Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

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Romr123
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by Romr123 »

storewanderer wrote: December 7th, 2020, 11:19 pm
Bagels wrote: December 6th, 2020, 12:27 pm

Albertsons new $5.99 Firecracker Chicken Sandwich is pretty good- about $2.50 overpriced, but pretty good; they did a giveaway one Saturday in NorCal. The store I bought it from, which doesn't do much sandwich business, it was completely fresh made. They had the chicken patties in the warmer with fried chicken and assembled the rest of the sandwich to my order. The vegetable slaw was cool and crunchy, bun fresh, and overall it was far better than I expected it to be. I was going to buy one a couple days later in another Safeway which also doesn't do much sandwich business, at the $4.99 sale price. In that store, they had pre-assembled sandwiches already sitting wrapped in paper wrapping and tagged with a scale price label in the warmer. I asked about the sandwiches, specifically if they had the vegetable slaw and mayo/sauce already on them, and was told yes they were ready to go. I did not purchase.

I tried one at the Palm Springs Vons--$3.99 with the card. I was actually impressed--was pre-wrapped and about 2 hours old. Nothing abut pickle chips on it but it was actually pretty good (plus was about 90 minutes from the label-time). The bun was especially good--wasn't soggy or dry but had an unusually good flavor.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by storewanderer »

Romr123 wrote: February 7th, 2021, 11:05 am I tried one at the Palm Springs Vons--$3.99 with the card. I was actually impressed--was pre-wrapped and about 2 hours old. Nothing abut pickle chips on it but it was actually pretty good (plus was about 90 minutes from the label-time). The bun was especially good--wasn't soggy or dry but had an unusually good flavor.
Any idea if that bun is one they sell in the bakery?
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by Romr123 »

Will snoop around next time. Also, reading about the slaw/dressing, wonder what's up with that??
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by storewanderer »

Romr123 wrote: February 8th, 2021, 1:20 pm Will snoop around next time. Also, reading about the slaw/dressing, wonder what's up with that??
I think the slaw is to serve as a "buffer" to the spice level in the sauce. But the slaw had some degree of spice in itself but it is a cooling spiciness. For me it came together better than expected. However the one I received for free via the app offer was made fresh so the meat was hot and the slaw was cold.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by Romr123 »

And tried one from Albertsons' on the other side of Palm Springs--it was absolutely awful. The bun was the same--slightly textured surface (not shiny or glazed), enriched brioche-type bun, crinkle pickle chips, but the chicken was as dry as an eraser. It apparently hadn't been breaded (was brown and shiny--seemed entirely to have missed the breading station). It was the worst type of gas-station heatlamp chicken sandwich. I bought some deli meat and asked the deli clerk where they were--she pointed to the hot case behind me and said "yes, they're good aren't they"...with a pleasant, "we're proud of this product" kind of vibe. The timestamp was 12:50 and this was at about 1:30 (hence only 45 mins old). So bad that I reported it on the website. No slaw/sauce in evidence.
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Re: Kroger Deli Hot Food Programs

Post by storewanderer »

Romr123 wrote: February 9th, 2021, 2:46 pm And tried one from Albertsons' on the other side of Palm Springs--it was absolutely awful. The bun was the same--slightly textured surface (not shiny or glazed), enriched brioche-type bun, crinkle pickle chips, but the chicken was as dry as an eraser. It apparently hadn't been breaded (was brown and shiny--seemed entirely to have missed the breading station). It was the worst type of gas-station heatlamp chicken sandwich. I bought some deli meat and asked the deli clerk where they were--she pointed to the hot case behind me and said "yes, they're good aren't they"...with a pleasant, "we're proud of this product" kind of vibe. The timestamp was 12:50 and this was at about 1:30 (hence only 45 mins old). So bad that I reported it on the website. No slaw/sauce in evidence.
I really think they need to make these to order... most of the NorCal Division Stores at least the ones in my area are doing these as at least assembled to order. Also not sure the packaging they are using is the best (I think it may dry the thing out).

Kroger for a while (maybe still) had self serve chicken and fish sandwiches. Plain horrid Kroger Value (at the time) brand Hamburger bun with maybe some butter and pickle for the chicken, not sure what was on the fish. That product held in the self serve pre-wrapped case in a foil bag (Chickfila-type bag) for the 4 hour hold time just fine. I do think the foil bag helped keep it from drying out.
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