They say that if life gives you lemons you should make lemonade. And if you have a restaurant whose concept doesn't work, you change concepts. Such is the case with Fresca Deli - formerly the downtown Freshii.
Eric Heffel and Larry Shield opened Freshii at the CalPERS building last April with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. It was the first Freshii in Sacramento - a franchised operation from Canada that featured customizable salads, wraps, bowl, and soups using the freshest of ingredients. Although I liked the idea myself at first (Freshii review), I must admit that I became tired of it quickly. After all, as not a super healthy eater, the healthy focused menu didn't appeal to me as something where I would go back often enough - just once in a while. There were other things too, but in the end Heffel and Shield decided that Sacramento wasn't the market for Freshii after all and they cut their ties with Freshii in December.
So now what? Time to go it alone and create a new identity and a new menu. Freshii became Fresca Deli and the team began creation of a new menu of sandwiches, salads, and soups with an emphasis on grilled sandwiches while having to work around limited cooking facilities. The location has no hood and so they are limited to cold items or hot items from panini presses or cooked on countertop burners (soups, stews). They will soon be offering some pastas as well. The Yogurtagogo side has always been a hit and so those fantastic yogurts are still there with all the toppings.
Eric Heffel and Larry Shield opened Freshii at the CalPERS building last April with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. It was the first Freshii in Sacramento - a franchised operation from Canada that featured customizable salads, wraps, bowl, and soups using the freshest of ingredients. Although I liked the idea myself at first (Freshii review), I must admit that I became tired of it quickly. After all, as not a super healthy eater, the healthy focused menu didn't appeal to me as something where I would go back often enough - just once in a while. There were other things too, but in the end Heffel and Shield decided that Sacramento wasn't the market for Freshii after all and they cut their ties with Freshii in December.
So now what? Time to go it alone and create a new identity and a new menu. Freshii became Fresca Deli and the team began creation of a new menu of sandwiches, salads, and soups with an emphasis on grilled sandwiches while having to work around limited cooking facilities. The location has no hood and so they are limited to cold items or hot items from panini presses or cooked on countertop burners (soups, stews). They will soon be offering some pastas as well. The Yogurtagogo side has always been a hit and so those fantastic yogurts are still there with all the toppings.
Before I continue and lose any former Freshii lovers, it should be noted that they should not abandon the new Fresca Deli altogether. The top sellers in each category of the Freshii menu were kept on, just under new names. If you were a fan of the Warrior Chicken bowl, it's now called the Kickin Chicken bowl. If you had a truly customized item that you always ordered, you can still get that too. Although they weren't able to keep all 72 ingredients in the Freshii lineup, they do have the most popular. So let's say you always ordered a customized wrap with rice, black beans, corn, tomatoes, jalapenos, chicken, and cilantro, you can still order it and it will be made up for you. And if you ordered it on a very frequent basis (my coworker used to go twice a week), then they can file your creation so that when you come in to order they have it at their fingertips.
My favorite new items are the grilled cheeses. First off, I rarely eat cold sandwiches. The only cold sandwich I will run for is a banh mi. Fresca is looking into adding those to the menu soon. :-) But meanwhile, there are a selection of grilled cheeses now made with quality cheeses, including havarti and brie. Nothing beats the ooey gooey deliciousness of melted cheese. Melted cheese belongs right up there in foodie stratosphere with bacon in my opinion. Yes, they sell grilled cheese inside at the competing cafeteria, but they can't compare to quality of the cheese blends used at Fresca.
On another day I went and had the pesto chicken sandwich. This sandwich is filled with tons of quality shredded chicken. You get your money's worth. Originally made with feta cheese, I suggested the havarti would do better for the melt factor and to hold the sandwich together better. They agreed and switched the cheese. That's one thing I will say is that they are willing to hear suggestions and feedback, certainly more so in person than being blasted via social media. But that will be a topic I will discuss in another post soon.
Also coming off the panini presses are the quesadillas. They fill the tortillas with plenty of fillings, fold them into a nice square, and then sear them closed with the panini press. I had the Fiesta which had cheeses, chicken, tomato, corn, jalapenos all in a whole wheat tortilla. It comes with a side of salsa.
In the soup category they have a few that are regulars like the tomato bisque and the pozole. One regular that is zesty and robust was the shrimp and corn chowder. There's a nice tang from some spices that give it a Southwestern flare.
After work it might be nice to stop by for a drink. Fresca carries two beers on tap at all times and sells about a half dozen bottled beers as well. Also in the cold case are some Smirnoff drinks and hard ciders. If you are a wine drinker, they have wine from E.T.C. (a collaboration between Duckhorn & Berringer) available.
Maybe you like theme nights. Over the last year the former Freshii held jazz and karaoke nights. Themes will continue at Fresca. Already they have a good crowd for Thursday Salsa Nights. In the winter they move out all the furniture and in the summer they will continue to use the spacious and attractive patio area. There are also Beer Pong Wednesdays. This later crowd has Fresca trying out some later hours as well. They stay open until 1 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Disclaimer: Eric Heffel, co-owner of Fresca Deli and owner of Yogurtagogo, advertises on my site and has become a friend.
1 comment:
Good post. I do want to try this place now - probably a wise change to healthy AND borderline heathy options available for those days when you're just not craving a salad.
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