I have had a long relationship with La Galleria Fine Foods. More specifically, with the shop’s sandwiches, which still draw crowds daily.
When I worked on the North Shore I would head there for lunch at least once a week, usually opting for the daily sandwich special as I had made my way through the regular menu dozens of times over. I have never liked queuing for food; it makes me feel like livestock, like a simple creature awaiting the same feed as all the other creatures. And somehow the act of lining up makes the consumerism of the dining experience that much more evident to the point where it can actually put me off my appetite.
I eventually learned that you could phone La Galleria ahead of time to place your order and simply jump the queue on arrival. But I also learned that it was so difficult to get through on the phone some days that either scoring a sandwich or reaching someone in the shop were feats of equal measure.
Plus, I knew too well the experience of waiting for a sandwich in the shop on the busiest of days and feeling a little put out by some dude swanning in and picking up eight sandwiches that were prepared ahead of my own and contributed to the lengthened wait time; I didn’t really want to be that dude. Often the shop would run out of sandwiches well before closing hours and locals shared the same well-known sinking feeling when they approached the door and spotted the dreaded handwritten “sold out” sign posted mid-afternoon.
If memory serves, sometime around 2010 the original La Galleria owners sold the shop. Almost instantly, there were online rants about a changed bread recipe (I couldn’t really detect a difference myself), about shrunken sandwich sizes and a paucity of fillings, about a shift in service dynamics and an overall different vibe. I have come to learn that people are fundamentally change averse, especially when it comes to familiar favourites, and so this small but vocal backlash didn’t surprise me. I stopped going to La Galleria not for any of the reasons mentioned above, but solely because my day job was across town and I could not get to the shop in time to get a sandwich. It’s always closed on Sundays (and Mondays), and Saturdays are typically too busy for me to queue for lunch.
One recent Saturday, however, as we were running a few errands through the Village, my wife DJ had the inspired idea to pick up “a Galleria,” as the sandwiches are colloquially known, and it took me a moment to process the suggestion. A Galleria?
Of course, what a great plan! It had been yonks since my last one and so we swiftly hit up the shop during the lunchtime rush, joining a queue that was out the door.
I’m pleased to report that the sandwich was a delicious, indulgent and nostalgic treat, worth the wait in line and cause for me to reconsider Saturday visits.
DJ opted for a classic from the old menu: bocconcini and tomato with fresh basil and lettuce. The signature eight-inch, baguette-style bread, which is baked in house daily, had a perfect balance of crispy crust and chewy interior. The bocconcini was hyper fresh and creamy, the tomatoes still bore the sun-kissed ripeness of late summer, and the basil was fragrant and potent. I’d recommend grabbing one of these before our local produce degenerates into insipid winter quality.
As I could still faithfully conjure in my mind the flavours and textures of my historic La Galleria sandwich preferences – the prosciutto with red pepper or the pastrami with pickle and Dijon – I went for the day’s special of brie with roasted red pepper and lettuce. I remembered to ask the crew to go light on the special mayo on my sandwich as I have sometimes found it to be overwhelmingly rich, especially in a sandwich with cheese. The combination of creamy brie, crispy lettuce, and tender roasted peppers worked well and upheld the Galleria tradition for killer sarnies.
We paired a red potato salad and a pasta salad with our selections because, you know, sandwiches don’t have enough carbs on their own. I appreciated that the salads were not overwhelmingly creamy; the potatoes and pasta were coasted in more of a vinaigrette than a mayo. Despite their notoriety for sandwiches, La Galleria is still a purveyor of fine specialty foods and, in addition to a selection of soups, salads and antipasti in their display, they also sell cheeses, cured meats, pasta, sauces, condiments, oils and vinegars.
Our lunch of two sandwiches, two containers of salad, and two soft drinks was $30.
La Galleria Fine Foods is located at 3055 Highland Blvd. in Edgemont Village. Lagalleriafinefoods.ca. 604-990-9192.
