Taking the simple sandwich shop to a new level in Windsor

Not too long ago, Mike Cowan and Kun Sun owned a taco stand near Vancouver's Kitsilano beach. So how did the husband and wife team end up running a sandwich shop in Windsor?

"We wanted to have a sandwich and meat-oriented business — and the reason why we didn't do it in Vancouver was that it was too expensive there," explains Cowan. "So we looked across Canada ... and Windsor looked appealing."

Cowan, Sun and their two children left Vancouver last September. They had no friends or relatives in Windsor.

"We didn't know if we were going to stay when we got here," Cowan says with a laugh. "So we stayed in a hotel for about a month, and we just toured the city — and we liked it. We ended up buying a house, and then we opened a business."

The Carvery opened in May at the corner of Hall Avenue and Wyandotte Street East. Despite the fact that opening a business is cheaper in Windsor than Vancouver, it doesn't mean that The Carvery is a full service restaurant.

"The Carvery is a newer concept, I think, for Windsor, but it's something you're seeing a lot of in places like Toronto and Vancouver." Cowan said. "Instead of trying to focus on everything, we just do what we can do — which is the food." 

Cowan said offering full service is too costly.

All the meats used in The Carvery's sandwiches are roasted fresh in house. There are no cold cuts in sight. Offerings include braised beef, herb chicken, pulled pork and rib-eye steak.

The signature dish, however, is the porchetta sandwich. It was the first item Cowan and Sun wanted to serve — and the rest of the menu filled in around it. 

Porchetta is a boneless Italian pork roast, known for its crispy skin and being spiced with plenty of fennel. The version at The Carvery is a little different: no fennel, and lots of grainy mustard instead.

"We take the pork shoulder and butterfly it ... marinate it in herbs, spices and grainy mustard — not traditional Italian, it's more British, I guess. We roll it up, and then take a (pork) belly, which we also marinate on the inside ... and we wrap that over the top and tie it on to make a roast."

It's then put in the oven for four hours.

The porchetta is served finely chopped to ensure an equal distribution of crispy skin and juicy pork and placed on a large ciabatta bun. It's then topped with honey-dijon mustard, red onion, greens and thin apple slices. The apples add an additional level of crunch, and a touch of sweetness.

While it may not be traditionally Italian, the sandwich is rich, flavourful — and completely delicious. The Carvery is located at 1301 Wyandotte St. E. in Windsor.

Hear Jonathan's latest food adventure every Thursday at 8:10 a.m. on CBC Radio One - 97.5FM in Windsor, 91.9FM in Leamington, 88.1FM in Chatham & 90.3FM in Sarnia. Do you have a food, restaurant or dish that you think Jonathan should explore? Call (519) 255-3400, email windsormorning@cbc.ca or tweet him directly at @jonathan_pinto.