4201 University Drive
Eastgate, Durham, NC
www.saladelia.com
Breakfast: $3.25-7.90
Lunch: $4.99-7.50
Saladelia is a staple of Durham's lunch scene with a bustling catering business in addition to their onsite food. It is a favorite of mine for a late breakfast also, as their breakfast menu is available until 2pm on the weekend. They offer sandwiches, salads, pastries, and desserts with a Mediterranean bent. Order at the counter and your food will be brought to you. Espresso drinks are available.
They recently completed some remodeling of their seating areas and counter. There's now a lovely row of rich brown half-booths and a waiting area for to go orders. There's also bar seating across the front window and two huge, attractive red lamps in the side room.
The seating has been improved but the quality of the food has remained the same, which is to say, excellent. Sandwiches sizes here are plentiful. It would be nice if half sizes were available, too.
I had the chicken salad on a kaiser roll and opted to upgrade from the included bag of chips to a side of penne pasta salad for $1. The chicken salad did not contain shredded or diced breast meat but thick strips instead. The mayonnaise was kept to a minimum, pepper was plentiful, herbs were savory, and I think there was a touch of curry, too. Normally, kaiser rolls are more plain than I like for pricey sandwich bread but this one did a great job of keeping the chicken salad on the sandwich and not the plate, which is not an easy feat.
The penne pasta was mixed with sundried tomato, feta, parsley, and scallions. It had plenty of flavor though was a tad dry. Definitely a better accompaniment than a bag of chips, though.
Saladelia continues to be a great spot to get a deluxe sandwich and/or intriguing sides. I've yet to try one of their desserts or pastries but they certainly look appealing.
Reviewed 9.30.09.
