Spencer Williams, Contributor
Located right beside Sovereign Supermarket in the Liguanea area, Deli Works is just the spot to stop off for a quick bite to eat once you've finished shopping for your groceries. You can opt for some of the healthier choices from the salad bar, go for faithful hot dishes, grab a ready-made sandwich or, have one specially made to order. Venture there a couple times and you'll quickly discover what on the menu is worth its weight in food.
The macaroni and cheese is the bargain buy. There are fewplaces you can be satisfactorily fed for so little dosh. At less than $100 per serving, this pasta dish is almost done to perfection. The béchamel sauce is smooth and creamy, with a hint of garlic and a touch of cheese. Actually, it could do with a little more of the latter, or perhaps a stronger tasting cheddar would be better.
The salad bar is pleasantly surprising. I'm quite sure I have said this before, but one has to admit that it is very difficult, if not near impossible, to find really good salads anywhere in Jamaica. I don't mean the standard 'lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot' option. I am talking about experiencing something a little different - something I'd get in California. However, that is exactly where this café-likedelicatessen succeeds.
The couscous is divine - seriously. Have you ever tried this North African grain without any seasoning? It's the most terribly bland invention. But first soak it in a light and tasty vegetable stock or in lemon juice to 'cook', then add fresh herbs, sweet corn kernels, raisins, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly- ground black pepper, and you've got yourself a deliciously filling, yet light, lunch.
Great pasta dishes
As for the pasta with roasted vegetables topped with crumbled feta cheese? Well done chef! You almost deserve a medal for this one - al dente penne, eggplants and onions flawlessly cooked and flavoured. The carrots are the only items that could be improved by leaving them in the oven for another five minutes. Shouldn't be hard to fix eh?
The plantain and potato salad is another interesting and tempting combination, albeit the former needs to ripen a smidgen more to rid it of the 'starchy' texture left on your teeth. Again, brain surgery is not needed to correct this aspect.
Of course, on offer are the stales usually found at salad bars, including sub-standard coleslaw requiring a change of some kind, and tuna salad which yearns for a Mexican zest in life!
The sandwiches have potential but please useFRESH French bread. And I'd like to offer a tip where the brie is concerned. When bread is warmed and brie is laid on top, one has to nyam it off immediately. If not, then the cheese congeals as it cools, like plastic would.
And what do I think of the hot meals? Unpredictable - acing it on occasion but falling short on others. The bonus is you get a decent amount of nosh for a fair price.
I hate to leave you all on a sour note, but the quiche falls so short because that is exactly what the crust is not. The fillings are pretty much as they should be if warmed in the oven - light and fluffy - but the pastry is atrocious. I mean you can't even call it pastry. There's so little (if any at all) fat that it's like crunching down on cement. Sorry, I know that's harsh, but any decent cook knows the rules of pastry making, and also understands how simple it is to make it first-rate.
Here is one section of the kitchen at Deli Works which is just not working.
Deli Works, Shop 1 (right next to supermarket), Sovereign Centre, Kingston 6, telephone: 927-4706.
Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Sundays: 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Look to spend: $95 on macaroni and cheese, up to $300 on a slice of quiche, about $400 for a hot meal, up to about $500 on a sandwich, up to $600 for various sizes of the salad bar.
