For Monday lunch, we went to the Sweet Occasions, a bakery/ice cream shop in Andersonville. We didn't get one of their many varieties of the Chocolate Shoppe ice creams for lunch. (We're not that bad--though we were tempted a bit.) What we had instead was their sandwiches.

Aside from serving one of the best ice creams in town (though the ice cream comes from Wisconsin) and a pretty wide range of baked goods (which we haven't tried yet), Sweet Occasions does gourmet sandwiches. I got the French Traditional, while Patrick went for the greasy goodness of the Clark Street Mess. The French Traditional, served called, features hams and two generous, creamy slices of Brie cheese, both sitting on top of (not in between) a thin French baguette. The baguette by itself is pretty tasty. It becomes hard to beat when they slather it with French butter, freshen it with slices of ripe tomatoes and garden greens, and mount it with ham and brie. To top it off, they sprinkled scallions and freshly ground black peppers onto the brie.

I have to say that the ham and thick slices of brie do get a bit too salty after about half the sandwich. (I had to remove a few slices of ham and give a chunk of brie for Patrick's reliable stomach.) But otherwise, the sandwich, which comes with chips for $6.99, was wonderfully refreshing, bringing the sense of wholesomeness. It makes you feel like you're eating a home-made sandwich on a picnic in a spring field somewhere in the French Provence, instead of grabbing a quick lunch when working from home. Tender greens fresh off your own veggie garden, soft and creamy brie you got from the village marché, baguette baked only a few hours ago in the hearth of your neighborhood bakery, that sort of thing. For all this fantasy, $6.99 is too cheap. Right?

The Clark Street Mess, which essentially is a panini made with just the right amount of meats (ham, turkey and soft salami) between two slices of grilled Italian bread, turned out to be much less greasy than their ubiquitous cousins around town. Although I teased Patrick a great deal about going for the greasy option, the few bites he offered me proved otherwise. The bread was toasted crispy with a hint of oil, not soaked in Pam spray; the cheese wasn't overwhelming or overflowing; and the mayonnaise came on the side (a nice touch for those watching their calories--not that they should be eating the Mess anyway). The not-so-greasy panini also came with chips, and the damage was $7.99.

The sandwiches were not gigantic (unlike the football-sized ones at Perry's), but they were more than filling. Even Patrick didn't think of getting a cone of ice cream after lunch--which is a pretty rare thing for us, especially when the ice cream is of the Chocolate Shoppe variety. With other mouthwatering offerings beckoning us from their handwritten blackboard (like Italian Traditional made with Mozzarella, Italian salami and EV olive oil; and Latin hot sandwich, made with ham, Swiss cheese, tomatoes and of course, fresh cilantro), I'm sure we'll go back there before long. It's on the pricier side for lunch, but the extra few dollars is not too hard to justify when you consider the quality of the food you get (and the irresistible images of French country life that it ignites in your brain if you have an excessive imagination like I do).

Ten brownie points goes to the store guy who kindly gave us big cups of cold water (with lids and straws!).

Sweet Occasions
5306 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL
773.275.5190