Oh look! It’s that time again. Time for me to talk about cheese!
Regular readers know the drill: I buy a salad, I eat it and then I write about it. For the uninitiated, let me just say that I really love cheese. My favourite actress is Nicolby Kidman. My favourite play is Cheddar Gabler. My favourite rapper is the Notorious Brie-I-G. My favourite feminist theorist is Germaine Gruyere. My favourite band is definitely the Kings of Brieon. Or maybe the Bee Cheese? Or even the Gruyere Yeah Yeahs? Hrm, no it’s ricotta be The Beatles for their rousing sing-along Let It Brie. There are some things though, that I can’t just let brie. One of those things is a feta salad without enough feta, a common problem amongst Wellington’s many food outlets. Thus, the Feta Salad Comparative Study continues. I eat the shitty, sub-par(mesan) salads so you don’t have to.
This week the search takes me to Dixon Street Deli which, surprisingly, is on Dixon Street. Don’t let its location beside Le Casa Pasta fool you—Dixon Street Deli is a classy place. I popped in on Monday lunchtime and various well-dressed children were sprawling over the glossy wooden chairs with their equally well-dressed parents. If the BNZ Food Court is helloumi, this place must be the Pearly Goats (Cheese). The staff were friendly. The cabinet was well stocked with counter food. I barely had to wait in line, despite coming at corporate feeding hour. Ladies and gentlemen, I think the cheese gods may have smiled down upon us. From the get go, this salad had my unfeta’ed attention.
The Suspect: Dixon Street Deli Greek Salad
Cost: $10.50 for a medium portion. ($7.50 for small, $13 for large)
The Feta Weighs: 42g
The Rest of the Salad Weighs: 298g
Prosecution: I don’t really have much to say, your honour. This is the most expensive salad that I have looked at so far, but it’s also the heaviest. And the nicest. Also, um, I don’t like green capsicums?
Defence: This is a Greek salad that Alexander the Great could be proud of. Hell, I’m sure that well into my future career as Alexandra the Grate: Cheese Reviewer Extraordinaire, I will still think wistfully back on my Dixon Street Deli experience as a real bar-setter. This salad is so good that it is turning me into a food writer: Great doorstops of feta nestle beside juicy round cherry tomatoes, crisp wedges of cucumber and plump, tangy olives. The dish has bags of flavour: fresh, soft basil leaves complement the dried oregano in the rich but simple olive oil dressing. I would have licked the plate, had I had one. Instead I just awkwardly ran my finger round the plastic container, thinking to myself ‘I gouda get another one of these’.
Verdict: Not even slightly guilty. This salad is delicious. With salads this good, Dixon Street Deli should be laughing all the way to the bank. Hahahavarti.