sascha, who run the whole show. It’s only about five minutes off the Trans-Canada Highway, traffic willing, and is a great, tiny place for a quick bite, or a hundred, before hitting the “don’t want to get off the highway” mob scene of greater Vancouver.

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Here’s the diverse menu; many of the meats are house prepared

Bubba’s Big Bites
101, 5885 Vedder Road, Chilliwack, B.C.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday 11 am-7 pm, Thursday to Saturday 11 am-8 pm. Closed Monday
604-858-0020

Build it Right and They Will Find You

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Tucson 2017 189

Roma Imports is out in the middle-of-nowhere industrial Tucson

One of the unexpected pleasures of getting to obscure food and drink establishments is driving through interesting neighbourhoods you’d otherwise never discover.

Of course, heading into the boondocks means occasionally getting lost or turned around. And in every new city I explore for great, cheap eats, there’ are at least a couple of times I mutter, “This café can’t possibly be located on this residential/industrial street.” Until suddenly, there it is.

Such thoughts come to mind as we’re trying to find Roma Imports, an Italian deli and grocery southeast of downtown Tucson. We’re driving around an industrial district, with no sign of any place selling food. Just as I’m thinking we’re lost, thar it be, all by its culinary lonesome.

This is definitely the right place, judging by the line of cars out front and the stream of customers emerging with plastic bags of takeout. This impression is confirmed as soon as we enter the front door.

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The deli looks small until you keep walking back and back

The building is narrow but goes on forever. On the right are coolers filled with fresh Italian meats and cheeses and scads of interesting appetizers (roasted garlic, prosciutto-stuffed figs, balls of fresh mozzarella, cauliflower fritters). The long left flank is jammed with frozen takeout items: lasagna, tiramisu, curries, cookies, saag paneer.

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Italian deli sandwiches don’t get better or cheaper than this

Way at the back are tables, where we tuck into hefty Italian sandwiches ($8), featuring plentiful meats and cheeses stuffed into crusty slabs of baguette. There’s enough for two meals here. We then load up on sufficient marinated goodies for a light supper of appetizers.

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Roma has scads of interesting, unusual deli items

As we head out, I ask our server how long Roma has been in this out-of-the-way location. “About 18 years,” she says. So, if you build the best Italian deli in Tucson, people will find you, even if, like me, they’re not sure where they’re going.

Roma Imports 
627 South Vine Avenue, Tucson, Arizona
Monday to Thursday 9 am-6 pm, Friday-Saturday 9 am-8 pm. Closed Sunday