Passion for Pork www.PassionforPork.com

4 “must try” pork dishes at Be ‘wiched Cafe

Mijune - Saturday, January 31, 2015


Restaurant: Be ‘wiched Cafe
Cuisine: Sandwiches/Cafe/Baked Goods/Desserts/Soups
Location: Surrey, BC (Newton)
Address: 15230 56 Ave
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 6
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

  • Locally owned/operated
  • Hidden gem
  • Extremely friendly service
  • Specializes in sandwiches/soups
  • Home cooked/roasted meats
  • Homemade sauces/condiments
  • Daily selection of freshly baked goods
  • Recipes from Food Network (modified)
  • Fresh ingredients
  • Made upon order
  • No/low preservatives
  • Gluten free items
  • Low fat options
  • Catering available
  • Eat in/Take out
  • Cash/Interac/MC/Visa
  • Breakfast/Lunch service
  • Mon-Fri 7am-4pm

**Recommendations: Apple Pie Stuffed French Toast, Savoury Meat Roll (daily special), Chain Gang Chili (Daily Special), Pulled Pork Sandwich, Cubano, Triple Citrus Cream Cheese Bars, Banana Raspberry Mini Muffins, Pumpkin Cookie with Warm Icing. Go for the daily specials, those are usually solid.

Okay, I’ve definitely become an even bigger fan of Be ‘wiched Cafe. It easily moved up on my scale after trying more things. This was only my second visit, but each time I’ve managed to make a nice dent in the menu and it just keeps getting better and better. This visit was even more impressive than my last visit and I’m already looking forward to my next visit! I just want to clear my agenda for tomorrow, or better yet tell you to clear your agenda just so you can share this heavenly experience with me.

As I mentioned in my last post for Be ‘wiched (see here) these ladies are driven by passion and it shows in the food and the service. It’s literally walking into a cafe serving some of the best recipes featured on Food Network, but it’s all in one stop! A lot of their recipes are tried, tested, and true recipes and a few of them are even from Food Network shows like “Bobby Flay’s Throw Down”, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” and of course “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives”.

This is such a hidden gem and neighbourhood favourite and I just want everyone to try it. The quality and flavour of food they’re producing could kick some downtown a**. I’m serious. They make me tempted to host a “Follow Me Foodie Throw Down”… hm. Hmmm… HMMM… MMMMMMM 😉

Anyways on this occasion Sherman (who discovered it first) and I decided to tackle Be ‘wiched together! The first time we tried it was on the same day, but at different times, so this time we tag teamed it and destroyed the menu. Well we’ve done more damage *ahem* The BiBo, Hapa Izakaya etc., but no doubt we’ll be back for round 3. As usual it was Mijune +1 and Sherman zero, I beat him by a full cookie. So as a result he decided to share some photos with me!

Additional note: The ladies (Hope and VJ) told us that after our posts a lot of you have visited them! Yay! Of course we only speak the truth, and this is one we believe in. This time around it was no secret who we were, but they treated us the same way they did when they didn’t know us. We also received some complimentary cookies, which they do offer to a lot of their customers. It’s great! I feel like you can only find these kinds of experiences in the suburbs. Trust me, make the drive, it will be worth your time.

On the table:

**Chain Gang Chili – 6/6

  • Small $4.50 Large $8.50
  • This is a recipe from Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and it is a must try! Call ahead to reserve 10 because you’ll want to eat 10 bowls of it.
  • Oh wow! Chili? What chili? It was pretty much a bowl of pulled pork and I loved it!
  • I love chili and I love pulled pork, so this was heaven. This is one of the best chilis I’ve had.
  • It was almost like a sweet soppy pulled pork stew meets a classic beef bolognese sauce.
  • It could have been a pulled pork sloppy joe chili!
  • The ratio of meat to stew was 2:1 and there were some red kidney beans in it to make it at least a little bit like a chlli.

  • I was just eating spoonfuls of tender juicy pulled pork with little bits of tender soft ground beef that just melted in your mouth with a couple chews! My 90 year old grandma could eat this!
  • It was very juicy, savoury, smoky, sweet, but not too sweet, a bit tangy and extremely hearty, thick, meaty and just the perfect comfort food.
  • The sauce was a bit thin and tomatoey, but the meat just absorbs all the liquids and it is amazing!
  • There were the sweet aromatics of celery, onions, and carrots and then some green bell peppers and stewed tomatoes to give it some acidity.
  • The vegetables were minced and had been slow cooked for so long that they just broke down and almost melted right into the stew adding that natural sweetness.
  • It wasn’t a spicy chili, but there was heat and it gradually got spicier, but it’s really not that spicy and just incredibly flavourful. It was perfect for me.
  • It was served with these crunchy home baked pita chips which was a great side. Way better than Premium Plus crackers.
  • I really wanted to stuff it in corn bread muffins, top it with sour cream “icing” and sprinkle it with cheddar cheese “sprinkles”… *hint hint* ladies 😉

**Pulled Pork Sandwich – 5.5/6

  • Slow roasted pork topped with housemade cole slaw and apple butter BBQ sauce on a 9 grain Ciabatta bun $8.75
  • This was delicious! Pulled pork is one of my favourite sandwiches.  Actually pulled pork period is one of my favourites.
  • YUM! It was piled high with meat.
  • The Costco Ciabatta bun, which I usually don’t really care for, was the perfect bread for it.
  • I usually find the bread too thick, but with the amount of pulled pork they give you, it works.
  • I loved the nuttiness of the Ciabatta bun, but I would ask for it more toasted and crunchy. It was soft, but it didn’t get soggy one bit, nor was it dry.
  • Considering the pulled pork chili, I was expecting a super saucy and soppy pulled pork sandwich, but it wasn’t.
  • It was chunky pieces of pork and they weren’t heavily sauced.
  • It’s rather light on the BBQ sauce, but it’s still loaded with flavour and the pulled pork has that natural juicy pork flavour from fat renderings.
  • There was also a nice dry rub and I personally prefer a crispy charred bark on the pulled pork, but this isn’t a BBQ smoke house so I didn’t mind.

  • The chunks of pulled pork were falling apart tender and juicy.
  • The cole slaw was predominantly cabbage with some carrots and it wasn’t wet nor did it seem like there was mayo in it at all.
  • It wasn’t very tangy and it was fine, but I like the crunchy hand cut cole slaw and this one seemed a bit grated so it lost a bit of its crunch.
  • I do like really soppy pulled pork burgers so I did prefer the pulled pork in the chili, but this one was still excellent although I did have to ask for extra BBQ sauce (free).
  • I really like BBQ sauce and this one was innovative and new!
  • The apple butter BBQ sauce is the accent to the already flavourful pulled pork and it’s noticeable thick and textured due to the apples.
  • I didn’t even know it was an “apple butter BBQ” sauce and I still wrote in my notes that the BBQ sauce tasted like it had pureed apples in it. It was obvious and I loved it.
  • The BBQ sauce wasn’t that sweet as much as it was tangy with I think some apple cider vinegar and I could taste a good amount of mustard and a nice punch of Worcestershire sauce in it as well.
  • It wasn’t spicy, but it certainly had a kick and it was very creamy, rich and thick and a very unique BBQ sauce.
  • Pork and apple sauce is an ideal pairing so this worked perfectly.

**Savoury Meat Roll – 6/6

  • $7.75 (Daily special)
  • This was delicious and it’s a version of a sausage roll that was featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.
  • It was home made sausage with a cashew and spinach home made pesto with Asiago and Mozzarella wrapped in a crunchy, flaky buttermilk biscuit! De-licious!
  • It was a meaty crumbled sausage, almost like patty meat, with a mixture of perhaps ground pork and Italian sausage and it carried a bit of heat from chili flakes and black pepper.
  • Most of the sausage was juicy, savoury and a bit spicy. It was  also nutty and creamy from the pesto, with a little cheese and full of flavour with a great roll to meat ratio.
  • There wasn’t a lot of cheese and it’s not greasy, but the bit of cheese helped to bring out the pesto flavour since that was lacking a bit.
  • The buttermilk roll was almost crunchy and it reminded me of a crispy scone, yet it was still soft and tender like a pie crust.
  • It was served with a home made marinara sauce, which I wish was served warm like the roll.
  • The marinara sauce was incredibly fresh and tangy and it would be great over pasta. It was almost like a ratatouille sauce with minced tomatoes, carrots, onions and even some zucchini. It was great with the sausage roll adding a nice tang, but it did overpower the pesto at times.
  • I freaking loved this roll, but it was more like an appetizer or a side to a soup, so I think it’s a bit pricey, but still excellent.

**Cubano – 5/6

  • A pressed ‘wich loaded with roasted, marinated pork, ham, Swiss cheese and dill pickle slices on hot Ciabtta bread with roasted garlic aioli and dijon mustard. $8.75
  • Caliente Cubano: A cumbano with pickled banana peppers in lieu of pickles. $8.75
  • This is their most popular sandwich and I recommend getting it “Caliente Cubano”.
  • A Cubano is a Latin style ham and cheese sandwich and this one isn’t authentic, but I don’t care because it’s not expected to be and it was still delicious.
  • It’s served warm and the bread is crispy crunchy and chewy and it’s loaded with sandwich fillings.
  • The marinated pork was slow roasted in house and I could taste its smokiness although it could have been a bit juicer, but it wasn’t dry. I just which I could taste it more since it is the highlight of a Cuban sandwich.
  • The ham (which is the only meat that is brought in) is a cured ham and there were more slices of that so its flavour did overpower the marinated pork.
  • It was perfectly salty with the ham and I loved the tangy spice and crunch of banana peppers that just brightened it up.
  • It’s not greasy or heavily sauced and she uses a garlic aioli which is her own little twist, however I couldn’t really taste that either. It’s still a great sandwich I would order again.