Audio By Carbonatix
Quesa-D-Ya’s2820 Greenville Ave.214-823-3927
Promised delivery time: 35 to 40 minutesActual delivery time: 29 minutes
The ScoreEarly delivery and pose for photo: 15Totally friendly phone dude: 10Cute D-Ya’s work shirt (on delivery guy), printed packaging: 6Free chips and salsa: 33Questionable presence of diced pickles on build-your-own menu: -4Build-your-own options: 19Delivery after 9 p.m.: 15
Total Score: 94
Overall StandingsQuesa-D-Ya’s 94Nandina Asian Tapas 93Panda Delite 78Zini’s Pizzeria 51
See the final 2008 standings here.
The Quesa-D-Ya’s concept is one after my own heart: fast, reasonably priced delivery that, for once, isn’t freakin’ pizza. To be honest, I’m not even a huge fan of the quesadilla, but because a quesadilla is not pizza, I was more than happy to try out the newish delivery option that is lower Greenville’s Quesa-D-Ya’s. I was even willing to overlook the “spelled phonetically for people unwilling to pronounce a word with two Ls as it should be” moniker.
Gearing up for Thursday night TV with friends, we were worried about the post-9 p.m. delivery factor. No problem. Despite the boys running a bit long on the FIFA Xbox tournament, Quesa-D-Ya’s was locked and loaded.
Perusing the menu took a while: With “favorite” D-Ya’s
(quesadillas, naturally), grilled burritos, salads, bowls and
build-your-own options for all categories, the five of us took a bit to
figure out exactly what we wanted, ending up with a cheese and onion
D-Ya, a loaded veggie custom D-Ya, a BYOBowl and, for me, one of the
faves: the Havana D-Ya (basically, a Cuban sandwich in a grilled, fresh
tortilla–or, if we’re keeping with the theme, Tor-T-Ya). We also
requested a cup of queso, some guac sides and a dipping sauce for added
difficulty. The phone dude did not falter. He was super-friendly, had
perfect enunciation and read everything back with no mistakes despite
our laundry-list BYOs.
But we were starving, so our growling stomachs killed the perfect phone order buzz. Not to worry, though, because really-speedy-but-laid-back delivery guy was to the door in less than the minimum estimated delivery time. Had I not met him outside on the landing by accident I feel certain he would have had a squirrelly and fun knock.
All of the custom efforts were pretty damn good. We piled into the veggie D-Ya with enthusiasm. The bowl was of generous size–but not overwhelming. My Havana, aside from being sort of confusing as a quesadilla, was surprisingly pleasing. (I saw the order as a challenge, and was, honestly, expecting disappointment.) Lacking only a bit of needed heat (spice, not temp), the pork was really flavorful, the ham not overwhelmingly salty and the pickles…well, while I feel they should not be on the build-your-own ingredients list, they were perfect in the Havana, providing a necessary crunch against the pulled meat. The dark mustard was key. I had to share it, though–even the small size was burly.
Queso: thick, but flavorful. Guac: not bad, fresh. Chips and salsa: Free, and probably our favorite part, because um, who wouldn’t love warm chips and fresh salsa brought to your door?
Also, the small D-Ya (feeds one) is only $7. The large (feeds three to five) is $15. That’s a bargain when compared to pizza purchased without coupons. And, again, it’s not pizza.
