STEPH DEROSA: ONE HEALTHY, FRESH SALAD >>>

Antique Sandwich Company
Tuna Salad
Price: $7.75
Rating: Three out of four croutons

The table of men, obviously retired and out for a friendly lunch, all turned and gawked at my tuna salad at Antique Sandwich Company. “They sure do take care of you here, don’t they?” one of them asked. I happily agreed as I dove into one of the healthiest and freshest salads I’ve conquered in a long time.

Description: A fresh-cut mix of greens including spinach, romaine, and green leaf supported hefty helpings of even more fresh-cut veggies in my Antique Sandwich Company tuna salad. Large slices of tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, and green peppers cradled the aforementioned greenery while cheddar cheese shreds laid beneath a homemade mound of tuna mixed lightly in mayonnaise. Blanketing this natural salad, and completing an extra-ordinarily healthy salad, were two of my all-time favorite toppings: sprouts and sunflower seeds.

Taste: There’s no need to hide any part of this salad in dressing or fancy toppings, it’s all fresh and it’s all delicious, no matter what. A full-balanced meal was right at hand, setting my mid-day munch right on track and leaving me with no guilt whatsoever. No cut veggie was brown or had the appearance of being pre-prepared and sitting around. Everything crunched when it was supposed to, and every flavor had an untainted taste of normalcy.

Conclusion: The Antique Sandwich Company’s tuna salad is exactly what a salad should be: not covered in man-made flavor (otherwise known as dressing), and not wearing a lame coat of croutons. And the fact that they sliced the stuff right in front of me just proved how high the standards of natural eating are there at this historical Ruston area restaurant. And all for only $7.75. This is a no-brainer â€" I love this place.

Dressing on the side

Repeatedly I’ve had Mr. DeRosa, Bandito Betty, and The KAke remind me that this shit only happens to me:

1. Homeless man verbally accosts me as I take my foot off the brake in a coffee drive-thru. I didn’t even have my foot on the gas as he jumps out from behind the building and flamboyantly accuses me of “trying to kill a homeless guy with no insurance.” Yes, those were his screaming words.
2. Man in over-sized Ford truck (obviously compensating for something) parks inches away from my driver’s side door to block me in. As I shimmy out of my car, he jumps out of his, runs around to my side and begins screaming, “It’s your fault! It’s your fault!” over and over. Confused and bewildered, I tell him I hope his day gets better and then move my car to another spot far, far away.
3. The KAke and I witness a yelling match between restaurant patron and restaurant owner. Patron doesn’t want mayo on her BLT, so she sends it back. Owner wipes the mayo off the bacon and makes new sandwich with wiped bacon. Owner makes a brand new BLT and comps it, yet the angry patron wants both the old BLT and the new one to take home (for free), and then notifies the owner that if she has to go to the hospital for mayonnaise ingestion, restaurant owner will be receiving the bill.
4. Over lunch, friend tells me she won’t be attending my birthday party because Pampered Chef lady will be there. (Some friend, huh?) Yet invites me to not one, but two “sell your wares” parties in the past three of weeks: Mary Kay and Candle Lite. WTF with the hypocrisy, yo?

Strange shit with Steph DeRosa, happening daily whether I like it or not.

[Antique Sandwich Company, 5102 N Pearl St, Tacoma, 253.752.4069]

LINK: Tossing Salad archive