Sandwich review: deli2go Turkey, Ham & Swiss with honey & mustard mayonnaise

The official description for this sandwich is:

Roast turkey, honey & mustard mayonnaise, smoked formed ham, Emmental and mixed salad leaves on malted bread with millet and sunflower seeds

If I were to sum up this sandwich in one word, it would be: 'bland'.  There is no main flavour element in the ingredients; roast turkey is a particularly flavourless meat – and Emmental, although not a bad cheese, is hardly a strong flavour either, being a mild and creamy sort of cheese.

What intrigued me here was the honey and mustard mayonnaise – unfortunately, these flavours just don't come through!  I was hoping for a sweet and tangy dressing to complement the smokiness of the ham and the creaminess of the cheese, but sadly none of this materialised.  There was no smokiness to the ham, and the mayonnaise with creamy but not strong in flavour, adding to overall dairy washout with very little flavour.

The nicest part of the sandwich was the bread, which was fresh and nicely grainy – sadly, however, what was inside didn't not stack up, and left very little impression on me at all.

I would not buy this sandwich again.

Sandwich review: Roast chicken salad with black pepper mayonnaise and juicy tomatoes by deli2go

The official description for this sandwich is:

Roast chicken breast, curly lettuce, free range black pepper mayonnaise and tomato on malted wheatgrain bread

Although this sandwich was perfectly serviceable, I felt a little let down by its lack of flavour.  The 'black pepper mayonnaise' was intriguing, and a large part of what drew me to this sandwich in the first place – in the end, though, the black pepper never really made itself known, and I would've been hard pressed to tell the difference between this and ordinary mayonnaise.

Unfortunately, this rather set the tone for the rest of the sandwich experience – whilst perfectly edible, this sandwich and all its ingredients fell a good way short of 'spectacular', landing instead in 'disappointingly tame'.  I would not buy this sandwich again.

Sandwich review: Salt Beef, Cheddar & Piccalilli from deli2go

The official description of this sandwich is -

Salt beef, mild Cheddar cheese, piccalilli, lettuce and free range mayonnaise on onion bread

This sandwich was an interesting balance of flavours.  I think, in many ways, deli2go have tried to be too clever here, and some of the tastes simply don't come through - the 'onion bread', for example, added very little which couldn't have been achieved with ordinary wholemeal bread.  However, for those flavours which did announce themselves, nothing was overpowering, and the overall effect was very pleasant.

Despite containing mayonnaise, this was kept to a sensible quantity, and the sandwich was mercifully not overmayonnated.  The salt beef had a nice flavour to it, and the piccalilli was sweet and tangy, and balanced well with the salt beef.  As ever, I would've preferred a stronger cheese, instead of the rather too popular mild Cheddar, but one cannot have everything.

On the whole, I enjoyed this sandwich, and thought the concept, if a little cluttered, still managed to work well as a recipe.

I would buy this sandwich again.

Sandwich review: Chicken, Ham & Cheddar from deli2go, and Smoked Ham & Coleslaw by Marks & Spencer's Simply M&S range

The official description for each of these sandwiches is:

Roast chicken breast, smoked formed ham, mild cheddar cheese, tomato, mixed salad leaves, and English mustard mayonnaise on malted wheatgrain bread (left)

and:

Smoked British ham with shredded cabbage, carrots, onions and mustard in mayonnaise on malted brown bread (right)

Now, I have decided to review these two sandwiches together, instead of individually, for a number of reasons.  Firstly, both fillings include ham - nothing hugely weird about this, of course, but in bought sandwiches bacon is far more normal.  And, secondly, I ate these two sandwiches within a couple of days of each, and was struck by the similarities between the two of them - even if they purport to be vastly different sandwiches.

If I were asked to describe both sandwiches in one word, I would say:  'overmayonated'.  (I know that isn't a real word, but I am hoping it will catch on.)  Both M&S and deli2go have made the mistake of simply lathering their creations in mayonnaise in the hope that this will make them enjoyable.  It doesn't.

The creamy swathes of mayonnaise ensured that the other flavours (which could have been so good) were left sadly muted and subdued.  In much the same way that putting too much milk into a cup of tea or coffee will ruin in, here the flavours of smoked ham, onions and English mustard which should've come bounding strongly through were barely present.

It was a shame that deli2go also chose to use 'mild cheddar cheese'.  A strong cheddar would've saved the sandwich from interminable blandness - as it was, however, the mild cheese simply added to the overall palette of tasteless dairy creaminess, and added nothing to the sandwich save its texture.

On the whole, I was left disappointed by these two sandwiches - either of which could quite easily have been salvaged with stronger flavours and slightly less mayonnaise.

I would not buy either of these sandwiches again.

Sandwich review: New Yorker, from deli2go

The official description for this sandwich is -

Pastrami with Emmental cheese, Iceberg lettuce, gherkins, Ameican style mustard, sour cream mayonnaise and red onion on malted bread with millet and sunflower seeds.

Quite a list, eh?! Well, there's a lot going on with this sandwich - and that means a lot of different flavours to balance...

deli2go make a valiant effort of this - and, on the whole, they don't do too badly at all. Each bite of the sandwich gives you something slightly different, while still managing to paint an overall picture of the whole.

The "American style" mustard is pleasantly tangy, without being overly tart or off-putting; likewise, the gherkins and red onions. The coolness of the sour cream mayonnaise compliments these flavours nicely, while the Emmental cheese sings out above the while ensemble in clear, nutty tones.

The only criticism I would have, then, is that the pastrami gets a little lost amidst the cacophony of other tastes flying around. That's not to say that it's bad, or that you don't notice it - it could just do with being a bit (if you'll pardon the pun) beefier.

Maybe using slightly better quality pastrami could help? Or, if not, another layer in the sandwich, just to help it stand out a little better?

Other than this (very slight) issue, I enjoyed this sandwich, and I would definitely buy it again.

Sandwich review: deli2go Triple BLT

The official description for this sandwich is:

Bacon, curly lettuce and tomato with mayonnaise on malted wheatgrain bread.

I enjoyed this sandwich.  The deli2go range is sold in Shell garages, and on the whole, I have found them to be surprisingly good, for petrol station fayre.

The ingredients are all there, although the bacon is possibly slightly bland.  On the front of the packet, it is described as "smokey" - I'd like to see a bit more of the smokey flavour in the bacon, if I'm honest.  I'm pleased to see that the mayonnaise has been kept to an appropriate level, though - I have spoken before about the dangers of over-mayonnaising a sandwich, but luckily we don't have that problem here.

The aspect of this sandwich with which I was most impressed, though, was the excellent forethought exhibited by the makers in placing the tomatoes right in the middle.  Cushioned by the bacon, to one side, and the lettuce and mayonnaise to the other, the tomatoes are kept well enough away from the bread - tomatoes left too close to the bread will it soggy and damp, causing the whole sandwich to disintegrate all too easily.  This has not been allowed to happen here, and for that I am very grateful.

My main criticism of this sandwich is not actually to do with the sandwich itself, but with the packaging.  Aside from the minor issues with the bacon, which I have already mentioned (it could do with being a little more flavourful) it is the packaging which has impressed me the least...

This is a triple sandwich - that means it's 50% as big again as a normal sandwich.  The cardboard packet in which it is served, however, is not 50% bigger than normal sandwich packet; at best, it is about 25% bigger.  This means, of course, that the sandwich is squeezed into the packet so tightly that it's quite difficult to grasp any one of the three individual pieces - with the pressure of being packed into such a small space, the three pieces of the sandwich have almost become fused together, and are actually rather hard to separate.

In spite of these problems with the packaging, and the resulting issues involving actually getting into the sandwich to eat it, I would buy this sandwich again.