Friday, July 26, 2013
Albertson's Supermarket Deli - Pocatello, Idaho
(208) 233-0455 http://www.albertsons.com/#2
Our earliest ancestors, the hunter-gatherers of caveman
lore, knew it. Food is where you find it. Thankfully conditions have changed
since then; as a rule no lions tigers or bears to contend with. However, food
is still where you find it even today. Sometimes in surprising places,
sometimes in places you may have overlooked before.
The chicken was tasty; the coating had a nice combination of
spices and it tasted very good. The
coating was still crispy but beginning to get soft. The meat was just a bit
tough but I would attribute that to being in the deli display for some extended
time. Although the chicken was not significantly better than a frozen chicken
tender you would heat and eat at home, it certainly wasn’t worse.
Albertson’s Deli - Pocatello, ID June 23, 2012
330
E Benton St - Pocatello, ID 83201
We have all seen the deli section in the local supermarkets;
in fact may have bought one or two items for a dinner or a lunch. But normally
we don’t buy the entire meal across the supermarket deli counter. My sister, Pattie Sue, and I did just that one
late afternoon after a busy day. We were tired, it was getting late and we were
hungry. We wanted dinner ready, in a bag, ready to eat when we got home but we
didn’t really want something form the local fast food emporiums. On a
capricious whim we tried the Albertson’s deli and found the food we wanted (or
at least settle for).
Albertson’s offers several varieties of potato salad. We
chose the one that looked like it had the least vinegar. The label promised a
creamy salad. The counter server was polite and helpful, saying that she did
not believe the salad was vinegary. We
ordered a pint. The chicken tenders looked pretty good and we ordered a couple
each. The seasoned green beans looked pretty good and we took a half pint of
those. Food we found in hand we rushed home to sit down and eat and talk about
the grand adventures of the day.
The chicken was tasty; the coating had a nice combination of
spices and it tasted very good. The
coating was still crispy but beginning to get soft. The meat was just a bit
tough but I would attribute that to being in the deli display for some extended
time. Although the chicken was not significantly better than a frozen chicken
tender you would heat and eat at home, it certainly wasn’t worse.
My sister and I grew up knowing that a good potato salad was
a mixture of potatoes, celery, Bell peppers, green onions, hard boiled eggs and
lots of crumbled bacon. It was slathered with a mixture of mayonnaise and
mustard and seasoned with a mixture celery seed, paprika, some sweet pickle
relish, seasoned salt and pepper (among other things). Albertson’s potato salad
was not the potato salad of our youth. Albertson’s version had lots of
potatoes, was dressed in a nice thick clinging sauce, and yes, it did have a
splash of vinegar. Alas, apparently all deli potato salads have added vinegar.
I can only guess that it is to raise the acidity and prolong the shelf life. To
my palate, very much used to something else, this was a typical deli potato
salad with minimal added goodies if any. Its only saving grace was that it wasn’t
quite as vinegary as the others. For persons that have grown up learning to
like deli potato salad, I am sorry at their loss of the opportunity to know
what a real potato salad tastes like.
The green beans were not seasoned as far as I could tell –
just green beans and undercooked at that. Slightly squeaky when chewed they
tasted like green beans that needed a good sprinkle of salt. Had they a bit
more tender they would have made an excellent vegetable to go with the meat and
starch. Yes, you can be al dente and still be tender. As they were tough, they were more of a distraction rather than a
compliment to the meal.
Given the same circumstance, tired and short of time, would
I order the same again? Not exactly. The chicken was okay and was satisfactory.
I would go with the chicken again. As for the potato salad I would do it
differently. That is a lesson that I keep relearning. Deli potato salad is just
that, deli potato salad and it won’t get better. Instead I would try escalloped potatoes or
maybe the mac and cheese. For a while I was thinking it wouldn’t take too long
to put the beans in the steamer and tenderize them. But if I was going to all
that work, it would be better to start with fresh beans and go from there.
In rereading this is sounds much like a pan of the Albertson’s
deli. It wasn’t intended to be that, but my personal tastes got in the way.
There was nothing wrong with the food we found there and I am sure it was quite
wholesome. I would go back to Albertson’s, to the deli counter, and see what
else I could find that I might like better.
Labels: Albertson's, deli counter, fast food, fried chicken, green beans, Idaho, Pocatello, potato salad, super market, vinegar
¶ 11:28 AM
