Baguette Sandwiches at Vogue Cafe — Steveston Village

A baguette sandwich lives or dies by the bread. At Vogue Cafe in Steveston Village, the baguettes come out of the kitchen's own oven — crust that shatters, crumb that holds butter without collapsing, enough structure to carry roast lamb or slow-cooked beef without turning to mush halfway through lunch. Six versions, each $20, served on a red-checkered tablecloth under string lights or at the bar-height tables by the front windows. The dining room smells of espresso and reducing onions; the covered side patio has greenery walls and a dog bowl by the door.

The six sandwiches

Parisienne — prosciutto, European ham, cheese, butter, lettuce, tomato, pickle. Butter on both cut faces, salted, the way a Parisian bakery does it. The ham is lean and sweet; the prosciutto adds funk. Pickle cuts the fat.

Agneau — roast lamb, cheese, lettuce, tomato. Lamb sliced off the joint, still pink at the edges, warm against melted cheese. No mint jelly, no heavy sauce — just the meat's own juice soaking into the crumb.

French Onion — slow-cooked beef, caramelized onions, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle. The onions cook down for hours until they're jam-dark and sweet. Beef shreds into threads. Cheese pulls in strands. This is the sandwich version of the soup two sections down the menu.

Poulet au Brie — sautéed chicken breast, fresh mango, Brie, lettuce, tomato. Mango sounds wrong until you taste it — cool, bright, acidic against the rind of the Brie. Chicken is pounded thin, seared hard, sliced on the bias.

Saucisson Frankfurt — sautéed frankfurter sausage in tomato sauce, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle. The sausage snaps. Tomato sauce is reduced tight, almost a paste, clinging to the meat. Pickle and lettuce keep it from feeling heavy.

Baguette Pizza — choice of spinach, lamb, chicken, beef, ham, or sausage; tomato sauce, cheese, olives. Open-faced under the salamander until the cheese blisters. Eat it with a knife and fork or fold it like a New York slice — your call.

Why the bread holds

A classic French baguette uses only flour, water, salt, yeast — and time. A long, cool fermentation develops flavour and gluten strength. The dough is divided, rested, shaped tight, proofed on linen, slashed deep, baked on stone with steam in the first minutes. Steam sets the crust gelatinized and thin; the slash opens into an ear. Inside, an open, honeycombed crumb that's elastic, not cottony. When the sandwich is assembled, the butter waterproofs the cut faces. The fillings stay in the bread, not on your fingers.

How to order

Walk in any day 10:30am–8:30pm; brunch runs until 3pm. The printed menu hangs in the window. Counter service for coffee and pastries; table service for sandwiches and plates. Fully licensed — Kronenbourg 1664 on tap, Côtes du Rhône by the glass ($11/6oz, $15/9oz, $45/bottle), cocktails at $13. Reservations via the website form or call (604) 370-4444; confirmed within two hours. Parties of 7–10 get the private dining area; 10+ is an event enquiry. Dog bowl by the door on the patio. Parking in the lot out front.

What people ask

Are the baguettes really made in-house?

Yes. The kitchen bakes them daily. You'll see the loaves cooling on racks behind the bar most mornings.

Can I get a sandwich on a gluten-free bun?

Call to ask — the kitchen can tell you what's possible that day.

Is the Parisienne the same as a jambon-beurre?

Close. A classic jambon-beurre is butter, ham, cornichons on baguette — no lettuce, tomato, cheese, or prosciutto. The Parisienne is a richer, layered cousin.

What's the best wine with the French Onion sandwich?

A 6oz pour of Côtes du Rhône ($11) — Grenache-led, enough fruit to match the sweet onions, enough tannin to scrape the cheese.

Next step

Swing by 12251 No 1 Rd #130 after a walk on the Steveston boardwalk or a visit to the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. Or call (604) 370-4444 to hold a table for lunch. The baguettes come out warm around eleven.