In an interview in Time Out London a couple of years ago, Lady Gaga randomly said, “I’m not a sandwich store that only sells turkey sandwiches. I sell a lot of different things.”
That might make the funky-fun Olive & Finch the Lady Gaga of bakery-cafés, because it sells a lot of different things, including a killer house-roasted turkey sandwich (and a remarkable black bean quinoa salad — no, really), and the unique community setting definitely has early-Gaga coolness going for it. But it’s the inspired concoction called Nanner’s ($10.25) that blows the bud-brined mind, and also makes decisions here easier.
The large and filling Nanner’s sandwich covers the crucial elements of the flavor profile – sweet, sour, salty and bitter — and it has umami (oo-MA-me), that elusive protein taste with the silly name (go ahead, say it over and over until it has no meaning). A hefty beam of crackly-crusted baguette comes lined with sweet, creamy Brie and paper-thin prosciutto, all tied together with poached figs (yes!), their sticky sweetness exactly the thing to keep the dry-cured ham from being dry or too salty. A thin layer of arugula adds a little peppery bitterness.
In the face of all this richness, the fat, juicy pickle spear on the side (chips come with it, too, and sometimes they offer a house-pickled vegetable medley) will hit your salivary glands like a vinegar-slicked baseball bat. In a good way.
Here’s the real bonus at O&F: Likely tired of every customer whining about the miserable lack of parking in the ’hood — it wasn’t me, I swear — O&F now offers curbside pickup. That way, you can lick the gooey Brie and syrupy figs off your fingers in the privacy of your own funky-fun space.
Convenient to: A picnic at City Park — definitely take advantage of that pick-up service — or for a quick bite before you head in or out of downtown along 17th Avenue.
Info: Olive & Finch (1552 E. 17th Ave., Denver. 303-832-8663) Click here for details
