THE odd time I’ve been to The Foodies Basket in Attadale I’ve been really impressed.

There’s a nice vibe to the shop/deli with super friendly staff and a great range of provisions and treats.

You always come out feeling you’ve had a pleasant experience with staff who are well-trained and polite.

Some of the other delis I’ve been to have snooty workers and are ridiculously expensive – charging $20 for a Mussolini sausage with fennel, goats curd and DNA extracted from the dictator’s boot.

The Foodies Basket has some pricey stuff, but there’s always items on special and they have a decent mid-range as well.

The shop recently won a national silver award for its pies – the first time they’ve entered them into a competition – so I decided to try some, along with a few other treats.

My roasted capsicum and tomato soup ($5.99) tasted incredibly fresh and was a vibrant, burnt orange colour.

There was a subtle spiciness to the broth and after a few mouthfuls I had a pleasant warm tingle in my mouth.

I like my soup a tad thicker with more depth of flavour, but it got better as it went on and by the end I was really enjoying the tasty mix of capsicum, garlic and carrot.

The award-winning pies were the standout – coming in first was my wife’s lamb and rosemary ($6.99).

“It’s the best lamb pie I’ve ever tasted,” she said.

“Lamb can be hit or miss with tough or fatty meat, but this is melt-in-the-mouth with a delicious gravy.

“There’s a strong burst of rosemary, and the crust is buttery and light.”

The kids wolfed down their steak and cheese pie ($6.99) without any complaints, and I had a few tastes of the Beef and Guinness ($6.99) which had a thick moreish gravy with slices of celery and chunky cubes of potato. Very hearty with that classic homemade flavour.

To accompany the pies we got a large half-and-half greek and pesto pasta salad ($13.50).

The winner was the Greek salad which had a lovely medley of cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red and yellow capsicum, and feta cheese. It was a vibrant, fresh interlude to the rich pies.

On the other side of the table, I was busy eating my creamy mustard salmon ($7.95). 

It was good value with a large slab of high-quality salmon, yellow and orange cherry tomatoes and fragrant rice. 

The pepper and creamy sauce was nicely balanced and didn’t overpower the fish.

The paprika chicken and rice ($7.95) didn’t quite hit the heights of the other dishes: it was tasty enough, especially the wilted spinach, but the paprika was too subtle and didn’t have enough oomph.

We enjoyed our Foodies Basket feast and the highlight was the award-winning pies and lovely salads, so I would start there and work your way through the other dishes.

And best of all, there wasn’t a Mussolini sausage in sight.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

The Foodies Basket
90 Moreing Road, Attadale
facebook.com/thefoodiesbasket