Delicatus, you have been discovered! I walked in on Friday and was blown away by the crowd that this new joint has already created. There is a serious buzz about this place. Deservedly so, the place is the best in Pioneer Square, the staff is charming, and let’s face it—everybody loves an ass-kicking sandwich. My first foray into Delicatus was a quaint little visit with four other patrons. Friday, this blogger counted more than fifty. Bravo boys! You’ve been discovered and people are voting with their feet and their wallets. Generally it takes a restaurant/retail establishment six months to really find its stride.

Full disclosure here—in my younger years, I would have selfishly been perturbed by the newfound success of Delicatus, but in my more mature years, I saw Bravo Boys! Your sandwiches are top-notch and worthy of another 100 patrons. And who can blame these patrons. I’ve had the Pavo Diablo, the Fire of 1889, Not Charlie’s Tuna, and the Klotzifeller since we last signed on.

The Fire of 1889 has got a kick, folks. Jalapeno-lime aioli and hot peppers raise the temperature a smidgen on this masterpiece. Yet the cilantro cools it down just a tad—enough to make the sandwich more tolerable for a spice pansy like yours truly. The kicker though is the spicy-braised pork—it is delightfully well done, and incredibly tender. The tenderness of the pork is offset by a perfectly crispy Italian roll.

Now on to something more traditional—right? Nope, not at Delicatus—they have yet to get the whole “ordinary” thing right. Sorry guys, you can’t do ordinary. Try as you might, there is just no way you can combine ordinary with Zoe’s Meats, The Essential Baking Co., and Brenner Brothers Baking Co. Gentleman, you’re ordinary is far from it. That said, let’s review their boring ole’ run of the mill Turkey Sandwich, which they call the Pavo Diablo. Turkey and avocado with spinach sounds pretty ordinary, but it’s not (as usual). They add a delightful chipotle aioli to kick it up a bit. The sourdough makes the perfect palette for the Pavo Diablo. Muy bien Pavo! Encore!

The Klotzifeller is a meatball hoagie in description only. The marinara has a smoky subtlety to it. The meatballs are the perfect size and the sharp provolone saturates the meatballs perfectly, making the perfect balance between meat and cheese. Unlike some of our lesser-quality chain restaurants, they actually give you a healthy dose of meatballs. The same Italian roll that has gotten countless rave reviews in this blog rears its delectable head here again to complete this masterpiece.

And now on to something that falls moderately short of a rave—Not Charlie’s Tuna. First of all, as I stated in the beginning of this blog entries, nobody beats my Tuna Sandwich—I really wasn’t kidding. The fact that the master craftsmen at Delicatus cannot meet me on that pedestal just affirms my suspicion. Don’t get me wrong; Not Charlie’s Tuna is still a fantastic sandwich. They had the essentials right, albacore tuna, mayo, lettuce, tomato, on again masterful whole wheat bread. My tuna also includes a few other wrinkles—which are never the same. First and foremost, I will be the first to admit that mayo gets overused in sandwiches (especially by the craptastic sandwich chains mentioned above). Yet, I am torn by this sandwich, as it seemed to have an almost “excuse-me” level of mayo. It seemed to fall into the batch unintentionally. If you are going to use mayo, don’t be afraid to use it. I’m not saying put a Costco-sized portion in it, but without mayo, tuna is unfortunately bland and dry. Secondly, be creative with it—kick it up a notch. Try the chipotle aioli, horseradish, or avocado. I also like to use mustard sometimes instead of mayo. Capers, olives, cucumbers, honey mustard. Try different cheeses to bring out the flavor of the tuna. This sandwich is still very good, but I got faith in you guys to do this one better—you’ve got far too much talent behind the bar.

As promised—I would blog about the sandwiches at Delicatus. It’s a great joint, and you all should check it out. I grabbed a take-out menu and am using it as a checklist. Yes, I plan to eat every sandwich on their menu. You all get the sense that I was blown away by the experience the first day I stepped foot into Delicatus (I had the chicken salad, review down below) from my previous post. The second day, I went in a little bit before the lunch rush and had a nice casual conversation with the sandwich masters, themselves. I applauded them for their commitment to high-quality sandwiches and encouraged them to keep up the good work. They were appreciative of the compliment and suggested that I try the Mountain (review below). The third day I took my friend Zach (who is also singing their praises) and I had The Mudd Honey (review below).

They even told me a witty story about how one patron came in, lectured them how they should be more like Subway, and then proceeded to not try any of the food. For those of us sandwich snobs, we know full well—SUBWAY SUCKS PEOPLE! I shared a good laugh with the Sandwich masters. How can a chain restaurant get away with saying they have fresh ingredients? Well, it’s simple really, most people haven’t ever had really fresh ingredients and they don’t know what they are missing. We are spoiled in the Northwest, by Pike’s Place Market. Every time I take out-of-town guests to the Market I always say the same thing… “have an apple” inevitably they all say the same thing “nah, I’m not hungry for an apple.” After some begging and prodding, they eventually have an apple (I’m very persuasive, ya know!), then their eyes light up, and they all say something that usually starts with “I’ve never had anything this good,” or “I didn’t know apples could taste this good.” Folks, as sandwich masters, the term fresh ingredients is not to be taken lightly—and it sure as hell isn’t going to come from a chain restaurant, where Mexico-grown tomatoes get shipped to Texas, processed for a week, then shipped out to regional distribution centers in Utah, and then out to stores one week later. A fresh tomato is a tomato that you get from a road-side stand in New Jersey. And for anybody that has ever had a fresh Jersey tomato or a fresh Washington apple or a pineapple in Hawaii, an avocado in California—there’s a slight difference between those and the ones you get at Subway. If the freshest thing you’ve ever had is at Subway—then this blog will serve two reasons for you a) it is likely to be an awakening—what does fresh really taste like or b) it will be a complete waste of your time…Subway is fresh enough, these individuals will say.

On to the sandwich reviews…

Chicken Salad. First of all, nobody’s chicken salad can match my mother-in-law’s chicken salad. My wife makes a very good chicken salad and mine is okay. But you cannot touch the Crazy Lady’s chicken salad—it dances on your palette like Baryshnikov. She adds grapes every once in a while and she has the perfect concentration of celery. Sorry to say Crazy Lady, you’ve got company. As I expected when I stepped into Delicatus for the first time—this place means business. The trick with chicken salad is to get the perfect mayo:chicken ratio—both the Crazy Lady and Delicatus do this exceptionally well. Where the two sandwiches separate themselves is the bread. Kudos to Delicatus for teaming up with The Essential Baking Co. and Brenner Brothers Baking Co. and kudos to these amazing bakeries for making one of the most delightful wheat breads I’ve ever had. The bread was perfectly done—a delicate balance of interesting flavors and good bread texture. Score one for Delicatus, but in my mother-in-law’s defense, I would love to have her chicken salad on The Essential Baking Co. bread. I suppose it wouldn’t surprise you that Subway’s chicken salad would finish third in a three-way contest. I’ve found a sandwich that can compete with my mother-in-law’s chicken salad—bravo, you’ve got my attention.

The Mountain. WOW! I used to make a sandwich like this, but I called it a “Rachael.” I worked at a restaurant once that had Reubens and Rachaels, neither were any good. A Rachel only has corned beef and sauerkraut, whereas the Mountain adds some of the most amazingly flavorful pastrami—perfectly peppered, thanks to the team at Zoe’s Meats. The Mountain has a perfect balance of spicy Russian Dressing and a serious dollop of meat—but not an overwhelming amount. Sinfully good! You are two for two, Delicatus.

The Mudd Honey. Now that I’ve sampled some of the basics, its time to man up and try something with some kick. Come on people, you can’t do bacon, turkey, and roast beef on a hoagie roll with white cheddar—all of those flavors will just cancel each other—there’s no way this can be good. House barbecue sauce and horseradish aioli, huh? Now you’re just trying to punish my taste buds—there are just too many flavors to actually enjoy this sandwich. This thing doesn’t belong in a perfectly crafted hoagie roll, it belongs on a boat—this is some serious meat—only serious sandwich connoisseurs need apply—pretenders, stay home. Each and every meat is perfectly crafted, and together they make a party in one’s mouth—this is a serious sandwich—almost as good as the Mountain and without question a staff favorite. I applaud Delicatus for their commitment to excellence and for the bravery of putting all of these powerful flavors together to make a medley that I would only dream of creating. You are three for three, Delicatus—and I can’t wait to try the tuna. Nobody does tuna better than me—NOBODY! Game on Delicatus!

Welcome to the Earldom of Sandwiches...

I have always been a guy that loved sandwiches. As a child, I loved to eat sandwiches—peanut butter and jelly and my mom’s Tuna Fish Sandwich were my favorites. My mom stayed home with me before I went to Kindergarten. Ma would ask me each day what I wanted for lunch, I’d run to the cupboard and pull out a can of Charlie Tuna and set it on the counter. Mom eventually grew tired of tuna, whereas I did not, I still love it. I have taken the basics that my mom taught me about sandwiches and I’ve taken them to a new level. Sorry to say Ma, but my tuna fish is ten times better than yours.

I make pretty good sandwiches and I love to make sandwiches for my friends. I have half-heartedly joked that after I retire, I would open a Deli. Egg salad, chicken salad, Reuben, Cuban, Pastrami on Rye, Turkey Club, sign me up! My canvas is a piece of rye, paired with another piece of rye. As far as what constitutes a sandwich—I’m pretty flexible. You can do anything between those two pieces of bread—I know, I’m very Jackson Pollock in my sandwich interpretation (the jury has ruled that this "gem" is not a sandwich). I love it when people tell me “You can’t put carrot shavings in a Reuben, You HAVE to put bacon on a club, or my favorite…AVOCADO ON TUNA….eeeewww!” Folks—my golden rule about sandwiches is the same as my golden rule in life—don’t judge it until you’ve tried it.

A few things have inspired me to start this blog. First and foremost—I’m in a blog-off, I need to get more readers than the incomparable Brenda Alvarez. Second of all, my dreams have been dashed—my dream retirement deli has already been opened, it’s called Delicatus in Pioneer Square in Seattle. It’s got the freshest ingredients and the most creative sandwiches. The staff is amicable and they seem to really get what constitutes a good sandwich. Needless to say, I'm a HUGE fan of Delicatus. You all should try it. These guys know sandwiches and they know service--I made the decision that if I couldn't ever open a deli that would match theirs, I might as well become their biggest fan.

Throughout this blog, I will be sampling and reviewing the entire Delicatus menu. Up first is the chicken salad I had yesterday—mmmm!!!!

Game on Alvarez!