Wright’s Gourmet House | Tampa
We had just satisfied our hungering brains’ demands for art and our parched skins’ cries for cool temperatures with a stroll through an air-conditioned museum. Now our bellies cried out for attention. Surrounded by options galore, we decided to revisit a pleasant spot for choice sandwiches and sweet cakes: Wright’s Gourmet House.
Downtown at the museum
We had just enjoyed a visit to the Tampa Museum of Art to soak in some beautiful works rather than soaking in our own sweat outdoors. This placed us downtown and I thought made a great opportunity to revisit Wright’s Gourmet. The family-run deli had charmed us with its quality spin on the basic sandwich and I longed to return and see what else they could do with two slices of bread and savory meat and cheese. Also cake. Big wedges of cake in sugary frosting.
This art is making me hungry
All that marveling and slowly shuffling from one piece of art to the next really took a lot out of us. And that climate control can really sap your energy. I don’t know how those curators cope. We needed to refuel.
Truth be told, we just wanted to chow down on tasty sandwiches and Wright’s Gourmet had hit the spot before. I did find fault with their Beef Martini sandwich and wanted to try it grilled to see if that would make the herbed butter more palatable to me.
Also, we had tried two cakes last visit and I was itching to try two more. Good cake is hard to come by in these grocery store bakery days of whipped cream frostings and vapid sponge.
Crosstown to the deli
We made it in minutes from downtown to Palma Ceia West and the very busy S Dale Mabry Highway. It was that slow period between lunch and dinner which we find perfect for short wait times. As I walked through the door, I realized I wasn’t going to get the Beef Martini – round two, I was going to try something different. The menu has much to offer and we don’t get here often enough to mess around with duplicate dishes.
Wright’s Gourmet House
Cafe – Deli – Caterer
1200 S. Dale Mabry Hwy.
Tampa, FL 33629
Phone: (813)253-3838
Hours: Monday to Friday – 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Closed Sunday
http://www.wrightsgourmet.com/default.asp
So many choices
Dessert first
First things first. Since we were met by the gleaming case upon entry, we’d need to choose our cakes. Aside from sandwiches, it is their cakes and pies that buff Wright’s Gourmet to a high shine.
I was being torn between the Chocolate Cake or the Rum Cake when I spotted the most beautiful slice of pecan pie I’d ever set eyes on. Yar, it were as big as a bluegill if it were an inch. Probably five inches from crust to tip, but it was the thickness that tugged at my rod. My metaphorical fishing rod, that is. I’ll stop.
I’d never seen so much sugary filling, as thick as my thumb is long and supporting a layer of mahogany pecans glistening under a shellac of sugary egg whites. I’ve never come to a decision with more affirmation and clarity—I was getting that Pecan pie.
Christa settled on the Hummingbird Cake after rejecting the Carrot Cake for daring to contain coconut. We carried our weighty plates wrapped tightly in cling film to the case of deli salads and looked over the options.
Eat your veggies
This visit I decided on the Veggie Pasta over the Broccoli & Peanut that might have won out if it had more dressing coating the florets. Christa chose Dill Potato Salad.
Sandwiches third
Finally, we came to the Wright’s Gourmet sandwich station. I still considered the Beef Martini, but finally rejected it, now torn between either the New Yorker, The Texan, or The Golden Gate. I settled on the New Yorker (Grilled) $10.25 “Corned Beef, Pastrami, Genoa salami, Provolone, and red onions on Rye with Pete’s Mustard Sauce.”
Because it was grilled, it takes an additional 15 minutes to prepare. We were in no rush. All sandwiches can be requested grilled, incidentally.
Christa decided on the Monte Cristo (Grilled) $10.25 “Our unique version is a double-decker served grilled on pumpernickel bread with ham, Genoa salami, turkey breast, German dill pickle slices and Jarlsberg cheese with our mustard sauce.” This also took fifteen minutes, so went to pay and find seats.
Settle up and fill’er up
We rung up and added a large beverage for me. Then I fixed my fresh-brewed iced tea with the provided fresh mint leaves and lemon wedges. As I was snapping the lid, a fiftyish man proceeded to fill his cup with a little of every available fresh brewed iced tea flavor (Orange Spice, Sweet, Raspberry, Mango, and Black).
I complimented his taste. Nodding, he endorsed the concoction as a must-try. I had to laugh and told him that on our last visit we were chatting with an older man about how as kids we’d fill our cups with every flavor from the soda fountain. He laughed and agreed, “Oh yeah, we called that a Suicide.” I’d not heard it called that before. This guy was hip. Or I was sheltered.
Making daydreams a reality…in my belly
Pick a Spot
Wright’s Gourmet is a big place and provides several areas for seating including several tables outside. Still appreciating the conditioned air, we found a booth in the dining room nearest the kitchen. Christa sat while I returned to the counter to be ready when the sandwiches were done.
Stools are provided at the glass-shielded kitchen line where you can sit and watch as your sandwich is prepared. We arrived at the right time, customers were queuing up in the serpentine to place their orders. After just about fifteen minutes the cook passed me a heavy tray with our meals which I carried with some fanfare to our table.
First impressions
They looked fantastic, as all grilled sandwiches do. Golden toasted rye bread topped sliced meats with melted provolone peeking out like white lava from between the layers. Shimmering pumpernickel in its crispy buttery glaze revealed soft Jarlsberg and a rainbow of meats. Each sandwich was cut into Wright’s signature wedges for easy eating beside cups of salad.
Christa’s scoop of potato salad was in a little cup; my helping of pasta salad was in a broader container. And it looked delicious: green peas, strips of red pepper, bright yellow squash, white onion, scallion, and pasta shells in a creamy mayonnaise sauce. I speared a forkful before my butt hit the bench.
Winning friends with salad
This was the best pasta salad I’d ever had. And all the fresh crisp veggies made it seem healthier than it likely was. Then I realized there were big cubes of feta throughout and I had to close my eyes to contain my joy. The peas were trending toward a slight olive color rather than bright verdant. Likely they were canned, but it didn’t hurt the end result, though frozen peas would have brought a fresh sweetness to the party.
Minced green herbs (that I couldn’t nail down—probably parsley and chives), enhanced the creamy dressing. The best way to describe it would be fresh veggies and pasta with feta in a homemade ranch dressing.
I really liked it and will likely get it on my next visit to Wright’s Gourmet. In fact, as I finished the leftovers at home the next day, after the last bit of salad was gone, I still wasn’t finished. I had to wipe the dressing clean from the bowl with torn bits from a heel of Italian roll going stale on the counter. Every drop was delicious.
Christa’s dill potato salad was a less moving experience. Though seasoned well, the sauce was a bit weak. It needed a punch, like some of those German pickles mixed in, or that mustard sauce. Mustard and dill, the two great tastes that taste—I’ve got to stop referring to that ancient commercial.
The dill potato salad lacked richness you’d expect from a mayonnaise-based sauce. This was likely due to the inclusion of sour cream. The red skin potatoes were nicely cooked—just between firm and crumbly. The dill flavor was present and the herb visible, but not overwhelming. I ate the remainder after Christa threw in the towel. It wasn’t bad, just not great—stomach filler when space was at a premium. No worries; that pasta salad was twice as good.
The sandwiches
The New Yorker
I moved to the New Yorker Sandwich. The soft provolone glistened in its melted oily goodness tinged with the mellow yellow of Pete’s mustard sauce. The toothsome mass of corned beef, pastrami, and Genoa salami brought tears to my eyes. We had yet to find a sandwich as bountiful in Florida. This was far from classic NY deli portions, but it was close enough to evoke strong memories and wistful tears. I bit into the beautiful mess.
The buttery crisp grilled rye crunched under the teeth and a too big fraction of the wedge was now chewed and contemplated. All three types of meat were delightfully salty and balanced well by the tangy mustard sauce. The soft cheese also melded well with the salt and spice of the pastrami and salami.
You might think all those flavors would mute each other, but they didn’t. It was a harmony of taste that made me smile with each bit between deep breaths to capture every taste. Wright’s Gourmet makes one delicious corned beef and pastrami sandwich; the best I’ve had since moving here.
The Monte Cristo
Christa’s Monte Cristo looked as good. This was not the standard Monte Christo build and I had to wonder why Wright’s Gourmet chose the name or decided to modify the classic. Typically a grilled ham or turkey and cheese on french toast, this version had no egg batter coating and included pickles and Genoa salami. Still, it sounded like a grand combination, and a reading of the menu would alert one to not expect the classic. Also, it was a triple-decker.
Irrespective of the moniker, it was a fine looking sandwich and tasted good, too. The German pickle, mustard sauce, and Jarlsberg were born to play well together. They did and the inclusion of the salami spiked the team with a nice peppery flavor that also complimented the mild roast turkey.
The middle slice of pumpernickel was as superfluous as the ham that was sort of lost within all those tastes and aromas, but I’m not complaining. Without dissecting the lot, the whole thing might not taste as good without them. Much like an orchestra without the viola. Or unlike Limp Bizkit without a turntablist, which would still sound bad and taste like a prison mattress, probably.
It was a fine and tasty bit of bread and meat and I’d get it again if there weren’t so many other attractive choices. Next visit to Wright’s Gourmet, I’m getting that Golden Gate.
The Reward of Desserts
I managed to resist the second half of the New Yorker and retire the pasta salad fork. Dessert was waiting and the nice thing about Wright’s Gourmet is that you choose it literally from the door. It is a foregone conclusion.
If you overeat and leave no room for cake, that’s on you. But how could you when the cake is staring you in the face from the table. It’s not an idea on a menu you’ve yet to see. Mr. Cake and Mr. Pie are right there, arms crossed, giving you the eye as you go to pick up that third quarter of sandwich. So I put it down and began unwrapping my wedge of pie. Christa took the cue and opened the cake.
Also, Mr. Cake and Mr. Pie…bond villains, my idea. I want a cut.
Pecan Pie
Best. Pecan. Pie. Ever. Hands down. The tawny filling was a smooth and sweet (you think?) custard of sugar and eggs that whispered molasses nothings with hints of vanilla. Maybe. Look, some time has passed and like a good roller coaster or bad grain, I don’t remember precisely what made it so euphoric and mind-bending, just that it was.
The Wright’s gourmet bakers know how to make pie pastry. The crust was buttery and crisp at the lip, soft and crumbly at the bottom. The pecans were very tasty, large and meaty without bitterness. A slight snap was present that often gets baked out of lesser specimens. But that filling—it had the cavity creeps going berserk. So sweet, so flavorful, so good.
Hummingbird Cake
Then I went in for a fork of Christa’s Hummingbird Cake. Think banana bread with tiny bits of pineapple and chopped nuts with a cream cheese frosting. It was moist, had a good crumb, and was very tasty with fresh banana flavor (no artificial taste at all), but a barely detectable hint of pineapple. I gobbled up half of my half.
However, it was at this moment that I decided once and for all that I simply do not like cream cheese frosting. This is no critique of Wright’s Gourmet. I’ve acknowledged in the past that it isn’t my favorite, and this version was no slouch, sweet, rich, and with good flavor. But I’d much rather have a vanilla buttercream in every single occasion where cream cheese frosting has adorned a cake.
To me, cream cheese frosting is like frozen yogurt to ice cream. Both seem to be more a bad attempt to make a healthy version of something that was never meant to be anything more than sweet and delicious. I’ll Take regular frosting any time over cream cheese, including on spice, carrot, or banana cake. Good day, sir!
Christa, however, loves cream cheese frosting. She thought Wright’s icing was delicious and will certainly get it again (assuming another flavor doesn’t win her fancy at that time).
All good things must come to an end
The cake was delicious, cream cheese frosting notwithstanding, the sugar pie with pecans was coursing through my veins, and the sandwiches were rounding out our bellies satisfyingly. That pasta salad will be on my next order, too. Other than the lackluster dill potato salad, every bite this visit to Wright’s Gourmet was exceptional.
I slurped the last of my lemony, minty tea as Christa slipped our leftovers into to-go bags (provided at a kiosk) and snapped a lid on my pasta salad.
Later that day
Back home, I put the leftovers in the fridge for later. I was tempted to take another bite of the salad but reminded myself that I’d be sorry the next day when there would be less to enjoy. Besides, I need to stop overeating. Patience; wait for the second marshmallow.
My assessment
Wright’s Gourmet has proven itself on this second trip. As I’ve stated before, there are so many places to try in the Tampa Bay area that it’s almost silly to go to the same place twice. But when you find something special, you create a little creature in your brain that begins to whisper ever so quietly of that wonderful thing.
The creature calls to you in your sleep, in your waking hours, as you drive, work, and play. Over the years, many of these creatures are born and lurk in your noggin. They whisper over each other; several voices rise to a shout, demanding they be heard. You can only placate them by answering the call, nay, the demand to go back to that spot. These spots vary in rank as much as the whispers vary in volume, but they each demand a return.
Now that their mastery has been proven, I must from now on quell the calls for Wright’s Gourmet until we try a lot more spots.
[Note to law enforcement and jurists: I do not actually hear voices in my head]
[Note to self: Answer the thirty-year call to return to Pappy’s Pizza Pub. They still exist. That is, one location of Pappy’s exists; not the voices. Get out of my head!]
In closing
Our meal at Wright’s Gourmet House was an enjoyable repast after our visit to the Tampa Museum of Art. The opportunity to revisit the capable deli paid off in stomach swelling proportions.
Sadly, distinctive well-made sandwiches have proved hard to find in our region and we are happy to have found this skilled array of artisans crafting in the medium of bread, meat, and cheese. And that cake and pie will forever be etched into our minds as the pièce de résistance of satisfying culinary bliss.
I know that other quality sandwich makers must exist in the area and we are now free to pursue their handiwork. Please stay tuned.
- What are your favorite sandwich spots in the Tampa region?
- What do you think of cream cheese frosting?