The Deluxe From Grove Market & Deli

While one of my stated purposes in undertaking this project (and the accompanying blog) was to seek out and discover new sandwiches worthy of inclusion among the all-time greats, another purpose is to give well-deserved praise to those sandwiches that I have already discovered and love. Today's entry is one of those. Grove Market & Deli, thanks in part to its location on a nondescript corner of Main Street in Salt Lake City and it's unassuming outward appearance (if you didn't know any better, you'd never know what was inside) has become one of those "secret" places that attains a near magical quality when you realize the complete and total awesomeness that exists inside the small, plain exterior. I can't believe I'm about to make a Harry Potter reference, but Grove Market is kind of like that portal in the story that takes people to the wizarding world. Myriads of people walk by the place every day, but only a select few enter into the back alley and tap on the bricks to open the door into the wondrous world on the other side. Grove Market is like that. Except instead of entering a pretend wizard world by going inside, you open a portal to Sandwich Nirvana.

I've got a pretty long history with Grove - maybe that's one of the reasons I have such an affinity for the place. I don't remember the first time I went there, but I do remember many times as a student at the University of Utah meeting my dad after class and heading down to Grove for a sandwich. I also remember picking them up before heading a couple blocks up the road to catch a Bees game (what a beautiful coincidence that two of the things I enjoy most - baseball and great food - can be found so close together!) Although my history with Grove Market is long, my first-hand knowledge of their menu is extremely limited - that is because in all the years I've been going there, I've only ever ordered one sandwich - The Deluxe. I fell in love with it from the first bite and have never felt the need to order anything else. I keep telling myself I will, but without fail I always end up back at The Deluxe. Here's what goes into one:

• Type of Bread: Ambassador Roll (essentially an entire loaf of french bread)
• Dressing(s)/Condiment(s): Mustard, Mayonnaise
• Toppings: Ham, Turkey, Avocado, Swiss Cheese, American Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle

Even though I made an analogy of Grove being a secret place that not everyone knows about, I should warn you that this is not actually the case. Plenty of people know about it, so if you think you're going to walk right in at lunch time and saddle up to the counter to place an order, you're wrong. Our approach was always to call ahead so our order was ready when we got there. The store is so small that it can get really crowded real quick. But if you play your cards right, the sandwich will be ready when you get there, you can pick it up, grab a cool refreshing beverage and sit outside at one of the tables as you mount your gastronomical attack. You can probably already guess this sandwich scores well, and you're right. You'll find out how I broke it down after one more photo:


By the way, in this photo, you'll notice I've adopted a new visual aid to help with scale. I figured most people know how big a Star Wars action figure is, so you can use that as a guide for how big this thing really is. I chose Han Solo because it seemed to me he'd be the most likely to join you for a refreshing beverage and a sandwich. Droids just drink oil, Luke and Obi-Wan probably eat sprouts and tofu and all that hippie crap and I lost my Chewbacca figure, so there you go. The Deluxe scores as follows:

• Quantity/Value: 5/5 - This one was never in doubt. This is one of the bigger sandwiches I have ever tried. Half of the sandwich is plenty on most occasions. With a price tag of $8.99, it might seem a little pricey, but when you consider it is essentially two meals, it's a great bargain. In my entire life I've only ever completed an entire Deluxe once - back in my early 20's when I was young and spry. Let me give you just one more picture with The Deluxe and Han in action:
  Man, I'm jealous of Han Solo right now. If I was him, I could eat on that thing until I was tired, then just climb inside it and go to sleep. Then if I was hungry, I could wake up, eat a couple bites and go right back to sleep. What a lucky jerk.
• Originality: 4/5 - A couple things stand out here - first is that roll - or loaf, or whatever you wish to call it. I can't think of another place around that uses anything close to it. The combination of meats and cheeses is fresh, as is the use of the avocado.
• Appearance: 9/10 - So, although The Deluxe's looks wouldn't make it feel at home at some high-brow restaurant, they are enough to send my salivary glands into overdrive. The size is of course appealing, and another thing that looks just great is the healthy amount of black pepper on top of the cheese, avocados and pickles.
  
• Quality/Freshness: 9/10 - The meats and cheeses used aren't top top shelf, but the crucial thing is that they were FRESH. The turkey and especially the ham didn't have any of that gross greenish shiny crud that you'll often find on the ham and meats at some places. In addition, the veggies were also fresh - no wilted lettuce, no withered tomato, and most importantly, no unappealing brown avocado.
• Taste: 19/20 - So here's the kicker. Not only is this an enormous sandwich, it also tastes great. There are quite a few ingredients, but they all come together perfectly without losing their individual flavors. The insane crunch of the bread perfectly complements the creaminess of the cheese, condiments and avocado. And then the bite of the pickles and black pepper really put this one over the top. Simply fantastic.

Those excellent scores all add up to give The Deluxe from Grove Market & Deli an enviable score of 46/50! Trying to come up with a way to improve this sandwich is difficult. That is because the most obvious fault the sandwich has is as also what makes it so fantastic - it's sheer size. The Deluxe is so big that it is quite a challenge to eat. The mayo and mustard are applied liberally (my dad says they put it on with a boat oar) which means when you start pressing the sandwich together to fit it in your face, you encounter definite slippage and sliding apart of the sandwich's elements. The other thing that can pose a problem is the bread - it's crunchiness is phenomenal, but the hard outer crust that gives it that can also do a number on the roof of your mouth. But, in the end, these are minor quibbles that I wouldn't change even if I could. The Deluxe may not be the perfect sandwich, but it's awfully, awfully close.