The Carvery Sandwich Shop

This post has been a long time coming.  In fact, I've had so many people let me know that I HAD to come here to try not only their chicken sammies, but any one of their amazing sandwiches.  Problem being is that their chicken sandwich is only available on Wednesdays and the place is only open during the day.  This wouldn't be much of an issue if I didn't have to be at work...  Hence, while on holidays, I took the chance to head out to White Rock.  Upon arriving at the location, I was surprised to see that it resided in the old location of Sheila's Deli.  I guess they continued with a similar type of restaurant.

Anyways, the main reason I was here had to be their Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich with a fried chicken breast dipped in housemade hot chili oil, Russian dressing, pickled red onion, sweet pickles and slaw on a brioche bun. Yes, it did eat as good as it looked with a low rumbling spice accented by the sweet tang of the pickles and sharpness of the onion.  Bun was on the denser side but it held all of the wet ingredients together.  Chicken breast was moist and the coating was crispy.  A very good sandwich!

Of course, I also had to go for their other chicken sandwich in the Classic Fried Chicken Sandwich with Swiss, pickles, creamy slaw and honey mustard on brioche.  I also added a side of hot honey buffalo sauce.  This ate quite a bit differently than the previous sandwich.  Of course the heat was different as the hot honey was sweet with the classic vinegary tang of buffalo sauce. The Swiss added a layer of texture while the chicken was even more crispy due to the lack of dunking into anything.  Meat was moist and yes, this was also very solid.

We also tried the Cubano with rojo-roasted pork shoulder, smoked country ham, pickles, paprika aioli, Swiss and mustard on a pressed Cuban loaf.  I loved this sandwich due to the fact it was loaded with ingredients and also they stayed very true to the original.  Many times in Vancouver, we have some bastadized version that just doesn't cut it.  I've had the real deal in Miami and this one was delicious.  The pork shoulder was tender and flavourful while the bread choice was critical.  It was crunchy on the outside and soft with a bit of chew on the inside.  Would eat this again.

Something a bit more basic was the West Coast Club sporting roasted turkey breast, smoked bacon, white cheddar, paprika aioli, avocado and tomatoes on lightly toasted sourdough.  What was important here was the real roasted turkey.  It was tender and not wet like that store-bought deli-style type. Furthermore, the bacon was meaty and the avocados were ripe.  Good ingredients = good sandwich, no matter how simple it may be.

Our last sandwich was the Roast Beef French Dip with fresh roasted AAA beef, garlic aioli and sweet caramelized onions on grilled filone bread.  Once again, the key component was the real roast beef.  The tender texture of the super thinly-sliced meat made the sandwich.  Wait, let me rephrase that...  The legit meat combined with the crusty filone bread (think Italian version of French bread) made for a delicious sandwich.  Add in the au jus, which softened the bread, and we have a good beef dip.

I decided to add a cup of soup to 4 of the sandwiches that yielded all of the available daily options including Artichoke Bacon, Chili Con Carne, Tomato Basil and Manhattan Clam Chowder.  For an extra $4.00, these were huge cups of soup.  Wonder how big the bowl is???  So my favourite was the clam chowder as it sported big chunks of clam and the broth was deliciously briny.  Loved the tomato soup as it was tangy and thick.  Enjoyed the croutons soaking in the soup.  The bacon artichoke was smoky and we could really taste the bacon.  Chili was solid with nice spice and loaded with beef and beans.  So I guess you could tell that I was impressed with The Carvery.  Yes, the people were not wrong.  I just wished I could've made it out earlier.

The Good:
- Well-crafted sandwiches with quality and legit ingredients
- Equally good soups
- Reasonably-priced given the quality

The Bad:
- Well, the parking situation in the lot is not the best