To subvert grumpy monarchs, angry medieval youths scrawled condiment graffiti such as "Fran Tanner has plague" or "the king is a jerk" inside their sandwiches. Dig beneath lettuce to bring history to light with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of casual fare at The Free Press Bistro, located on 104 Street Northwest.

Awarded Vue Weekly's prestigious Golden Fork Award in five categories, including Best Overall Restaurant in 2009, this gourmet gastro centre celebrates the versatility of one of the most accessible and refined indulgences—the sandwich—enlisting the ribs of a classic panini press to brand each deli pie with its signature kiss. The restaurant's whimsical newspaper theme permeates the experience, enhanced by minimalist décor and a menu that integrates traditional recipes with avant-garde ingredients and astral projections. The Free Press Bistro lures epicureans with the succulent flavours of pot stickers ($7.95) and the Chip Butty’s mini mozzarella-wrapped french-fry bundles ($7.95), and its sammy selection induces sensory overload with a mélange of meats, cheeses, and veggies tucked into ciabatta cradles. Classics such as the Reuben ($12.95) and the smoked salmon ($12.95) match wits and debate military strategy with the Kubla Khan, brimming with strips of mongolian marinated beef and mozzarella with chilies, carrots, and hoisin sauce ($12.95).

The Free Press Bistro also rouses regulars with carbonated milkshake derivative the egg cream. Bereft of its eponymous ingredients, the café's featured froth boasts a flavour formula of milk, chocolate syrup, and soda water, and shares its 19th-century Brooklyn roots with moonshine street vendors and windmill-operated taxicabs.