Hot take on deli fare Spicy Pickle

The Denver Post
January 28, 2000

Hot take on deli fare Spicy Pickle,
Diane's aim at different goals
Author: Bill St. John Denver Post Food Editor REVIEW

Edition: FRI1
Section: WKD
Page: E-18

Today, two side plates, a couple of small joints that dish good eats.

In the mood for a terrific sandwich? Bite into it at Spicy Pickle Sub Shop.
Owners Kevin Morrison and Tony Walker (late head of the kitchen at Barolo Grill) list a nifty menu of hot and cold sandwiches. Hot are Italian-style panini, or iron-pressed focaccia-wrapped sandwiches. Cold are sub-style sandies, your choice of three dozen meats, toppings, cheeses and spreads. (That's 1,728 possible variations.)

The seemingly inconsequential spreads let slip a hint at the high quality here. Take bearnaise, say, and substitute basil for tarragon and we're close to Spicy Pickle's "basil mayo." Same idea with the horseradish, harissa and sundried tomato mayos. These boys fly way past squirting just French's.

The meats for the subs come by way of Boar's Head, a reputable firm but an expensive one. You're out $6-$7 for one of these sandwiches. Boar! 's Head is a highly marketed company and, were it not for Il Fornaio's splendid bread as the bookends of these sandwiches, you'd be had.

The smart money at Spicy Pickle is on the panini ($5.50-$6.25). They are excellent. Seven in kind, each is a warm, crusty, layered marvel. For instance, "The Italian" delivers mortadella, salame, capicolla and provolone with the delish basil mayo. The nicest facet of this sandwich is how thinly the kitchen slices each of the meats. A small matter? No. The more finely sliced the deli meat, the more release of flavor.

Morrison and Walker are both chef-trained, and it shows in their panini. Each is a carefully arranged melange. Want to taste the deliciousness of simplicity? Order a "Roma," a panino of thinly sliced tomatoes, milk-white fresh mozzarella and - OK, I'm hooked - basil mayo. If it drips down your chin as it should, you may find a new definition of pleasure.

The boys also offer three salads on! the side (potato, pasta and cole slaw, $1.25-$1.50). Of the three, t he tangy cole slaw is the best executed, and of the three, the only homemade. (The pasta salad has one foot in the '70s for all its larded pepperoni and black olives.)

But I save the best for last: The spicy pickles themselves, gems made from California cukes, a sweet-tart brine and three different peppers, so good that you'll want them for dessert. And the best thing is that they just give them away.

Heat n' eats

The idea behind Diane's is a nifty one: Cook a range of food just short of being done and sell it to harried (or tired) folk to bring home, heat and have.

While other joints do the same (Boston Market, King Soopers), Diane's aims higher.

Some preparations are spot on: meaty, beefy Tom's Favorite Meat Loaf ($5.95 each); a terrific, moist, crusty-skinned half-roast chicken ($4.95); an aromatic rice pilaf ($2.50/pound); the "smashed" potatoes, partially skin-on and silky with cream ($2.25/pound); and a deeply f! lavored, though tempered, Fra Diavolo sauce ($3.25/pound).

But, for a concept such as this, the proof is in your putting everything in the microwave or oven or atop the stove for just the correct time.

Diane's prints temp and timing on each parcel (and sends you home with a printed cheat sheet, too), yet it's still a crap shoot out there, hon.

For example, the recommended "1 minute" to heat a half-pound of (otherwise admirably prepped) linguine, even in a 1,000-watt microwave, was in need of an additional 90 seconds. (The best way to heat Diane's foods is in a slow oven, though that essentially may defeat the logic behind the place.)

Some of Diane's food also tastes a tad off. The four-cheese alfredo sauce ($2.65/pint) skimps neither on the cheese nor on what tastes like garlic powder. The much-touted macaroni and cheese ($4.50/pound) is as bland as Mr. Rogers. And the recipe for the salad "university peas" ($2.25/pound) coul! d have come from Family Circle for all its cheddar squares.

The Spice of life

Restaurant: Spicy Pickle Sub Shop
Address: 988 Lincoln St., Denver
Phone: 303-860-07302 Style: Deli
Food: *** (out of four)
Service: *** (out of four)
Atmosphere: **1/2 (out of four)
Price: Items from $1.25-$7.50
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays-Thursdays; until 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
Restrooms: Big
Parking: street parking
Heating things up

Restaurant: Diane's
Address: 2900 E. Sixth Ave., Denver; 7537 S. University Blvd., Littleton
Phone: 303-388-4425; 303-730-1046 Style: Eclectic
Food: **1/2 (out of four)
Service: *** (out of four)
Atmosphere: *** (out of four)
Price: Moderate
Hours: Denver - 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily; Littleton -10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, noon to
7 p.m. weekends
Credit cards: Visa, Mast! erCard, American Express
Parking: street or lot parking

PHOTOS: The Denver Post /John Leyba The Spicy Pickle Sub Shop, 988 Lincoln St., offers a wide variety of hot and cold sandwiches. Salads and, yes, pickles are also available at the Spicy Pickle.