Is that Feta in My Guacamole? Cosi’s Chicken Tinga Sandwich

Mar 16, 2011 by M. Velez

When it comes to sandwiches or tacos and the likes, I’m a firm believer in making cheese an option. We often get this option when it comes to burgers. Would you like cheese with that? Yes, yes I would or no, please leave that vile thing out. Options: They are necessary. They exist for a reason.

I understand a signature item sometimes comes with specific toppings that make it, well, signature. Cosi’s Chicken Tinga is one of those perfect examples where cheese should definitely be made an option. Imagine a freshly made guacamole dip you prepared with tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. You grab a chip from a freshly opened bag and take a dip, but when you take that bite, it’s not exactly what you’d expect.

You see, while you weren’t looking, someone decided it was a fabulous idea to add a few large chunks of feta cheese to your fresh mix. I’m sorry, was this a Greek salad? Not that I am bias to think that feta should only go on Greek salads. In fact, this pungent, salty, semi-bitter tasting cheese goes well with many other types of dishes. I enjoy it very much. It goes well with vinegary things. However, guacamole is not one of them.

One can argue that Cosi’s Chicken Tinga is not a guacamole dip. No, but it’s not a far cry from it either. Just replace that chip with bread and add salsa-flavored chicken. No doubt the flavors work harmoniously together. And then there’s the feta cheese.

I have a theory as to what went on in the minds of the Chicken Tinga designers. I suspect an element, often called the kick, to be the driving force. When something is bland or doesn’t carry enough umph, the idea that follows is to add a kick element to make it more exciting. Not that the Chicken Tinga is bland by any means, but its designers may have felt it needed something more. A kick element usually translates into something spicy, crunchy or vinegary. In this case, pungency was the element of choice. Feta would then make sense. Its flavor is pungent, but much milder than its neighbor, Gorgonzola. If feta is to be used as a kick element, I would highly recommend it in much smaller increments (say, a scanty spreading) rather than large cubes of it.

As it stands, this sandwich is a dream for the die-hard feta fans out there, but if you’re not a fan, you’ve been warned. Remember to tell your sandwich maker to leave the feta out.