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The Virginia Deli in downtown Fredericksburg is giving customers the choice of voting for the Blue, for the Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket, or the Red, for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, in its second presidential sandwich poll. |
BY CATHY JETT
A downtown Fredericksburg eatery is letting customers put their money where their mouths are.
The Virginia Deli, at 101 William St., is holding its second appetizing take on presidential elections with a sandwich contest. It runs through the deli's 4 p.m. closing on Election Day, Nov. 6.
"Customers come in and read the flier and think it's funny," said Linda Freeman, who owns the business with her family. "They enjoy it. That's why we repeated it from the last election. It's just for fun."
The contest pits the Blue, a spicy Buffalo grilled-chicken wrap with blue cheese dressing, against the Red, a red-pepper roast beef wrap with red onions and a drizzle of Russian dressing. While the winner doesn't get to go to the White House, it will have the honor of staying on the deli's menu until the end of the year.
Freeman said that sandwiches' names aren't meant to symbolize those blue Democratic states and red Republican states on election maps, even though they do match their party affiliations.
Instead, the Freemans came up with them because Barack Obama and Joe Biden both have names that start with the letter "B," and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan both have last names that begin with the letter "R."
"We tried thinking of all the ingredients that started with those letters, and tried putting them together until we found something that went well together," Linda Freeman said.
The Virginia Deli launched its current presidential sandwich "election" on Oct. 1. So far the Blue is in the lead, but the Red isn't far behind.
"I guess people like the spicy Buffalo chicken best," Freeman said.
Occasionally a customer who supports the Obama-Biden ticket will complain that he really prefers the Red wrap, or vice versa.
"I have to remind them that they're rooting for a sandwich, not the candidate," said Freeman, who noted that she and her family are staying neutral about the election.
The last time the Virginia Deli held a presidential sandwich contest, Obama and Biden were running against Republican challengers John McCain and Sarah Palin.
In that "race," the clear winner was the McPalin, a hearty roast beef and cheddar sandwich served with mushrooms, onions and a tangy bistro sauce on grilled sourdough bread.
It beat out the Obiden--basically a grilled-chicken Caesar sandwich with provolone cheese on toasted garlic-herb sourdough--to win an official spot on the menu by a vote of 62 percent to 38 percent.
"We've shortened the menu so it's no longer on it," Freeman said. "But if someone requests it, we can still make it."
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com
