Nevertheless, it's been on my list of places to eat ever since I started this project, After failing to get lunch at Jack's Fish Spot (encountering tourist crowds like I'd never seen there before -- it is the Friday before Memorial Day), I wandered back down to Pioneer Square. Sure, I'll take my chances.
The first choice: table service downstairs, or get it to go upstairs? I can bus my own table, and getting a seat overlooking this gorgeous space sounds appealing.
The next choice: something from their extensive menu. Even though it was a warm sunny Seattle day, I like warm sandwiches. I love how their menu is humorously northwest focused (Ballard Lox, The Duwamish, The Ciscoe). I settled on the Mudd Honey, described as "roast beef, smoked turkey, bacon, white cheddar, horseradish aioli, house BBQ toasted on an Italian roll." I added potato salad and iced tea.
It took longer to order than it did to get my food; I grabbed the bag and headed upstairs. The potato salad came in a plastic tub with a lid, which means it was probably scooped out that morning or the night before. Unwrapping the foil from the sandwich revealed that the white cheddar had once melted but quickly re-congealed. Did they really just make this?
The Mudd Honey was dripping with BBQ sauce, which made it messy and -- I'm not complaining -- completely covered up any of the horseradish taste. Unfortunately, it also covered up the porcine smokiness of the bacon and any of the subtleties of the beef and turkey. In retrospect, without looking at the menu description, I could have pointed out the BBQ, the turkey, the roll, and remember seeing a few bacon chunks fall out onto the foil, but don't remember the beef at all. It wasn't a bad sandwich, and I did like the BBQ sauce, but a little warmer and a little less sauce would have made it a little better.The potato salad, on the other hand, was not good. It tasted to me like bland, cold mashed potatoes. No chunks of potato, no perceptible chives, celery, peppers, cucumber, pickles, or other greenery. Worse, no tanginess of vinegar or mayo. I had three bites and gave up. Cold mashed potatoes aren't my thing.
I've read a few reviews of Delicatus, and it really seems hit-or-miss depending on the food item. Avoid the Reuben. Avoid the potato salad. The Mudd Honey is good enough. The Chief Stealth (not Sealth?) and Fire of 1889 sandwiches get promising coverage. I'll try one of those next.
Delicatus
103 1st Ave S.
Mudd Honey, potato salad, iced tea, $15.69
Had the Chief Stealth today. It's a very messy french dip variant, heavy on the onions, which would do well with a fatty layer of something (e.g., mayo) between the beef/cheese/etc and the bread, to prevent the whole thing from dissolving. Tasted great, though.
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