Best Food at Lee’s Deli

Leo Pearson

Lee’s Marketplace (located at 255N and 400W) is right across the street from West High School,  and is the most popular off-campus lunch destination for students of West High, attracting so many customers that there is often a wait line to get into the store. The popularity is mostly due to the dual-attraction of grocery store type food, like chips, candy, and soda, and a deli that offers more restaurant type foods like fried chicken, mac and cheese, and fries. All of this food is priced very well, and is cheaper than school vending machines and the market’s other competitors, California Burgers and Deli, and Crown Burger.

To discover why so many people go to Lee’s for the deli items, I tasted and reviewed two of the deli’s most popular items.

Mac and cheese- I got 2 scoops of mac and cheese. It was a filling amount for me, as it was rich enough that I felt content and full after consuming it. The cheese is warm, and has a lot of flavor. The macaroni doesn’t have a lot of flavor, but is the perfect texture and pairs very well with the gooey-ness of the cheese. Overall, this is a great option considering the relatively low price. Next, the buddy meal. The buddy meal costs 3.29$ and comes out to 3.54$ after tax. This is a great value as well. You receive one chicken tender and a side of either potato wedges or fries. While this does not seem like a lot, the chicken tender is quite large, and you get a large quantity of either potato wedges or fries. This was not as rich, but still filled me up due to a slightly larger quantity than the mac and cheese. As far as sides go, the ranch was my favorite. It paired very nicely with the chicken and the side, which made it good overall. The ranch is also very flavorful, with a great, creamy, smooth texture. They also have barbecue sauce, but the barbecue sauce was too sweet for me and overshadowed the flavor of the chicken and potato wedges, instead of enhancing it.

These foods, along with others, keep students of West High coming back to the marketplace and wanting more, making it the successful marketplace that it is.