I’ve always preferred my sandwich fillings be more than the quantity (?) of the bread. I hate eating a sandwich where about all I’m eating is bread.
Once I was at a friend’s who was from Canada, and she made sandwiches for us. Man, it was like landing in an Agatha Christie novel. Thin crustless bread (not toasted) with the thinnest possible spread of salmon paste. Not especially satisfying.
Not my idea of a sandwich, but it does sound like a British culinary influence, the sort of sandwich you’d customarily have with afternoon tea.
She was from Montreal, but her family were immigrants from Ireland. So, the culinary influence is likely.
I’m interpreting “healthy” in the context of this thread to mean basically a meal that’s relatively well balanced- not low in protein, carbs, vegetables, etc… and not outrageously high in fat/carbs/protein either.
Subway can definitely fit that bill, or it can have a level of excess exceeded only by Roman Emperors, depending on what you get.
That’s sort of the confusing part and the beauty of it- a 6" subway club with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and mustard is not terribly high in fat or calories, and it’s got a good amount of vegetation. A 12" steak and cheese with extra cheese, mayonnaise, and some vegetables is very high in fat and calories, and not so proportionately vegetable heavy.
I think that a lot of Subway’s claim to fame was that they were essentially the first nationwide sandwich chain that really had a national footprint on par with McDonalds or Starbucks, and that they weren’t selling you pre-cooked stuff- they baked their own bread (in a manner of speaking), and they made your sandwich to order on the spot.
Hell, if I was in Montreal I wouldn’t be making dinky little English sandwiches at home – I’d head right down to Schwartz’s or Dunn’s and get an authentic Montreal hot smoked meat sandwich about six inches thick! 
That looks delicious!
Now, that’s too much. Bordering on the gluttonous. Meat looks simultaneously fatty and dry. I’ll stick with Langer’s.
Heresy! It’s called “Montreal smoked meat” for a reason – it was invented there, although the precise restaurant origin is disputed, but Schwartz’s, founded in 1928, is definitely a contender.
And no, properly prepared Montreal smoked meat is never dry. The authentic stuff, properly prepared, is heavenly. It’s one of many things, like Moishe’s chopped liver, that are part of Montreal’s Jewish culinary legacy that combined with the French love of great cooking to make Montreal one of the great culinary centers of the world.
I’ve never had a better sandwich than that pictured. They mix lean and fatty meat (separate ends of the brisket) to get the right balance and serve only with minimal bread and mustard. It needs nothing else.
Subway steak and cheese is not high in fat and calories compared to their other choices. It is not high in fat unless you add lots of fatty sauce, which is not the fault of the steak (I just add mustard). It is comparable to the ones that were on their old low calorie menu if you added scant amounts of cheese to them all. Even the 12” would not impress Emperors on Saturnalia.
Still. It’s too much for me, and everybody’s tastes will differ. I’m sure it’s good.
Every place is famous for “inventing” something. Supposedly, the French Dip was invented in Los Angeles. Also, fortune cookies. I have heard the best bagels are supposed to be in Montreal.
subways changed so much from what I first had in the mid-80s that its almost a different place
Subway was never particularly healthy, but it offered a non-fried/greasy lower-calorie alternative to most fast foods. The diet thing took off, but anyone who walks a lot and restricts calories will lose weight. You can lose weight on pizzas and burgers. In fact, I have and often struggle to get enough calories as my day job is very physical. If I try to eat “healthy” in the ways I define it, I have a hard time with digestion and other things. So sometimes I throw in lower quality calories. also, like all prepared food it’s not a great deal if you have a budget.