Duane Reade Fresh Food for The Big Game

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The big game is right around the corner, and that probably means many of you are creating a fantastic menu of gameday snacks. I know I did it one year, complete with themed desserts, complicated appetizers, and all that. But what if you're not in the mood to go all out, and you still want good food? If you live in NYC, the answer is DeLish Fresh Food from Duane Reade.

DeLish Fresh Food is prepared (you guessed it!) fresh and delivered daily to many Duane Reade stores throughout NYC. The line ranges from savory entrees, soups, sandwiches, sushi, dips, and even dessert. I've had the opportunity to taste from the line last year, and the food definitely had that vibrant flavor that freshly made food often does. 'DeLish' was the appropriate name to pick, I think.

I visited the 1350 Broadway Duane Reade to see what was available and was pleased to find many dishes that are similar to what I would have prepared for a big game menu. I picked up the Triple Cheese Mac & Cheese, noodles in a Gruyere, Parmesan, and Swiss cheese sauce, Chicken Fajiita Panini, a very delicious chicken sandwich with a southwestern flair, Homemade Olive Tapenade with Baked Pita Chips, a pureed olive dip, and a mini Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake for dessert. In retrospect, I should have picked up two mac & cheeses and cheesecakes.

I nibbled on the food as I dished it (pro tip: remove the plastic cover before microwaving the mac & cheese) and upon my first taste of my selection, my taste buds rejoiced. I added a few carrots to be healthy. It goes well with the tapenade, too.

My favorite was the chicken fajita panini. The chicken filling was very, very good, wasn't too moist (nobody likes soggy bread) and had an excellent flavor. Unlike many chicken salad-type sandwiches, the chicken here wasn't coated in a mayonnaise-based dressing. I found that very refreshing.

Or, maybe my favorite was the tapenade, since I LOVE olives. It's tough to say. And as a certain famous football player once said, you gotta have tapenade for the big game.

Mac & Cheese is just the perfect comfort food for this time of year, making it a winner. Well, the cheese makes it a winner. This dish features a trio of cheeses and is not your typical cheddar cheese pasta dish. I enjoyed it.

For dessert, I got the aforementioned mini raspberry swirl cheesecake (I promise that's not a fingerprint). There were a few other flavors, too, like a cappuccino, a flavor I would normally choose if the raspberry hadn't spoken to my soul. I should have picked up two of these because they are SO GOOD. I was thinking it would be a nice little treat to split, but that was a very silly idea.

You have to understand that cheesecake isn't my go-to dessert. It's often heavy and dense, as cheesecake is by nature. Maybe I had a change of heart, I don't know, but I thoroughly enjoyed how this tasted and the raspberry was a great flavor. I'm going to have to recreate this.

The #DRFresh line works for every occasion, really, not just the big game. For example, lunch. Or when you don't feel like making dinner, or are hanging out with friends. I don't really need a reason, to be honest, I just need to have a craving for tasty food. Check it out if you're in NYC.

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