Sandwiches

It was love at first bite. I went to Philadelphia to eat cheesesteaks, but instead fell for the Italian roast pork. It happened at Tony Luke's, a South Philadelphia stronghold of sandwiches. There are two Tony Luke's eateries; both of them sit on the first block of E. Oregon Ave. There are also two men named Tony Luke. There is Tony Luke Sr., who presides over the sit-down restaurant, a sports bar that opened 10 years ago. Then there is Tony Luke Jr., who with his brother, Nick, runs the less decorous carryout joint across the street.

Twenty years from now, I will tell people I was present at the creation. One evening last fall, my colleague Jason Toraldo walked into my office and asked if I could troubleshoot a problem he was having on Facebook. He had recently put up a page for a small business he owned and wanted to connect it to his personal account. I'm reasonably tech savvy, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw. A nervous pig dressed like a middle-aged man, in slacks and an argyle sweater, was entangled in a pine tree and a string of colorful lights.

Everything about Byblos seems cute and simple, almost effortlessly so. The food and decor at Federal Hill's new Lebanese eatery go hand-in-hand; both are charming and down to earth, with shades of the Middle East, and neither assumes too much. It's the kind of restaurant you didn't know you needed until it opened about three months ago, amid the neighborhood's plentiful pubs and sushi spots. Named after the Lebanese city, Byblos is run by the husband-and-wife team of Sami and Hala Tabet.

Baltimore's newest food truck is debuting today. It's a gourmet food truck named GrrChe. The basic menu includes "plain and simple" sandwiches on white or wheat. Specialty sandwiches include the Lobster Grill and the Crab Delight. GrrChe also will be selling gourmet breakfast sandwiches and desserts. The truck's website is here . The Facebook page is here . The Twitter page is here .  

Several days ago, while rummaging in my refrigerator for something for my culinary assistant and me to have for a quick bite, I found leftover slices of smoked salmon, a small package of creamy goat cheese and a bunch of partially used dill. On a kitchen counter, there was a loaf of country-style crusty bread in a bread basket. It didn't take me long to figure out that we could make ourselves delectable sandwiches with such enticing ingredients. At first, we were going to assemble open-face sandwiches, but then it dawned on us that grilling them, as Italians do when making their celebrated panini, would be even better.

On a recent visit to New York City, I met a good friend for lunch in a small downtown restaurant. The place we chose was an adjunct of a well-known bakery and as a result, sandwiches made with freshly baked bread were the star attraction. My lunch partner ordered a tuna panini while I opted for blue cheese and apple served on toasted walnut bread. Although both sandwiches were tempting, the latter was far more interesting, so I took notes determined to try it at home. This week I have the perfect occasion to serve these delectable blue cheese inventions.

Mick Kipp wanted to open a retail store where he could sell his brand of Whiskey Island sauces, spices and salsas. Rose Lansing was looking for a place to sell her cookies and other baked goods. The two were introduced by Mary Pat Andrea, owner of the Hometown Girl gift shop, who thought they might be able to combine their business ventures. She was right, and in September, Kipp and Lansing opened the Whiskey Island Pirate Shop, a deli and bakery on the Avenue in Hampden. The small space, which shares a door with the Oh!

The Stone Mill Bakery Cafe, in a trendy Roland Park shopping strip, is part of the Stone Mill mini-empire, which also includes a cafe in Green Spring Station and a bakery that provides wholesale bread to about 300 clients in the Baltimore-Washington area. At one time, there were cafes in Pikesville and the Inner Harbor, but now there are just the two. The Green Spring cafe is about 11 years old, and Roland Park has been open about eight, said Alfie Himmelrich, who took over the business about four years ago, after his brother moved to Florida.

Any place that can shut me up, slow me down and get me to smell the roses wins a spot on my list of favorite places. When it also happens to serve a really great cup of coffee, I designate it a personal four-star restaurant. These places invariably display character that flavors every other trait and detail. Enter Red Canoe Bookstore and Cafe. 12:45 I am behind schedule with an early afternoon meeting looming and weighty work-related issues burdening my brain. Glancing around as we walk through a tiny dining room, my friend and I see no empty tables.

Meet Wheyich, Baltimore's newest food truck. Specializing in "artisanal cheesy sandwiches," Wheyich rolled off the line in mid-December and started to hit the streets regularly right after the first of the year. Wheyich (pronounced "which") is from Ashwini Persaud, a recent transplant to Baltimore.  In an email, Persuad wrote, "I was an employee of Morgan Stanley for over seven years. As time grew on, I started considering changing career paths. I considered staying in finance but felt that doing what I loved, cooking and feeding everyone, would be a more enjoyable task.