If you're interested in a discussion about the entire "salumi" vs. "salami" debate - PLEASE check out the detailed comments on StarbucksMelody.com's blog post about Bistro Boxes. As far as I know, there was never a definitive answer - but look - this is the coffee change that names "Small, Medium, Large, Big Gulp" as "tall, grande, venti and trenta." Do you REALLY think they give a whoop about selling four slices of salami as "salumi" for seven dollars? No. I didn't think so.
WHAT DO YOU GET?
For $6.95 plus tax, you get 4.6 ounces (TOTAL) of prosciutto, two kinds of salami (peppered and dry), Asiago cheese, crackers, olives and a square of dark chocolate. And a VERY LARGE limp lettuce leaf.
HERE'S HOW IT BREAKS DOWN:
(3) paper-thin six-inch strips of prosciutto
(2) two-inch circles of dry salami
(2) two-inch circles circles of peppered salami
(4) triangular wedges of Asiago cheese; if you put them together you would get two squares slightly larger than one inch
(7) olives (WITH PITS) packed in their own 2 oz. cup
(4) Ak-mak crackers (5x1 inches, 2 packs, 2 per pack)
(1) large leaf of Romaine lettuce folded under the prosciutto and salami slices to give the appearance of the package containing more protein than it actually does.
(1) one-inch square of dark chocolate in a green Starbucks foil wrapper
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| Nutritional information on the Starbucks Bistro box. |
Serving size: 1 package
Calories: 420
Calories from fat: 230
Total Fat: 26g (39%)
Saturated Fat: 9g (46%)
Cholesterol: 70mg (23%)
Sodium: 1710mg (71%)
Total Carbohydrates: 22g (7%)
Dietary Fiber: 3g (13%)
Sugars: 3g
Protein: 25g
According to the ingredient list, both types of salami contain sugar and corn syrup.
DIVING IN:
I made sure to take a photo before I ripped in. I have a lot of thoughts - starting with the packaging.
The paper packaging doesn't come off nearly as easily as I thought. The brown paper label is attached with some gummy adhesive - and doesn't pull off easily. This will be a problem in communities that demand "clean" recyclables. The green "ribbon" around the box doesn't go all the way around - and seems to be able to be used as some kind of ripcord to slit the brown paper and make it easier to wedge the corners of the box open.
The plastic box does open really easily - although I did have a handful of sticky label residue.
THE FOOD:
I have knocked Starbucks food for years. The new "healthy" pastries are just not as good.
And I think including lettuce as a garnish and space filler is frelling ridiculous. But as a confirmed fat person - the TASTE of the stuff in the Bistro Box is ... AMAZING. Within the bounds of what can be packaged and shipped for thousands of miles, this is high-quality stuff - especially the meat.
You just don't get a lot of it. Seriously. Less than five ounces of food - and you get a larger portion of cheap crackers than cheese (even though the name of the product is "Salumi & Cheese.") Really. You can get a pack of the crackers for $0.17 on Amazon. Do the math.
I have to give a shout-out one of the longtime baristas at this store - who shared her impressions of the Salumi & Cheese Bistro Box with me. She was very generous with her time - even though there were only two people on duty. I was able to ask questions about the product, which items in it she liked, didn't like or some of the curious tastes I sampled. It was an excellent example of connecting with customers - and yet another reason I will always treasure this particular neighborhood store.
ITEM-BY-ITEM - MY IMPRESSIONS.
Pepper Salami: At least two people have said that they found the pepper salami too strong. I like strong tastes and was pleasantly surprised by this item. It does have a pungent kick - almost as if someone accidentally dumped half a pepperpot into the soup by mistake - but it makes a nice change from bland, assembly-line food. Both salamis were meaty and the slices thick and chewable without being like those hard-as-a-rock gift salamis that come in Swiss Colony gift baskets at Christmas.
Dry Salami: Nice, pleasant. I couldn't tell much difference from the pepper salami other than the obvious lack of pepper. I made a little sandwich with a half a cracker, a piece of salami and a bit of cheese. It was great. You definitely get plenty of meat with this carnivore's delight of a meal - although you CERTAINLY pay for it with the salt and cholesterol content.
Prosciutto: The prosciutto is good quality - but not great. I've shelled out $14 for a quarter-pound on the half-way good stuff before. I know. This whole thing does cost $6.95 after all. There's more prosciutto than anything else - which is nice. It doesn't taste especially greasy - but it has that nice, slippery, meaty feel. The strips are paper-thin - and tear easily. There's not much of a "smell," because of the overpowering odor of the pepper salami next to it.
Cheese: I was disappointed that there were only four small triangles of white cheese. The label claims Asiago and that's what TWO of them definitely are. Both the barista and I detected different flavors in the other two; she'd had a Salumi Bistro Box the day before. The cheese was still semi-soft, although I wouldn't rule out a Romano, but it was like a spicy Asiago. Definitely a little harder, a little spicier. But there was basically only a two-inch by one-inch wedge of cheese once you put the triangles together. Disappointing on that front - and really not enough to enjoy with the salami and prosciutto.
Olives: More disappointment. Seven Greek olives sitting lonely in a sealed 2 oz. cup. I think I got four brown and three green. And there were pits. The barista warned me and there was a tiny warning under the ingredient list on the packaging. I almost swallowed one of the pits trying not to gnaw on the olives while people were looking at me. Another thing that bothers me about the pits - I tried various flavor combinations among the items in the box - and having pits effectively removes the olives from that equation.
Crackers: The crispy Ak-Mak crackers were previously in the Fruit & Cheese platter. You get four of them and they're the perfect complement to the the salami, cheese and prosciutto or to munch as a cracker. Try not to think about the fact that you get more bread (twenty inches altogether) than cheese in a "Meat & Cheese" plate ....
Chocolate: Baristas and friends have raved about the dark chocolate square - calling it "the best part of the meal." I deliberately saved a bite of the pepper salami until the very end - then followed it with half the dark chocolate square to see how the combination of spicy and sweet would taste.
The chocolate is good - very good. Very, very good. Creamy, with just the right amount of bitterness needed for dark chocolate but yet not overwhelming. And you get less than an inch of it, so make it count. Try not to think about the fact that you spent $7 and the best thing about the meal was a single square of chocolate...
Lettuce: Absolutely worthless and whoever stuck this in there should be ashamed of themselves for starving rabbits everywhere of their rightful provender.
Furthermore - it was arranged in such a way as to make the salami and prosciutto portions look as if they filled the entire end of that tray - only to open it to find more than half the space occupied by limp, wilting and unappetizing lettuce. Thanks for that.
WASTE - AND NO RECYCLING:
Although nearly everything in the package can be either compounded or recycled - that only happens in select communities.
One thing I was definitely unhappy about - especially seeing as how Starbucks has championed green initiatives - was the amount of wast generated by the Bistro Box. In fact, the packaging itself is a huge step UP in plastic from the previous sandwich offering - and the lunch trays which at least had biodegradable cardboard bottoms.
I wound up throwing away what trash I could - and bringing the plastic home to recycle in my bins. This is NOT GOOD - and I wonder how much of this plastic goes to landfills on a daily basis?
All that hue and cry about dipper wells - and no recycling bins?
WHAT KINDS OF TRASH DO YOU GET?
(1) Six by eight by one plastic tray
(1) 2 oz. plastic cup - which contained only seven olives (extremely wasteful); this cup is also used for hummus, the peanut sauce with the lettuce wraps and some other things. It is very sturdy plastic - and could be re-used for personal things if you stick it in a bag or purse - but will most likely be thrown out.
(2) plastic wrappers used for the Ak-mak crackers
(1) foil wrapper for the dark chocolate square
(1) lettuce leaf
(?) multiple pieces of the brown paper wrapping
The Bistro Boxes also DO NOT fit into the trash cans. I saw a woman trying to cram the leftovers from her Lettuce Wraps into one Thursday night; it didn't fit and she scattered peanuts all over the floor for the baristas to sweep up.
VALUE:
In Florida, the sales tax is six percent, thus the Bistro Box costs $7.37. Adding even a drip coffee pushes the total to very near $9. With a tip (or a more expensive drink) you've dropped $10 or more on what's not even fast food.
In defense of the Bistro Box - it is high quality and I did feel like I was getting something reasonably close to gourmet. I never feel that way at McDonald's, Wendy's or Chick-fil-A. It is definitely "aspirational," right down to the price.
I will also say that because I at very slowly, analyzing each bite and pausing mentally to make note and try different combinations, I was relatively full after finishing the Bistro Box and a trenta raspberry passion tea lemonade (of course, the lemonade helped!). For an on-the-go lunch, it is something I'd get; for an everyday meal, no. Any anyone expecting to feel "full" after one of these is either delusional or probably not the typical person who's going to be shopping the Starbucks cold case for lunch...
To me, one of the biggest negatives remains the astonishing nutritional information. In only five ounces of food - Starbucks serves up 26 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat (almost half your daily allowance), 1710mg of sodium and 70mg of cholesterol. As the "carnivore's delight" of the set, this is definitely the most "unhealthy" of the Bistro Box line - but I'm almost betting that it will prove the most popular.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:
I was surprised and somewhat gratified by the quality of the food - especially the prosciutto and the pepper salami. Starbucks resisted the urge to bring the taste levels down to the blandness preferred by most of America - and hopefully palates will appreciate that.
I'm disappointed by the distinct lack of cheese on an item with "cheese" in its name, as well as the paucity of flavorful olives (and the dreaded pits).
The flavors all mesh well together and present multiple opportunities for delightful surprises should you be in the mood to experiment with a bit of salami here, a touch of cheese there or a cracker and olive together. Think of the Bistro Box as the starter platter at a low-end Mediterranean restaurant with a great charcuterie next door - and you won't be disappointed.
And savor the tiny square of chocolate (at least until they wise up and start selling them as standalones). It doesn't last long.
Just seeing the way they spell 'salami', I can taste how pretentious it is. No thanks.
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