I love Greggs. I have a serious penchant for their steak bakes, adore their chicken slices and always seem to be drawn to the cartons of Ribena in their drinks cabinet (something I never buy anywhere else!) Despite Greggs being a "chain" bakery it's still just that, a bakery. Not any old bakery, mind you. After all they seem to dominate every High Street of every town I've been to. Kudos to them and their success. Part of which I am sure has to do with their open frontage, which entices you in to the racks of bread and shelves of pastries. A customer always feels welcome here. Yep, I'm never self conscious about entering a Greggs!
So today I'm trying their Christmas Dinner sandwich. A limited edition no less. Although according to the label if I vote for it on their Facebook page it could be here to stay. Let's see how it fairs.
Priced at £2.60 it's cheaper than the other sandwiches I have tried so far and comes in a generic see through plastic sandwich container. It's a bit NHS meets 1970s bakery granted but I suppose that's the point. Sticking to their bakery roots. Not over complicating things. Letting the sandwiches speak for themselves. Which is exactly what this one needs to do as it is only labelled as Limited Edition. No idea what the ingredients are or the name of the sandwich (I had to read the shelving tag for that information). Slightly frustrating if a previous customer has been in rummaging around and moving the sandwiches (it happened to me only the week before last and I gave up trying to identify any Limited Editions and picked up my usual chicken salad). Anyhoo, happily and thankfully it's clear this is "Christmas Dinner". It's quite evident as well that it has turkey, bacon, stuffing, cranberry and mayonnaise. Oh and lovely bread. All present and correct. Yippee! Right, so now to open my sandwich.
Wow! That stuffing smell is great. It really does smell like "Christmas Dinner". Love that! Bread smells beautiful and freshly baked (some mean feat for a pre-packed sandwich). There is plenty of filling. No skimping here, which is impressive for the price. The sandwich is oozing mayo (this may be a problem as I am not the greatest lover of mayo but that's just me). I take my first bite, then my second and then my third. Yummy! The stuffing is by far the best I have had so far. It looks home made and it tastes home made. So perhaps it is home made? I'll refer to Greggs later for the answer to that one! The flavours are nice and subtle. Not over powering at all, which is great. It just makes you want to go on and on eating it. My only issue (which is MY issue) is the amount of mayonnaise. I just don't like huge quantities of mayonnaise. I've been known to scrape it off my fast food chicken burgers. My husband on the other hand can't get enough of the stuff so perhaps this is where personal taste takes over? The flavour of the bacon could be slightly more salty but that's by the by when this sandwich contains the "Stuffing from Heaven".
Verdict: An amazing value for money festive sandwich filled to the brim with excellent ingredients, stuffing to die for and a name which makes you smile. I wish it could be Christmas every day!
Rating: 9/10 (it was the mayo which did it, sorry Greggs!)
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Friday, 11 November 2011
Marks and Spencer Turkey Feast: £3.25 (5p from every sandwich sold donated to Shelter)
There's something about a Marks and Spencer food hall which exudes some sort of magical power. Instantly it makes you feel like you have walked into a haven of quality. For a start, the fact that it's called a "food hall" makes you feel special. Like you are treating yourself. Which, for the most part you are, because let's face it, the prices were designed for the upper middle class hunting set! No matter though, here you really do get what you pay for!
Last year I wasn't lucky enough to make it in time for the festive sandwich. They were sold out. So I ended up reviewing their festive trio of buns (and excellent they were too!) Yes, this is a regular occurence in the M&S lunchtime scrum at any given time of year. More often than not, I have to visit early (forget it if you get there after 1pm) to guarantee that I'm not going to end up with a lonely bottle of water and the last of the fruit salads!
Today I am delighted to see a healthy display of festive sandwiches and ooo, what's this, a Brie version. Oh and over here some sort of smoked salmon teaser. It's all so tempting. However, I must stay focused. After all this is all about the turkey and I waste no time in claiming my prize. I hope I make it out of here before I see the miniature flap jacks!
Back in the real world (i.e. my office desk) I begin my review.
Packaging. Very similar to Sainsbury's this is delivered in a seasonally decorated, red cardboard box. It's possibly a bit disappointing for a M&S sandwich. Yet sandwiches are not sold on packaging alone and as soon as I open this beauty I can feel my mouth salivating from the smell. I can't wait to sink my teeth into it. If it tastes as good as it smells surely it's a winner!
The bread is a beautiful texture (wholegrain). Just the right thickness and it doesn't dominate the sandwich. Each element of the sandwich is visible. A lovely layer of stuffing, turkey, deep red cranberry (hurrah!), bacon strips and mayonnaise.
One bite is like a miniature Christmas dinner heaven! The right combination of salty, sweet and savoury. All the elements combine perfectly. Every part of the sandwich can be tasted but none of it out does the other. It takes me no time at all to polish it off and I'm left wanting more. That's the only problem here. They should offer them on a two for one deal! Strictly not for sharing!
The verdict: In the world of sandwich politics this is clearly a democracy for all ingredients concerned! It most definitely has my vote!
Rating: 10/10 (did you really have to ask?)
Last year I wasn't lucky enough to make it in time for the festive sandwich. They were sold out. So I ended up reviewing their festive trio of buns (and excellent they were too!) Yes, this is a regular occurence in the M&S lunchtime scrum at any given time of year. More often than not, I have to visit early (forget it if you get there after 1pm) to guarantee that I'm not going to end up with a lonely bottle of water and the last of the fruit salads!
Today I am delighted to see a healthy display of festive sandwiches and ooo, what's this, a Brie version. Oh and over here some sort of smoked salmon teaser. It's all so tempting. However, I must stay focused. After all this is all about the turkey and I waste no time in claiming my prize. I hope I make it out of here before I see the miniature flap jacks!
Back in the real world (i.e. my office desk) I begin my review.
Packaging. Very similar to Sainsbury's this is delivered in a seasonally decorated, red cardboard box. It's possibly a bit disappointing for a M&S sandwich. Yet sandwiches are not sold on packaging alone and as soon as I open this beauty I can feel my mouth salivating from the smell. I can't wait to sink my teeth into it. If it tastes as good as it smells surely it's a winner!
The bread is a beautiful texture (wholegrain). Just the right thickness and it doesn't dominate the sandwich. Each element of the sandwich is visible. A lovely layer of stuffing, turkey, deep red cranberry (hurrah!), bacon strips and mayonnaise.
One bite is like a miniature Christmas dinner heaven! The right combination of salty, sweet and savoury. All the elements combine perfectly. Every part of the sandwich can be tasted but none of it out does the other. It takes me no time at all to polish it off and I'm left wanting more. That's the only problem here. They should offer them on a two for one deal! Strictly not for sharing!
The verdict: In the world of sandwich politics this is clearly a democracy for all ingredients concerned! It most definitely has my vote!
Rating: 10/10 (did you really have to ask?)
Sainsbury's Turkey Feast: £2.70
Last year Sainsbury's failed miserably to impress me. I am sorry to admit that I didn't even finish their sandwich. So let's see if this Christmas they have managed to improve!
Normally I like Sainsbury's but for some reason their lunchtime fridge has never appealed to me. It just doesn't "look" appetising. Which is strange as I buy plenty of food and supplies from them most weeks of the year and rarely, if ever, have any complaints. Anyway, the display itself is a bit haphazard. Sandwiches vying for sitting room shoved in the corner of the top shelf literally falling over each other in desperation to be bought. I gingerly remove one half expecting the stack of boxes to ripple to the floor in a domino effect. Luckily I manage to pull it off.
The sandwich itself. Packaging. Well what can I say. It's a sandwich in a festively decorated cardboard box. No surprises there! Competitively priced at £2.70 I'm happy with that. It already looks a bit flat, and dare I say, squashed though. Maybe it was on the verge of suffocation on the over stuffed shelf?
Opening the sandwich it smells, well, like a turkey sandwich. Not a criticism but it isn't memorable. The bread is a bit thin and the filling looks mushy and wet. The overall taste of the sandwich, whilst edible and not unpleasant, is completely overwhelmed by pepper. Far. Too. Much. Pepper! Yet has only been kissed lightly by a smidgen of cranberry sauce. If it wasn't for the pack telling me this sandwich contained cranberry sauce I would be none the wiser. Minus points there then. The stuffing is very squishy. Almost like someone just made up a batch of ready made finest and shoved it between bread before letting it set. Personally I prefer my stuffing to be robust with body. Or at the very least look like stuffing rather than porridge. The turkey was hard to taste (that pepper again!) so it was difficult to tell whether it was moist or dry or perhaps even there. A very green looking lettuce leaf also graced the innards. While I am not adverse to my five a day, personally if I am eating a festive sandwich I would leave the salad back in the fridge.
The verdict: An edible sandwich overpowered by pepper but an improvement on last year (I ate all of this one so it can't be that bad, right?)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Normally I like Sainsbury's but for some reason their lunchtime fridge has never appealed to me. It just doesn't "look" appetising. Which is strange as I buy plenty of food and supplies from them most weeks of the year and rarely, if ever, have any complaints. Anyway, the display itself is a bit haphazard. Sandwiches vying for sitting room shoved in the corner of the top shelf literally falling over each other in desperation to be bought. I gingerly remove one half expecting the stack of boxes to ripple to the floor in a domino effect. Luckily I manage to pull it off.
The sandwich itself. Packaging. Well what can I say. It's a sandwich in a festively decorated cardboard box. No surprises there! Competitively priced at £2.70 I'm happy with that. It already looks a bit flat, and dare I say, squashed though. Maybe it was on the verge of suffocation on the over stuffed shelf?
Opening the sandwich it smells, well, like a turkey sandwich. Not a criticism but it isn't memorable. The bread is a bit thin and the filling looks mushy and wet. The overall taste of the sandwich, whilst edible and not unpleasant, is completely overwhelmed by pepper. Far. Too. Much. Pepper! Yet has only been kissed lightly by a smidgen of cranberry sauce. If it wasn't for the pack telling me this sandwich contained cranberry sauce I would be none the wiser. Minus points there then. The stuffing is very squishy. Almost like someone just made up a batch of ready made finest and shoved it between bread before letting it set. Personally I prefer my stuffing to be robust with body. Or at the very least look like stuffing rather than porridge. The turkey was hard to taste (that pepper again!) so it was difficult to tell whether it was moist or dry or perhaps even there. A very green looking lettuce leaf also graced the innards. While I am not adverse to my five a day, personally if I am eating a festive sandwich I would leave the salad back in the fridge.
The verdict: An edible sandwich overpowered by pepper but an improvement on last year (I ate all of this one so it can't be that bad, right?)
Rating: 6 out of 10
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