Warning: Stop just once at Rosewood Foods for the breakfast sandwich, and you will likely never be able to handle a drive-thru version of the portable morning meal ever again. Is it the chili jam, the generous chicken-sausage patty, or the house-made milk bun that makes the Rosewood Foods breakfast sandwich so gosh-darn awesome? This isn’t so much an amped-up version of the breakfast sandwich as it is a reinvention of the breakfast sandwich. And, don’t forget the side of the home-fried potatoes. Sure, you can take this one and eat it while you’re in the car, but my advice is to sit down and take a few minutes to really enjoy this one. After all, it’s the most important meal of the day. — Steven Sandor
101, 10150 100 St., NW, 780-757-8030, RosewoodFoods.com
There are a couple things that any respectable sandwich, eaten at any time of day, must be: filling, and made of quality bread. Heena and Michael Mak, who started Brown Butter Café after meeting in culinary arts school, know this. Having a nice start to my day, I was tempted to try their Good Morning Bunwich, with avocado and spicy mayo, but I’m a sucker for a BLT, because it’s a good way to judge a place (many treat it as an afterthought), and also…bacon. I don’t know what the daily recommended dose of bacon is, but this BLT (with Swiss cheese) probably has you covered for the week. More importantly, it’s cooked perfectly for a sandwich: not chewy, but not so crispy that it flakes with every bite, making it a delicious-if-unwieldy sandwich on bread baked in house that day. With all the fast-food chain places littering Ellerslie Road, it’s well worth a one-minute detour south on Parsons Road to start your day right. – Cory Schachtel
1528 91 St., SW, 780-752-9900, BrownButterCafe.com
If you go to Farrow on your lunch break, expect to wait in line. The sandwich show has four locations serving the city and a small rotating menu of crafted-in-house sandwiches. While the menu switches up unexpectedly, there is one constant that you can always expect: The Grick. The Grick isn’t a flimsy breakfast sandwich slapped together with an egg and one piece of bacon. No, The Grick is artfully made with a fresh fried egg, a generous amount of bacon, rosemary aioli, smoked cheddar, tomato jam and arugula between two slices of soft, fresh bread. Biting into this sandwich is one of the best ways to start your morning. – Katrina Turchin
8422 109 St., 780-757-4160
9855 76 Ave., 780-757-0132
#6-10240 – 124 St., 780-249-0085
10542 Jasper Ave., 780-761-6800, FarrowSandwiches.ca
