Deli News
Dan Moore
Deli Manager

It’s April, and with the new season I thought I’d talk about some of the many new products here in the deli. We’ve been working for months now on developing salads, entrees, dips, salsas, and just about anything else we can think of to showcase the abundant talent of our kitchen staff and the fabulous variety of local and organic items available here at Willy Street Co-op.

Cheese Changes
The cheese department alone has added numerous new items to the shelves. Some of the best include the 2000 World Champion Cheese Contest winner, the Salemville Gorgonzola. Made by the Salemville Cheese Co-op in Cambria, this gorgonzola is a strong flavored and creamy cheese guaranteed to make any sandwich, salad, or burger extra tasty. They’ve also added the 2003 American Cheese Society’s string cheese champion in the Crave Brother’s farmer’s rope cheese (from Waterloo.) Other new cheeses include Roth Kase’s buttermilk blue, organic Mt. Sterling goat’s milk cheese, manchego, whole milk ricotta, and the Crème Royal Camembert.

Grab and Go
In our grab-and-go cases we’ve come up with some treats to tempt you. Our sandwich makers have created two new turkey sandwiches featuring our amazing homemade pesto. The Tuscan Turkey features a sun-dried tomato pesto, and the Turkey Pesto is highlighted by my favorite, the basil pesto. We’ve also added a line of sandwiches featuring some of our La Brea breads. The pan bagna (bathed bread) has a mix of olive, peppers, and a vinegar sauce that soaks the bread and tastes delicious. Then there’s the Italian sandwich on the French demi-baguette. With Applegate’s salami, pepperoni, and local Lange’s Farm ham, topped off with pepperoncini, it’s loaded with flavor.

Light Lunchtime Dishes & Sushi
Our resident sushi maker, Stuart, has begun developing some interesting, and light, lunchtime dishes as well. In addition to our freshly made sushi (yes, it is returning!) he’s come up with crudités boxes, vegetarian spring rolls, and even the occasional knish. Maybe even cooler, he’s finally found us the chopsticks to go with them all that we’ve been searching for since the sushi line was initiated.

Dips and Salsas
We’ve been busy with the dips and salsas as well. Resident dip experts Bob and Arianna have brought in two new salsas. Our mango salsa is made with fresh, organic mango and packs a bit of a punch, but with a sweetness that mellows the jalapeno. The pico de gallo has proven to be extremely popular. Made with fresh tomatoes and onions, it’s a more traditional chunky salsa with a fresh taste that really livens up any dish. Other new dips include the much-requested strawberry cream cheese (featuring organic strawberries, and the perfect compliment to your morning bagel) and our newest hummus. The black bean hummus combines the traditional garbanzos with black beans to give a Middle Eastern favorite a Southwestern twist.

New Hot Foods
Our hot foods have gotten a makeover, too. The biggest being the addition of local chicken from JenEhr Farms. After being introduced to Kay at the Farmer’s Appreciation Dinner, we were able to bring her in as a supplier. It has long been a goal for the deli to bring in a local option for our chicken, and if all goes well we’ll be adding more items from JenEhr in the future. For more information on JenEhr Farms, check out Lynn’s article elsewhere in this issue or check out our website.

Online Menus
Speaking of the website, in one of the coolest changes to the deli, we’ve added our menus to the deli’s web page. There you’ll find a complete list of what’s in the salad case for the month as well as the upcoming menu for our hot foods.

New Entrees
In developing the menu for posting, we made some changes to the food we’ve been offering. New entrees include seitan bourguignon, Asian salmon & rice soup, and chicken with dried pears & sweet potatoes. All your old deli favorites, like burrito day (Friday) and lasagna day (Monday) will still be there, but we’ll also be making a few changes to them. Burrito day will feature a rotating variety of fillings and lasagna day will feature new variations on the lasagna theme, as well as our new marinara recipe.

Eat Up!
That’s a lot of changes in only a few months. As always, the Willy Street Co-op Deli strives to bring our members the best in local, seasonal, and organic foods, and we hope that the changes we’ve made (and continue to make) will help us fulfill this goal. Just as importantly, we hope you like the food.

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