Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Italian Gourmet Deli Food Review II


It took less than a week to improve my opinion on Italian Gourmet Deli. Why the sudden change? One word - breakfast... as in, one of the best breakfasts in town. I'm still not sure if it's Italian or not; but with food this good, who cares where it's from?

I walked in just after 10:00 AM (Italian Gourmet Deli serves breakfast until 10:30) and ordered a Breakfast Entree (Bacon or sausage, 2 eggs, toast & home fries) for the low price of $5.95. Expecting to pay more, I was able to choose bacon and sausage for just $1.50 more. Total? $7.45. The cashier appeared to be new, but friendly; and processed my order without fail.

Learning my lesson from last time, I avoided sitting at the "ESPN table," opting for a seat by the window. True to form, the TV was blaring ESPN; but at least this time, I wasn't too close to it. The dining area was clean as usual; and my number was called in less than five minutes.

Food comes in a durable, take-away container. My first impressions were (1) the visible sizzle on the bacon and (2) grill marks on both sides of my white toast (sans crust.) Things were definitely looking up. After I started in on the toast (two slices, cut in half) I discovered sweet potato hash (yum!) in place of dull home fries. Great color (something, I've criticized other breakfasts on a lack of) and taste. Believe it or not, it gets better.

While the eggs were nothing to write home about, both meats were out of this world. First, the bacon... good quality, well done & crispy crunchy (thick.) As for the sausage, it might qualify for our Dirty Dozen (the 12 best bites in DC.) It looked homemade, and tasted fantastic. It was also bolder than any other sausage I've tried in ages (including We, the Pizza.) Next time, I'll ask for double sausage and bacon... which will still be under 10 bucks!

Note: Italian Pizza Kitchen has replaced Dan & Brad's (Hilton Arlington) in on our Top 5 best breakfast (#4 overall.)