Cuisine Review

When I was in New York City this past spring, I noticed with envy a certain style of restaurant present at least on every block. These were simple places, serving coffee, pastries and breakfast sandwiches in the morning then turning to lunchtime service and early dinner. The differences were that good quality food was served quickly, with refrigerated cases for prepackaged salads, sandwiches, drinks and the like for quick pick-up along with counter service.

Relevant to this review however, were the salad offerings. A plethora of toppings were present – any kinds of meat, vegetables, lettuces and house-made dressings were available. You could make your own or select from specialty offerings. The ability to walk in and within minutes walk out with a nice (yet pricy) salad was enviable. I don’t think Mobile’s downtown dining market could handle this concept at the moment. The concept may or may not work for suburban areas.

And while you cannot create your own, Newk’s on Azalea Road just south of Airport Boulevard is making a good effort in the salad area, along with offering numerous sandwich, soups and pizza selections. You can watch them prepare the salad and see the quality of ingredients. I have eaten in and had catered meals on several occasions over the last few months.

Based in Oxford, Miss., Newk’s is an entry into the fast casual dining concept that is sweeping the country. It is interesting to note the founders of Newk’s began this enterprise after selling off the McAllister’s Deli chain. Don’t let this color your opinion, as Newk’s is a world of difference from McAllister’s. Newk’s is a franchise, and while I do normally stay away from chains, much like Zoë’s, Newks is a regionally owned, small, emerging chain, and I make exceptions for these. Currently they have operations in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. The full name is Newk’s Express Café and they meet their aim, as it is only a few minutes in between ordering and being served.

Like all the fast casuals, Newk’s has an oversized menu plastered on the wall when you enter with printed menus near the register. High, open ceilings with black tables, booths and wood accents take up most of the space, with brick walls. Once you order, you are given a number to display on your table to receive your food. You serve yourself drinks in enormous black plastic cups. Newk’s gets a special nod from me for serving Diet Dr. Pepper, which you hardly see (Zoë’s also has it) and is best from the fountain. I sometimes eat in places just because they have it. There is also what I would refer to as a relish bar for you to spoon up banana peppers, pickled jalapenos, capers, pickles, parmesan cheese and the like.

I will begin with the salads, which are gargantuan. I looked at the nutritional value and without dressing most of them are around 500 calories. On my last visit we could not imagine who could eat all of one, as I typically eat a bit more than half. There are eight of them – from the “simply” salad with the usual suspects to Caesar, Greek, a chef and Newk’s favorite ($8) that has mixed greens, grilled chicken, gorgonzola, dried cranberries, grapes, artichoke hearts, pecans and croutons tossed in sherry vinaigrette. My friend likes the Black and Bleu ($8) with mixed greens, tender grilled steak, gorgonzola, pecans, tomatoes and sliced red onion tossed with plenty of chunky blue cheese dressing.

I like their Cobb ($8), as they seem to be hard to find around here and I enjoy this classic. Mixed greens, thick slices of chicken breast meat, bacon, eggs, gorgonzola, tomatoes, green onion, pecans and croutons in blue cheese dressing compile a large mound of food. And unlike so many places where you try a dish, only to tire of the taste after eight bites (you know, when it starts to taste rather manufactured), you almost cannot stop eating your salad. Newk’s Ultimate Salad contains everything in the kitchen sink with honey mustard dressing, and it would seem to me to just be too much.

On my first visit to Newk’s, it was with my children. My daughter and I both love chicken salad, yet are rather picky about it. I do not like anything sweet in mine – anything else is fine. Theirs is made with grapes and pecans, my favorite beyond celery alone. So we each selected the chicken salad toasted sandwich ($7) on a fresh roll that is similar to French bread in consistency. We enjoyed it very much, as it did not skimp on the chicken – actually nothing is skimped on at Newk’s.

My son ordered the Margherita pizza ($6) with roma tomatoes, mozzarella, tomato basil sauce and fresh basil – simple but good. There are 10 pizzas on the menu and I have tasted one, the Debra ($8), with grilled chicken, mozzarella, parmesan, romas and pesto. Their pesto is viscous in consistency, not a paste but not runny. Others to select from include a tempting Spicy Chicken ($7.50) with roasted yellow and red peppers, romas, chili oil, fresh cilantro, mozzarella and parmesan with crushed red chilies. There is a similar Spicy Shrimp as well. Also you will find a BBQ chicken, pepperoni, a loaded up deluxe with every vegetable around with pepperoni and ham and a Mediterranean with chicken, olives, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini peppers and feta.

Back to the sandwiches, they are just too numerous to mention, but I will hit the highlights of ones that I or my friends have tried. One of my friends could not stop raving about the Pesto Chicken ($7.50) with beyond the obvious here. It contained roasted red and yellow peppers and goat cheese. The Wreck ($6.50) with salami, ham, turkey, roast beef and Swiss is a sure hangover cure, from what I hear; and while I have not heard it compared to others so I have no benchmark, the Pimento Cheese is supposed to be worth a try.

What I enjoy is that as a side, you have a choice of “Tippah County” caviar – you know the black-eyed pea kind which is a nice change of pace beyond the typical other choices they have. There are different soups each day and I liked the Tortilla, but three of us recently were not overwhelmed with the roasted red pepper.

All I can say is come with an appetite as big as their menu. Newk’s is a good concept in the fast casual category.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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