14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Coast Weekend’s local
restaurant review
Versatile little deli serves robust offerings
Review and photos by
MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA
S
ome months ago
I received a let-
ter from a reader,
imploring me to visit
the deli at Manza-
nita’s Little Apple
market. They said
it was pretty special. So, fi nally, I
went to see for myself.
Of course, I’d been to the Little
Apple before, for groceries and
whatnot, even before I’d moved to
the North Coast. And I’d always
found it rather charming, a throw-
back to what I imagine markets
were like before the Safeways of
the world took over, offering 400
varieties of cereal, 50-packs of
toilet paper, and those infernal,
ever-malfunctioning self-checkout
machines.
The Little Apple, conversely,
does a lot with a little, cramming
a remarkable amount of product
into the relatively small space. Up
and down thin aisles, foodstuffs
are stacked from fl oor to ceiling.
The deli is no exception —
there’s a lot in that compact
corner: a cold case with vegetable
and pasta salads, house-prepared
and pre-packaged meats, cheeses,
soups and so on. There’s a hot
case too, with dishes made in and
out of house, as well as sandwich-
es made to order and a few baked
goods. As I thumbed around,
peering in the cases, making room
for other customers passing by, I
was greeted by a number of jovial,
good-natured young adults who,
between jokes, seemed proud —
or at least fond — of the offerings.
I began by ordering a sand-
wich, fi lling out a little card,
checking off the boxes: rye bread,
pastrami, Swiss cheese, mustard,
mayo and all the veggies.
“Wow,” I blurted as the fi n-
ished sandwich was handed to me.
“It’s huge!”
“That’s that kind of response
we like to hear!” the clerk said.
Indeed, it was a heck of a
LITTLE APPLE
GROCERY
Rating:
Sandwiches are made to order at
the Little Apple, and this pastrami
sandwich was huge.
sandwich. This
sandwich was
so big it bullied
other sand-
wiches in high
school. This
sandwich is
so big it wears
a mumu. This
sandwich is so
big its friends
call it “tiny.”
O.K., O.K.,
enough.
But really,
a big deal for
$5.95. The veggies were fresh
and crisp, the pastrami salty and
briny, and the ratios right on. I
also liked the thin bread, though
that might’ve been a product of
the sandwich’s resting weight
smooshing it down.
At a clerk’s suggestion, I tried
the Spanish Rice from the hot
case. It was heavy and a pretty
reasonable amount of food ($3.95/
small). Seasoned primarily with
tomato and pepper, dotted with
black olives and chunks of beef
meatballs and a few bell pep-
pers, it was robustly simple. (It
deserves mention that, at Little
Apple, “smalls” aren’t small —
they’re lunch-sized.)
The Baby Back Ribs too
caught my eye, but I was foolish
to take them from the cold case
for a picnic. The sauce was to-
matoes and not overly sweet, but
at approximately $4 for two ribs
(at $9.99/lb), a bit spendy. The
Curry Chicken ($9.99/lb) made
more sense cold. With cranberries,
Above: The deli at Little Apple in
Manzanita boasts cold and hot food.
Left: The baked half chicken was a
steal at $5.95.
of which came almost bursting,
stretching the walls of the paper
boat in which it was delivered.
The Chicken Primavera ($3.95/
cashews, and a yogurt-like, cum-
small) was a smooth, milky,
in-forward sauce, it was all-killer, cream-of-mushroom-soupy knot
no-fi ller.
of noodles, shredded chicken,
Also from the cold case I tried
Parmesan and a few veggies. Pre-
the seaweed-hinted Asian Slaw
pared in a deep pan, the Pot Pie
($7.99/lb.), which featured snap
($3.95/small) substituted biscuits
peas and cilantro
for a baked-in
with the cabbage
crust. With pota-
EACH TIME
base. The Beet
toes, peas, carrots
THE REGISTER
Salad, with red
and chicken in
onions and a
loads of thick,
RUNG UP MY
touch of citrus,
muddy gravy,
BOUNTY I WAS
was an ideal beet
it was a salty
SURPRISED AT
delivery vehicle.
brick waiting to
THE LOW TOTAL, harden.
The Kale Salad
FOR THESE WERE
($2.99 for a 1/2
I much pre-
pint) was lightly
GOOD DEALS BY ferred the baked
tossed in a citrus
ANY STANDARD, half-chicken.
oil, dusted with a
golden skin
PARTICULARLY IN With
few nutty shreds,
still on, I found it
THE MIDST OF A a steal at $5.95.
fl akes of Parme-
TOURIST TOWN
san and cran-
It was salty and
WITH LIMITED
berries. It was
succulent, and it
earthy, raw and
made me feel a
OPTIONS.
simple, and it left
bit like royalty —
me feeling lean,
at least as much
mean and clean — a stark contrast as any food for around fi ve bucks
to the following weighty starches
can. Together with some of that
of the heated bulk foods, each
kale salad you’ve got a high-oc-
193 Laneda Ave., Manzanita
503-368-5362
HOURS: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon-
day through Thursday; 7 a.m.
to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday;
8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
PRICE: $ – Deals abound.
SERVICE: Take-out that’s quick,
friendly and attentive.
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN OP-
TIONS: Vegetarians should do
well; vegans should be able to
make do.
DRINKS: Market has beer,
wine, juice, soda, coff ee, etc.
KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM
Poor
Below average
Good & worth return
Excellent
Best in region
tane, near-paleo meal-and-a-half
for nine bucks.
And, hey, though I like a
bargain, I’m no stooge. Add one
of the Little Apple’s home-made
cookies for a buck and you’ve
got dessert. The macadamia nut
variety were thin and buttery,
the oatmeal raisins were soft and
familiar.
Each time the register rung up
my bounty I was surprised at the
low total, for these were good
deals by any standard, particular-
ly in the midst of a tourist town
with limited options. As such,
Little Apple’s deli is like a Swiss
army knife, ideal for a picnic at
the beach, a house party spread,
family dinner or a quick, work-
ing lunch. The selection is broad
enough to serve all tastes, with
everything from kale salads to
corn dogs.