Dean & Deluca @ Breeze Center - now open

Dean & Deluca @ Breeze Center is now open (Level B2).

What’s this, Rascal? Got more info?

Dean & Deluca is a famous gourmet store from New York. The branch (or franchise?) at Breeze Center is however rather small but includes a seating area, they sell mostly gourmet food stuff (including fresh food) and drinks but also some kitchenware. Prices looked expensive.

The Mrs and I walked by it Christmas night. Looked expensive and no one was really shopping inside. It is really hidden from view. Kind of looks like a cafe when you walk by, but if you go in they have some gourmet overpriced kitchen stuff and foods.

If you know williams and sonomaor sur la table…it’s kind of the same thing

Dean & Deluca is a famous gourmet store from New York. The branch (or franchise?) at Breeze Center is however rather small but includes a seating area, they sell mostly gourmet food stuff (including fresh food) and drinks but also some kitchenware. Prices looked expensive.[/quote]

Well… Dean & Deluca was never cheap to begin with even in NYC. When you really think about it, there are plenty of good delis in NYC where you can get good, quality produce - similar to what
D & D was offering. What I found different about them in NYC was that they had a very extensive range of products. You can get good cheese, caviar, smoked salmon, deep fried soft shell crabs, sashimi and dim sum - all under the same roof. It’s all very ‘chi-chi’ and gourmet-like - it caters for the well-travelled, jet-setting New Yorkers I guess.

A nice addition to Taipei. Not wildly expensive, but I’m not sure if these are just opening prices. Good quality bagels, baguette sarnies, soup, hot food, salads, etc. They told me this morning that there’s still a lot of stock that hasn’t arrived yet.

I’ve never been to the NY branch of D&D, but have been to the one in Napa Valley, CA. The range of cheeses available at Napa Valley is mind-blowing, and the considerably smaller cheese counter at Breeze was a disappointment. But the food available there is quality gourmet stuff, with truffles, caviar and foie gras as should be expected.

The missus brought me a sandwich from Dean & Deluca today. It was positively stuffed with smoked salmon, onions, capers, and cream cheese. After I finished it I just sat there for ten minutes, staring.

I have been there and must say, what a disappointment! You are better off to shop at Jasons!

The sandwhiches are no good. The toppings are tasty but they are ready-made and wrapped in thin plastic foil, so they get soggy. And that for a price of NTD 150 and up. Disappointing.

I can not agree more.

Needed Mascarpone for a Tiramisu.
D&D asked +500 TWd for a 250 gr cup of whatever unknown brand it was. Breeze itself was 350 for a 500 gr form Galbana. more than fare enough.

Freaking expensive, and do have a closer look on what the customers buy. Sandwiches and drinks to show off with a D&D bag.
This must be Taiwan. :smiley:

Last but not least, their counter is in the MIDDLE of the shop which makes it almost impossible for them to check what is paid or not. (euh this is not and advise)

Did you try them all? If not, which ones didn’t you like? Just wondering so I know to stay away. In the meantime, I’m still staring. :astonished:

D&D also carries Lion Coffee - a few of the 10% Kona blends in 6 and 20 oz bags. But at three times what it costs in Hawaii. Lion Coffee. 3 times the price. Lion Coffee. 3 times the price. Fuck it, what was I thinking.

I tried two: the ciabatta with ham and cheese (prosciutto and some name I can’t pronounce) and the brie & eggplant sandwich. I got a free coffee (house blend) with it since they just opened, so the value for money was a bit better, but the problem of being soggy would probably apply to all sandwiches that are wrapped. Otherwise the ciabatte would taste great and might just be worth the money they are asking.

Oh, and the french bread thing (baguette) sold at the bakery section was so dry that it could have been from the day before.

All in all not what I would have expected given their reputation, presentation and pricing.

So I was lucky in the sandwich. But I’ve always been lucky when it comes to sandwiches.

Hell of a thing, eatin’ a sandwich.

Some good news, they don’t wrap the sandwiches in foil anymore (someone at D&D reading forumosa?), and you can have them toasted. :slight_smile:

I found the prices to be insulting. Obscene, really. I’d rather donate to Ma Ke or Animals Taiwan than blow a few thou at a shop like that.

I dunno. If its really 150 for a reasonably proper sandwich made with actual bread and decent cheese and meat as opposed to 180 for the utter shite-on-cottonwool served up by Subway and laughingly described as “a sandwich,” then its actually pretty good value IMO.

Well, that’s not too bad; I mean, Au Bon Pain is 150 too, but they’re made to order and are quite large. My prices comment was really directed at the majority of the other stuff in the shop.

I have no idea what the critics are talking about. I’m with smell the glove – D&D is fantastic.

I went there for the first time – in the US or Taiwan – today. I admit, my opinion’s slightly biased, because my wife’s friend works there (sorry, can’t divulge names), so for NT$20 (!!!) we stuffed our faces and came home with more than enough for a fabulous dinner. I realize in regular circumstances the prices are not cheap.

But I can attest to the outstanding selection of deli sandwiches, salads, soups and the like: deep-fried softshell crabs; stuffed seabass with dill sauce; beautiful roast beef; short ribs; various pasta salads with olives, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts; others with scallops, giant prawns and/or squid; great combinations of several types of mushrooms; and a diverse array of mouthwatering sandwiches unavailable even in Marks & Spencer. I saw smell the gloves’ lox/onion sandwich and it looked great, but there were a half dozen others equally enticing.

I didn’t bother to check out the shelves of other gourmet goods for sale there, but I’m sure there’s loads of great stuff (for those who want to splurge a little for great food), as I was stuffed and just wanted to drop by quickly at the grocery store next door for a few belgian beers to bring home.

:slight_smile: :lick: :notworthy:

I took my dinner there last night, first time actually I had a real meal there. The set goes for NTD300 including three side dishes and soup of your choice, and some garlic bread. The lady behind the counter probably thought I was in need of a diet and gave me the smallest piece of chicken breast that was on the display plate. Anyhow, all the dishes except the soup were cold (as in: it hurt my teeth) and the taste was only so-so. Not worth the money IMHO.

And worst, this morning my stomach and bowel weren’t happy. Not at all in fact. Though I can’t prove that this was caused by the dinner it seems the most likely cause as I had taken nothing “unusal” during the whole day. I think I will stick to the sandwiches.