CALGARY: Janice Beaton sandwiches

UPDATE – Aug. 31, 2009: Janice Beaton’s Kensington shop is now closed. The Mount Royal store is still open at 1017–16th Ave. SW.

Janice Beaton — the queen of cheese (and I mean that in the best way possible) — is now making fresh sandwiches, which is very welcome news for my office which has to otherwise rely on whatever the lunch truck brings at the end of its route of construction sites.

There are three sandwiches on the Janice Beaton menu board:

• Ham and cheese
• Goat cheese and basil pesto
• “Whim of the day” (it was date and duck rillettes on the day I went).

They’re made fresh to order, on baguette that’s baked at the cheese purveyor’s restaurant, FARM, on 17th Avenue SW.

Committed to really local, Janice Beaton uses:

• Fresh tomatoes from Gull Valley Greenhouses in Blackfalds — I watched the store clerk pull one with stem still attached from a cluster in a basket
• Arugula from Hotchkiss Produce in Rocky View
• Maple pepper ham from Valbella in Canmore.

A sharp three-year cheddar really gave the ham sandwich some major zing. Meagan and Tracy loved the chevre and pesto one.

For the days I don’t pack a lunch, I think the sandwiches ($6.95) are a great option.

Janice Beaton Fine Cheese, 1249 Kensington Rd. NW, Calgary, (403) 283-0999. Other locations and hours.