STEPH DEROSA: CHOP CHOP SALAD >>>

Rating: Three out of four croutons

It was a hard decision at Joeseppi’s Italian Ristorante this past week as I scanned my salad options that lay before me on the menu. After immediately omitting the standard house, spinach and Caesar salad options, I was left with two very good and very different options. One was a salad, which included pineapple, gorgonzola cheese, and no meat with a price tag of $11.99. My other option was the typical chop chop salad most Italian restaurants are known for carrying on their menu. With two different meats and a cost of $12.99, it sounded as though I was getting more bang for the buck, so chop chop salad it was.

Description: Containing mainly greens from the Romaine lettuce family, each leaf was crisp and fresh leaving me with no complaints on the salad bed. Tossed evenly and thoroughly, strips of salami and pepperoni were plentiful and consistent in each and every bite. Mixed into this Italian array of preserved meat were tomatoes, garbanzo beans, bacon, eggs, and not just one but two (Yes, two!) kinds of cheeses. Joeseppi’s chop chop salad carried both mozzarella and gorgonzola cheeses in its entirety. Oh, c’mon, you knew it had to have mozzarella. What stereotypical Italian meal isn’t complete without mozzarella?

Taste: All of the aforementioned ingredients were delicately tossed in Joeseppi’s special house dressing made from a marriage between an Italian dressing and a cream gorgonzola dressing. This tart yet sweet and creamy European combination does nothing to overwhelm it’s little meaty friends, bacon, salami, and pepperoni. Thank goodness for that. Overpowering cured meat should be a crime suitable for corporal punishment.

Conclusion: The salad is pretty big, but of course I had no problem finishing it. It was delicious. My remarkably congenial server, Mr. J. Michael (son of Tacoma art gallery Seven Muses owner, Tom Michael) offered repeatedly to take the partially unfinished salad out of my way, but I refused. I think he underestimated my big-salad eating abilities, especially one this tastefully comforting. Joeseppi’s chop chop salad is undeniably an Italian meal within itself.

Dressing on the side
Speaking of overpowering and well-preserved Italian items, my lovely in-laws recently returned from their regular vacation destination of Phoenix, Ariz. Actually, my father-in-law had to make an unfortunate early return due to basement flooding issues last week, but on a fortunate note (for us) he returned bearing a sunny gift of citrus fruits. In my long, fruit-loving life I have never tasted an orange as sweet and firm as the one I had from the Messina’s house in Phoenix.

Apparently they were in rich abundance and literally overflowing on local trees, so much so that residents couldn’t keep up with production! Here’s where the question begs: Why can’t we buy this amazingly scrumptious citrus treat here in Washington? Because we get them from Florida? Heck, we even buy them from foreign countries! Why not Phoenix? Why in the hell do we have to go far for oranges? Wouldn’t it be cheaper and better to get them from Arizona? I know it’s just oranges and lemons I’m talking about, but I promise you, you’ve never tasted anything like a citrus fruit from Arizona. They grow so easily and plentiful there, why not make it happen? E-gads, these arguments sound eerily familiar … (oil, anyone?)

[Joeseppi’s Italian Ristorante, 2207 N. Pearl St., Tacoma, 253.761.5555]

LINK: Joeseppi’s provolone sticks

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide