eggplant sandwiches

Toronto at sunrise this morning.

Went to the St. Lawrence Market early this morning because I had a craving for bagels. My friend John has pointed out that St. Urbain's isn't as good as it used to be but I'm still hooked on them anyway. :-)

As usual, I walked by Mustadio's, an Italian sandwich shop on the first floor of the Market. I've always been curious about the place because it always seems to be packed. This time, however, there was actually one free seat available at the counter.

I grabbed it, of course, and sat down even though I had no idea what I was going to order.

"What would you like?" asked a cheerful looking woman in an apron.

"Um," I said. "How about one of those?" I pointed to the plates of my neighbours, all of whom seemed to be having the same thing.

Mustadio's at the Market.

"An eggplant vegetarian," she said, nodding. "Like everything on it? Fried onions? Mushrooms? Peppers? Tomato sauce?"

"Sure!" I said, thinking it an odd thing to have for breakfast but heck, after having sashimi with Jeff at 6 am beside the Tokyo Fish Market in Japan, it wasn't really all that off the beaten track. Besides, I've never been particularly excited about the beaten track.

A few minutes later, she set a GIGANTIC sandwich in front of me. I should have taken a photo but I was too hungry, sorry. Holy toledo, it was good. I could only eat a third of it before I was full, so wrapped the rest up for another meal or two later on.

Bought this hyacinth yesterday because I'm tired of winter.

Dropped by Chris's Cheesemongers to ask about 2-year-old Chevre Noir but they still didn't have it. :-(

Bought cinnamon raisin and sesame seed bagels from St. Urbain's, freshly baked from the oven. Mmmmmm. What is it about the fragrance of baking bread that evokes such positive vibes? Makes me want to try baking bread sometime. Our breadmaker's in a storage locker now, so I'd have to do it from scratch and remember how to figure out yeast and kneading and that whole process. Then again, why bother with the St. Lawrence Market just around the corner?

I asked a similar question a couple of years ago, but I'm curious about whether or not some of you still bake bread. POLL: Do you ever bake bread? How often? Breadmaker or from scratch? What are your favourite types?

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