Boy is finishing college a whirlwind. I took senior week off, as time to just relax, and it was nice. Now, however, it’s time to put my keyboard where my mouth is and start writing again.
One of my first meals after getting back in town (for the sake of convenience and really nothing else) was at Purebread Deli‘s Pike Creek location. It’s right next to my bank, you see, on DE Rt 7, sort of between Pike Creek and Hockessin and spitting distance from Goldey-Beacom College. Purebread is very proud of its status as “not a chain.” Their five locations are “a locally owned and operated group” (taken from their website’s “about” page) dedicated to bringing their guests a quality experience every time they walk through their doors.
In my experience, they succeed. I’ve only ever eaten at their Pike Creek location (there’s four more), but the service has always been prompt and cheerful with well-informed employees. The dining area is decorated with photographs of dogs (what else?), some cute, some funny, some just good photographs. A new addition since I’ve been away is two wall mounted TV’s, one running a still slide show of community submitted pictures of their dogs. The other shows videos, presumably also submitted by community members, and they’re usually some form of fantastic (hilarious, adorable, totally endearing etc.). I didn’t mind one bit that I was there alone.
It’s important to note before we proceed that all of the sandwiches on Purebread’s menu are named for breeds of dog. I normally get the Irish Setter (corned beef, swiss, coleslaw, and 1,000 Island on rye), but today I went with the Ridgeback. I’d never seen it on the menu before, and I’m a sucker for Buffalo Chicken in just about any form. It’s a tortilla wrap, with sizeable chunks of chicken, blue cheese, lettuce, and tomato (ordering it without the tomato didn’t seem to set the sandwich back at all).
After filling my drink, I found myself a seat and waited patiently for them to call my number, watching the screens scroll and enjoying the calm, laid back atmosphere when all of a sudden, an employee brought me a tray with my wrap on it. I was shocked it’d found me so fast (though there was literally no line when I walked in, so that could have something to do with it).
The word I’d use to describe my first bite above any other is “fresh.” Living in Vermont for the better part of five years, it’s something I’ve become rather familiar with, that quality of never having been packed in a semi and shipped somewhere. This is not to say that I have anything against such foods; I’m simply commenting on the notable difference between the two. I’m generally not a fan of chicken as a centerpiece protein—I tend to find it dry and unpleasant to chew. I didn’t mind this at all; the chicken was moist and the right balance between juicy and firm, and the flavor deferred perfectly to the buffalo blue cheese sauce dripping onto my tray. I wasn’t aware of any chunks of blue cheese, though, and that’s certainly a point against it. Purebread Deli’s Ridgeback passes with flying colors, though. I’ve never had anything I disliked at Purebread, and it doesn’t seem like I will any time soon.
Umbrella Terms 
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