A French man once said to me that the British are a nation of sandwich lovers. Sandwiches, sandwiches, sandwiches. I had never really noticed, because I don't eat sandwiches very much myself, but I suppose we are. I am told that the British eat eleven billion sandwiches per year. Considering there are only about sixty million people in the UK, that is a whole lot of sandwiches.
Apparently Yorkshire (where I am currently living) is the number one consumer of sandwiches in the whole of the UK. So it is extremely apt that the first stop in my culinary tour of Leeds and its environs (more to come!) is an unprepossessing sandwich shop, opposite the University of Leeds.
The sandwiches here are epic. Airy, focaccia made on site every day with olive oil, Shipton Mill flour and little else. Handmade, flavour-packed spreads and other fillings. Very alluring vegetarian options. And it is huge. And it costs less than £3.
Past summers have found me eating one of their sandwiches every single day at work, but I am better behaved this year - the size and lack of wholly whole grain options mean it now sits firmly in the realm of 'treat' food in my mind. But what a treat it is!
There is a particularly enjoyable stuffed vine leaf and feta salad, for those of you that want something lighter, but as the neon sign would suggest, the sandwiches really are where it's at.
Bakery 164
164 Woodhouse Lane,
Leeds, West Yorkshire,
LS2 9HB
www.bakery164.com
