Spoiler alert: I ate a sandwich served on a pretzel. I don’t mean one of those pretzel buns. I mean an actual pretzel, and boy does it feel good to write down those words.
D&G (or Deli & Gelato) just opened a couple of months ago on Biddeford’s Main Street, and I hope it lives long and prospers because everyone working there was incredibly kind, my sandwich was out of this world, and although I didn’t have any, the gelato sure looks delicious and comes in some pretty sensational-sounding flavors.
First though, here’s the deal with that sandwich. The $14 Pretzel Melt is made with Maine ham, Irish cheddar and Italian sea salt. It’s served panini style, pressed on a warm pretzel, and it comes with a side of homemade Calabrian honey mustard. I sat outside on a sidewalk patio table and unwrapped it like it was, I don’t know, a Faberge Egg or maybe the Hope Diamond. Was I famished? Indeed, I was. Was I also willfully choosing to consume in one sitting the majority of my daily allotted calories? Yes, again.
After peeling away the last of the nifty faux-newspaper tissue wrap, I hefted the sandwich to my mouth and sunk my teeth into it like I meant it. Time stood still for a moment as all the flavors registered with my taste buds. The ham was succulent perfection, and the complexity of the melted cheese was a match made in lunch heaven. The other star of this meal was, of course, the giant, soft pretzel that was cut open like a bagel. All of these ingredients were magnificently grilled, and each bite was a treasure trove of deliciousness. Given the size of the “holes” in pretzel, the sandwich-eating experience was a several-napkin affair, but ask me if I care.
Other sandwiches of note include the vegan pastrami with kraut, the Caprese panini (fresh water-buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil mayo) and the muffuletta (layers of pistachio mortadella, sopressata, copra, smoked provolone and olive salad on a sesame seed herb roll).
I was also impressed with the beverage case at D&G. It’s a trip! For $3, you can get a retro-looking can of A’ Siciliana Limonata or something called Almudler from Austria. Both pulled at my vintage-loving heartstrings, but I refrained because of the sugar content. In fact, the one thing missing from the case was a basic spring water, seltzer or sparking water. Minor point, but worth mentioning.
D&G doesn’t quite have 32 flavors of gelato but its eight or so selections are bold, fun and, in some cases, odd (in a delightful way). Flavors include popcorn, joyful almond and sweet potato pie. Then there’s one called Biddeford Pool with ingredients that made me giggle. It’s made with gin, vermouth, blue curacao and sea salt. A few pints of that might make for a pretty, shall we say, interesting evening.
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