Ask what is — or isn’t — a sandwich and you wade into a philosophical world of contradictions.

It traditionally has two slices of bread, yet one-sliced, open-faced sandwiches are fine. Hot dogs and hamburgers aren’t sandwiches, yet po’boys and banh mis are. You can’t use wraps or bagels, but waffles, lettuce and cookies are fine.

While fried chicken sandwiches are seemingly everywhere, elevated sandwiches are starting to make more appearances inside our takeout bags. 

Three local shops are offering fun and sophisticated twists on the same-old, same-old sammie.

Highlighting inspired global flavours with local and artisanal ingredients, these handhelds make for an affordable luxury.  

Gourmet Sandwiches, Waterloo

A graduate of George Brown College and Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Gourmet Sandwiches’ Chef-owner Ishan Bawa left high-end kitchens to focus on what he loves.

“Anything made from the heart, anything made from things that you grow up with, from moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, family members,” said Bawa. “If you put that on a plate, people will come and people will get it.”

Formerly known as Quick Sandwiches, the family-run Uptown Waterloo sandwich shop features local and house-made fillings. Their hand-pulled pork is smoked for 16 hours. 

Along with familiar favourites like the Reuben and Italian, some sandwiches such as the Butter Chicken and Cajun Tofu feature cooked-to-order fillings.

“When you cook sauces compared to when I put them on your sandwich, you get two different flavour profiles. Because when you cook a sauce, different ingredients come out … and it makes a whole different sandwich,” said Bawa.

While they don’t offer featured sandwiches, if Bawa gets to know your preferences, he may create a bespoke combination for you.

“Customers are like, ‘You know what? I’ll eat whatever he’s making me.’ I love and appreciate that so much. This town, this city, this community, they push me to a level I didn’t know I had,” said Bawa.

Eby Street Bodega, Kitchener

Not long after Anna Staszewska and her husband Dino Trtovac opened Eby Street Bodega their “Saturday Special” sandwiches soon became weekday staples, overtaking the grocery side of their business.

Their sandwiches reflect the flavours they encountered while travelling and recreated in their home kitchen.

“I feel like from that experience it kind of shines through … this is what it needs to taste like. These are all the flavours that have influenced [us],” said Trtovac.

At the shop, Trtovac bakes their breads while sandwich design is Staszewska’s domain.

Their daily menu changes based on Staszewska’s mood and intuition. It leads to fleeting items like The Brassica Knuckles (roast broccoli) and Asado Macho (roast beef and roast potatoes).

“I do it hungry in the morning … I just try to see, what I am craving? What’s the weather going to be like? And then I try to decide,” said Staszewska.

Their Sunday menu remains constant. Their waffle paninis are served on goffri, a Piedmontese thin waffle-like bread, often filled with meat and cheese. 

“We have some hoagies. We have classic sandwiches, but I was thinking like what else can we do and what is breakfast and I would think of like waffles,” explained Staszewska. “They’re amazing.”

Roy’s Pizza and Sandwiches, Guelph

There is no Roy at Roy’s, located inside downtown Guelph’s Jimmy Jazz. Roy is the nickname chef-owner Scott Day and his friends had for Jimmy Jazz’s sister bar, The Royal Electric.

“I’ve heard from a lot of people. They’re like, ‘We could grab and go. We could dine in. Everything was fresh.’ I want to bring something like that back,” explained Day.

Adding sandwiches to the existing pizza offerings, The Royal’s pastry chef bakes hoagie rolls and focaccia. George Brown-trained Day creates the rest, including curing most of the meats used. He debones 20 to 25 kilograms of pork shoulder each month for capicola.

With an ingredient-led ethos, Day works with local farmers and suppliers so features reflect seasonality.

“The peaches we had last summer. We had a compressed prosciutto, peach and burrata sandwich, that was probably our most popular to date,” said Day. “A little bit of chili crisp on it and it hit all the notes in the taste bud world.”

Finding inspiration seemingly everywhere, Day often thinks up future sandwich features well in advance.

“Sometimes I literally dream about sandwiches,” said Day. “I’ve got a list. I’m about a month and a half out to two months of what I want to do. But that can always change.”