In the past couple years, Foody JoJo has grown from a vendor at the Alderney Landing Farmer's Market to occupying a shoehorned-in storefront there, slinging their sweet and savoury waffles, and sandwiches to the Dartmouthian masses.
When home renos had me very not eager to prepare lunch in my kitchen, I put in an order for pickup. I wanted to go for a lighter sandwich, or at least one that wasn't *just* meat and cheese, and went with the Swiss and turkey sandwich, as well as a feta and spinach waffle. Sure, I was getting more than I *needed* but there were a lot of tempting options!
The food was ready quickly (I ordered a bit after the prime lunch hour) and I soon had it in hand and was on my way back home.
Fried and toasted carbs - really anything that's supposed to be crispy - does not fare well as takeout/delivery, and while my items weren't at their optimal textures, I had the sense that they would have been if I had consumed them on-location.
The sandwich's sourdough was wonderfully golden brown from some grilled-cheese-like grilling, bookending its flavour-packed ingredients. It's called the "Swiss Turkey" sandwich, but the slathering of pesto is very much in the driver's seat here, flavour-wise. The slices of turkey were moist and tender, with a hint of browning on the edges from their oven-roasted origins. Lettuce and tomato added some textural variety, while the Swiss mainly disappeared in the overall mix/pesto punch.
A side of chips and a half pickle spear rounded out my order.
I was thinking of a sweet waffle for dessert, but my wife was sick and not eating, so I thought that taunting her sweet tooth would be a step too far, and stuck to the savoury waffles.
The deep pockets of the Belgian waffle didn't have their signature light crispness that they have right out of the waffle press, but the even, light brown exterior hinted at what could have been if I had. The salty, lightly-creamy feta and vegetal spinach did their delicious thing in the middle of the waffle, impressively without affecting its structural integrity.
A return visit, sadly still with renos going on weeks longer than originally scheduled, had me trying out their donair grilled cheese sandwich.
I was a little late on pickup, but ate at Alderney Landing this time.
The bread was once again masterfully browned, and all the right components were there - layers of nearly sliced, grill-finished donair meat, tomato, onion, donair sauce, and of course, cheese.
The donair meat was fine, Foody Jojo isn't a donair spot after all, and combined with the standard donair accoutrements, and cheese, made for a tasty, hot mess of a lunch.
I brought a Nutella waffle home to have later that evening with my wife, and while it was far from its optimal texture after half a day in the fridge, we enjoyed the mix of strawberries, banana Nutella, and a little cup of whipped cream.
Foody Jojo may have a seemingly-random name, but the solid sandwiches and creative variety of waffles have made for a both a literal and figurative niche that they've carved out for themselves in Dartmouth. read more