How long would you wait for a sandwich?
At the recently opened Caffe al Lago in Gungahlin, it's not unusual for customers to be told there's a 45-minute wait on the weekends.
Luckily for those sandwich goers wanting to kill some time, the sandwich shop is opposite Yerrabi Pond.
"Actually, the loop around the pond is 40 minutes so 80 per cent of the people don't even wait more than two minutes [in store] because the sandwich is ready after the walk," owner Dragon Petreski says.
So what makes the wait so long?
It really is just the sheer number of people ordering from the Phyllis Ashton Circuit eatery - every one wants one of the Tuscan-inspired sandwiches. And did we mention that the bread is baked fresh to order?
"The dough takes between 48 to 72 hours of fermentation ... it is actually developing the gluten slowly and it's developing the flavour," Petreski says.
"Then in the morning, we take the dough out of the fridge because it needs to rest for one hour ... and we bake as people walk in. They're individually made with 200 grams of dough ... then put it in the conveyor oven for around three to four minutes - depends on how many you're sending through at one time.
"And after that, we put extra virgin olive oil on top and some Italian herbs."
Petreski is a third-generation baker - which is where his passion for fresh, quality bread comes from. He grew up working in his family's bakery in Macedonia, before moving to other locations in the United States and Australia.
And in recent years he started (and continues to work in) Bektesh Burek here in Canberra, which bakes a type of Macedonian pastry, known as bureks, for supermarkets.
But the Italian influence on Caffe al Lago actually comes from his honeymoon in Italy, where he tried a sandwich from viral sandwich shop All'Antico Vinaio in Florence.
"People wait for one-and-a-half hours to try the sandwich. They're amazing, actually. It's worth waiting for," Petreski says.
"And that's how I got the idea. But wherever I went, I saw that the bread is already pre-baked. It is still good, and they cut it and toast it and give it to you but I thought, why not try [baking it on the spot]?"
The fresh bread is then filled with classic Italian flavours. La prosciutto - prosciutto with semi-aged pecorino cheese, fresh tomato, rocket and aged balsamic - is a great example of Italian flavours on a plate, while the pistachio mortadelle - mortadella, stracciatella, basil pesto, rocket and pistachios - is already the fan favourite.
"We're also keeping it simple - five to six sandwiches, so we can keep the quality," Petreski says.
"We will expand - every week or two weeks we'll have a special - but for now we'll keep it simple. But they're very generous - some people think it's lunch and dinner."
The humble sandwich is having a bit of moment in the food scene and Caffe al Lago is the latest in what has been a boom in sandwich shops in the capital and elsewhere. Some media publications even have columns dedicated to sandwiches in their local area, while the viral All'Antico Vinaio now has shops all over the world because of the attention it has received.
Here in the capital, we've seen a slew of sandwich shops opening in the past few years, each offering something different to the market. As well as the Tuscan-inspired sandwiches at Caffe al Lago, Melted Toasted Sandwich Emporium in Fyshwick focuses on toasted sandwiches, Sandoochie on No Name Lane has an ever-changing menu of creative fillings, and Al's Deli and Diner in the Sydney Building are dishing up New York-style creations.
Even Matt Moran has skin in the game, with the well-known chef adding &Sando into the mix earlier this year.
