Haig's Delicacies

If you live in the Bay Area, and have ever browsed the pre-made Mediterranean foods section of the grocery store, you'll likely recognize the name Haig's.

"THE ORIGINAL & THE BEST SINCE 1956."

Haig's Delicacies is a San Francisco based Armenian snack food producer that started as a store in the Richmond in the 1950's, but now they produce ready made foods for grocery distribution, along with wholesale.  Every product they make is not only vegetarian, but many are also vegan.

The product lines make up "artisinal mezés", including assorted dips, bites like falafel, salads, and easy packaged dip + cracker "mini mezés".

Salads

"Mix up your own authentic Mediterranean meal with our savory salads. Each one is crafted from scratch daily in California so you’ll get delicious, fresh-as-can-be flavor in every bite. Just toss and serve. Great for lunch at work, an afternoon snack, or a quick dinner side."

For an easy toss together and serve option, Haig's has a few layered salads, including a couscous with almonds, currants, and more, a cracked wheat version with peppers, tomatoes, and peas, and the more common taboule. 

Mix & Serve Taboule Salad.

"Mix up your own authentic Mediterranean lunch! Bright green parsley, mild green onion, ripe tomatoes and crisp cucumbers balance the satisfying nuttiness of bulgur wheat. Add olive oil dressing, shake, and devour!"

The taboule was a 2013 Specialty Food Association's sofi™ Awards Finalist for Outstanding New Product.

The salad is layered, with a base of bulgur, topped with cubed cucumber and tomato, tons of parsley, with the dressing in a separate container, to best preserve freshness.  It is designed to all be mixed together once you are ready to consume.

I didn't care for this at all.  I really don't understand how this works well as a packaged product, as little cubes of tomato and cucumber dry out very quickly, and the shelf life on this was several weeks.  As expected, the veggies weren't fresh or crisp, and they are a pretty important part of taboule.  The herbs weren't bad, and the bulgur was standard bulgur, but ... yeah, no.

Also strange is the dressing.  The package clearly says it is to be kept refrigerated, but the dressing congealed and was a solid mass, making it impossible to mix together.

I don't really understand how they won the award, nor how this product is even a good idea for the market ...  I obviously wouldn't get again.  Sold at my local Whole Foods for $5.95, which seems very high, even though it was a large salad.

*+.

Meze Bites

"Keep a few stocked in the fridge for lunch, or pick up a bunch, and you’ve just catered a party yourself with dishes your guests will rave about. Our authentic small-plate bites are made by hand daily right here in California with the freshest, simplest ingredients possible."

 The "bites" lineup is little snacks or supplements to meals, and has the expected falafel and dolmas, plus some veggie fritters.

Dolmas.

"Our zesty and succulent dolmas are lovingly hand-wrapped with tender grape leaves, and stuffed with a lively blend of rice, onions, lemon juice, herbs, and spices."

Wow these were oily.  So oily.  Picking one up left my fingers coated in oil.  Biting into one left my mouth coated in oil.  It is all I tasted.  And amusing, since the description never mentions oil.

The grape leaves were fine, tender.  The filling was seasoned, but very mushy.  They were well rolled.  But overall, this was just a oily, soggy mess, and I didn't like them.

**.

Dips & Spreads

"At our house, you’ll often find friends and family gathered around a long table filled with mezés, or “small plates.” The dips and spreads we craft for you are made with the same recipes we use in our kitchens at home, and each one has the same big, authentic flavor that’s perfect for sharing with the people you love."

Haig's is known for their array of dips and spreads, including many varieties of hummus, but also a number of other dips, many labne based.  They offer a few organic versions as well.

Baba Gannouge: 

"Rich, smoky undertones bloom on your palate in this flavorful mezé of roasted eggplants and tahini, with a hint of zesty lemon, garlic, and spices."  

The first I tried was the baba gannouge, always one of my favorite Mediterranean dips.

It was decent.  I liked the additional burst of brightness from the lemon and the garlic was present but not too strong.  But, I didn't really taste eggplant, which is generally what I'm going for when I pick baba gannouge.  Not bad, but not particularly good.

***+.

Tzatziki: 

"Our family recipe is the basis for this refreshing mezé of extra thick and creamy Greek yogurt brightened with a splash of red wine vinegar and garlic, and speckled throughout with fresh, crisp cucumbers and fragrant dill."

Next, tzatzki.  Now, this was very good!  It had some serious tang from the yogurt base, but also the vinegar and lemon juice.  The dill flavor was strong, the cucumbers surprisingly crispy for a packaged product.   Highly recommended.

****.

Muhammara: 

"Our savory blend of tangy pomegranates and roasted red peppers mix with ground walnuts and our unique blend of spices to create this nutty and irresistibly exotic spread." 

And lastly, one that sounded the most complex, muhammara.

This was only ok.  The ground nuts added a bit of crunch, and it wasn't too sweet from the pomegranate, but it had the taste of a packaged good, if that makes any sense.  Just, not fresh, slightly plastic-y.

***.