There is something magical about a simple sandwich. While there are times I love the complexity of any number of dishes in a degustation, that are a myriad of flavours and textures in a few bites, there are other times I want something simple. Even if I didn’t know what I wanted.
Yesterday, my partner in dine and I went to a small sandwich shop in the suburbs called Deli Dakota, nestled away in a warren of hilly streets in Mount Gravatt East, to get some coeliac friendly sandwiches. Part of the adventure was getting to the location. Turning the wrong way. Getting confused about the landscape, because of where we were there houses as far as the eye could see, which was about 10 houses away to the next hill. The landscape, and our unfamiliarity with it, meant that as we neared the place, we started to have doubts about its existence. Then we turned a corner and we saw it. A small set of shops halfway up the street. Very easy to miss when approaching, but very easy to see the bustle of a very good cafe.
It was Sunday, so most of the small strip was shut, or appeared that way, but the cafe was almost like the entrance to a busy beehive. Some bees hanging around the entrance, some bees buzzing too and fro, some looking like they were signaling to others that this place had good food. Ok, so for this to work you have to imagine the bees are getting the food from the hive rather than storing it there but you get the point.
We approached the entrance. We enquired about food matching our specific dietary requirements, that is gluten and dairy free, and were met with a very enthusiastic yes. We chose three sandwiches and some chips. Due to time constraints we had to get take-away, this time. Next time, we will eat there and take pictures. There will definitely be a next time.
But now we ate. This whole experience was made more entertaining by the fact that we couldn’t wait to try the food. One small bite, and the urge to eat became too strong. We must have sandwiches.
We started with the pork banh mi. It has been a long time since I have had a banh mi, so I was very excited to see this was an option. Banh mi are very tasty sandwiches that in themselves are pretty simple. A bit of meat, a few salad style veggies, and some condiments. What started as “just a bite” to taste it, soon turned into “Ok we need to try all of the sandwiches now”. This one especially, while not an incredible banh mi, was really good. The flavours were well balanced, there was a good crunch to the cucumber and carrot, and it was also very moreish. Which is fantastic. I love it when you wind up looking at an empty container or plate and wondering where the food went.
I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the gluten free bun used before I go any further. It was not my favourite, but it was good, and it did the thing I think most bread should do in a sandwich. It didn’t dominate the flavour. It held together well under stress. You could also chew it easily, which is not the case for some gluten free buns and bread.
We then bit into the DFC, which was a deep fried chicken sandwich. This was probably my favourite just due to the sheer simplicity of it. It was a deep fried chicken fillet, lettuce and mayo. That was it. Nothing more. Nothing was needed. The lettuce had a slight crunch, the chicken was moist but crunchy on the outside, and the mayo wasn’t overpowering but was definitely the main flavour still. I will admit, I am not beyond eating mayo with a spoon, I know some of you won’t be shocked by this. When it comes to a chicken sandwich though, I want to taste all of it, not just the mayo. This did exactly that. Every bite was brilliant, and I was sad to have finished it. I could’ve possibly eaten two of these, but would have easily tried for three.
The third and final sandwich we had was a bbq brisket reuben. Reubens have become one of my favourite sandwiches, and I am grateful to whoever came up with them. This one we had without the cheese though, due to the dairy free nature of our eating experience. It was still really good, the tang of the sauerkraut was not too strong, and the beef brisket was really nice. Like the other two, this was also very moreish. Of all the sandwiches, I thought this was the one most likely to destroy the bone, once we started eating it. It did not. The bun held together valiantly as the juices from the meat and the sauerkraut fought to destroy the bready walls containing it.
There are two reasons I left the chips until last. One, is they weren’t as good as the sandwiches. Two is we ate them after the sandwiches were gone, so by the time we had gotten to them they had cooled down a lot. They were ok but cold, mildly floppy chips aren’t for everyone.
So, there it is. If you get the chance, go to Deli Dakota. The sandwiches were really good, and I want to go back to eat the rest of their menu. Many, many times. Eat well my friends.
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