Downtown Deli

Critic's Review

The Downtown Deli is closed.

Review 4/22/10

Downtown Deli is in the plaza across from the library downtown. It primarily serves breakfast and lunch for people who work in the area.

There is a covered plaza outside as well as tables inside. Inside, its really a dump, so outside it preferred seating unless its cold out. Its kind or a zoo inside; the servers seem disorganized and just have that rushed look on their faces. Its a bit strange, because they really seem to have disdain for the takeout customer. I think they view takeout as work without a tip, as the cashier is just whatever waitress happens to be nearby.

You place your order by giving them numbers off of the menu. So for takeout you find your way to the cashier, hope someone notices you, and then order and pay. You don't get a receipt or anything. They just send you into a corner of the room to wait. Meanwhile waitresses are running by in both directions and you just feel like you're in the way. At lunchtime, it can take a while for the order to appear.

I'd been to this place once before and had some servicable chicken salad. It was awhile ago so I don't remember it vividly. I decided to try the hot pastrami, to see how they measure up to the Pomperdale's of the world. They don't seem to have a condiment table (again, that anti-takeout sentiment) so you have to rely on them giving you enough mustard. When I opened the styrofoam container, I noticed 2 things immediately.

First, the portion size was good. The sandwich was certainly piled high. The second was that the cole slaw was the kind shoveled from a big jar and would be a complete waste of time to even taste. A small taste confirmed; so in the garbage can went the cole slaw.

Unfortunately, the pastrami was junk. It was dry and fatty and you just can't eat a pastrami sandwich when you have to pick out stuff. Probably half of it was edible. The mustard was also junk; the yellow kind without the bold taste of a brown or deli style mustard. I give it a C at best.