With the New Year comes new food at Benson. I’ve sampled (almost) all of the items, located at California Deli or Mission Bakery and give my critiques below. Happy feasting!
1) Buffalo Chicken WrapI actually had the Buffalo Chicken Wrap twice because I liked it so much. It was a little spicy, but is has “buffalo” in the name, so I should’ve expected the heat. The lettuce and bacon added some nice crunch, and I was pleasantly surprised by the addition of bleu cheese. Would definitely recommend.
5/5 stars
2) Vegan SandwichI have never been, and never plan to be, a vegan. However, I decided to try out the vegan sandwich for kicks. When I first bit into the sandwich, the first thing I tasted was weird horseradish. I later read the ingredients and realized it was wasabi. I didn’t really taste the tofu, much less the barbecue flavor of the tofu, but I really appreciated the crunchy carrot slaw. Even though it was supposed to be a healthy vegan sandwich, it would’ve been a lot more improved with some bacon.
2/5 stars
3) Reuben SandwichLet me start by saying that I hate corned beef. I was born on St. Patrick’s Day, and my Irish father always serves corned beef, cabbage and potatoes for dinner on my birthday. It’s terrible and I usually just don’t eat it and have cake instead. However, I decided that I could muster up the strength to sample it again for a food review. The best part of the sandwich was probably the bread and 1000 Island dressing. I ended up only eating half and moved on to the cake, just like I do every year on my birthday.
1/5 stars
4) Vanilla Bundt CakeThis cake has only six ingredients: cream, oil, flour, sugar, buttermilk and eggs. It was so good that I very quickly had engulfed it. It was sweet and moist and would probably taste great with a coffee or hot chocolate.
4/5 stars
5) Italian Sandwich
I am proud to say that I was able to snag the last one of the Italian sandwiches on last Monday. This sandwich, served on a delightful Dutch Crunch roll, is definitely for meat lovers only. I opted to get it toasted, which was definitely the right choice, since the melty mozzarella added a lot of flavor to balance out the ham, salami, and pepperoni. It is a large sandwich, and very filling, so I recommended eating half and saving it for later.
3/5 stars
6) Grilled Chicken & Apple Salad
It’s kind of like tuna salad, but with chicken. And apples. It’s actually not bad at all, but I wasn’t too crazy about the random raisins strewn about the mixture. I ate about half of one before trying out a kickboxing class, and I didn’t puke, so I call that a success.
3/5 stars
7) Caprese Salad
My friend had picked up one of the caprese salads for dinner one night, and as soon as I saw (and tasted) it, I was in love. There’s the holy trinity of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil, along with some lovely balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. Underneath it all, there’s a spring mix of green that go great with whatever leftover dressing is left. This can beaten for lunch, as an appetizer, or for dinner.
5/5 stars