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DELI ALBAN’S BOTTLE & BASKET The Big Wheel has been an important part of the Woodward landscape since cars had single-digit gas mileage. Alban’s has evolved with the times and today is not only a deli, but a fine wine shop and a semi-swanky restaurant to boot. You can take away on the deli side, or have a fancy “sit-down” meal in the comfy dining room. BODE’S CORNED BEEF HOUSE Like lean corned beef? Then you’ll love the slightly fatty stuff at Bode’s. The corned beef here is better than that world-renowned NY deli where Meg Ryan faked the big O. They’ve been serving it up at Bodes since the ’50s, and despite the purple paint, Thomas Kinkade art and homey bric-a-brac, Bode’s can’t escape the Eisenhower charm. Two-toned industrial vinyl booths look like factory originals, and those blonde wood chairs might be Heywood Wakefields. Locals swear by the fried fish, but the Reuben rules, and after all, it ain’t called the Walleye House. BREAD BASKET DELI What would a deli be without excruciating puns on the menu? Here, it’s “Charlie’s Lox of Luck”...ouch! The Bread Basket is one of the best old-school delicatessens in the Midwest, offering up sandwiches—like Forman’s Follies—so big that a party of four will often share them. Standard deli corned beef on rye and pastrami on pump stand in the foreground, while countless Eastern European signature dishes like crisp, apple-sauced potato latkes, rich beer-based borscht and matzo ball soup fill up the rest. So good you’ll find franchises throughout the metro area. DELI UNIQUE PLAZA DELI Matt Prentice got his start in 1980 with a simple deli. With $200 in hand and a great work ethic, Matt took over an old sandwich shop and thus began Detroit dining history. Now with three locations serving up classic N.Y. style deli fare, a slew of fine dining joints about town and Michigan’s largest privately owned catering company, you can truly say whatever he touches is Deli-icious. EPH MCNALLY’S DELICATESSEN Look for the giant pickle. McNally’s moved out of their old digs and relocated to that bus stop block on Woodward. The same Detroity thing, new Detroity place. LOU’S DELI We’re reluctant to name anyone as the best, but we’ll bestow “Detroit’s Best Deli at 3:30 a.m. on a Saturday Night (or Sunday Morning)” on the legendary Lou’s. The slogan goes, “Lou’s Deli is good for the beli.” When you pile in a monster four-decker sandwich after the bar closes (they are open way late), you’ll discover exactly how good Lou’s is for your belly. You can get more meat if you “super” it and even more when you say “super-duper.” Then there is always the Big Louie, which is a whopping pound of corned beef on an onion roll. There are two other locations but as Dobie Grey sang, “the original is still the greatest.” LUNCHBOX DELI Owners Steve (the rawkstar) Zuccaro and Mickey offer an enormous array of delicious gourmet sandwiches as well as salads, entrées, soups and desserts served up by the best-looking crew on the eastside. This cutting-edge deli has over 20 different kinds of bread, and that’s just to start. Catering and delivery are also available. MR. FOFO’S DELICATESSEN A locals-favored, corned-beef-and-cobbler heaven, Mr. Fofo’s is as important to Detroit eating as Greenfield Village is to history. We say Greenfield Village because Fofo’s likewise has history. As Mr. Belvedere was to UHF (ask your parents), Fofo’s proprietor Otis Knapp Lee was to radio. MUDGIE’S DELI Everyone is raving about Mudgie’s. You’ll find it in the 19th century spot that formerly housed McNally’s. It’s been totally reworked with simplicity and stylish colors into a clean, cool space. One thing we like is they don’t waste your time giving clever names to sandwiches you already know—they reserve that for combinations you would not have thought of. Like the Madill—roasted turkey, bacon, avocado, pepperjack, garlic mayo and all the fixin’s—served warm and melty and one of the best ‘wiches which we’ve eaten (the Free Press concurs, naming it one of Detroit’s best). Most sandwiches (and salads) are of your own making—you choose the meat, the bread, the greens, the dressings and many traditional condiments and extras, including that applewood smoked bacon (Mmmmm… bacon) that made the Madill so outstanding. It was the best bacon we have had in ages, so the next time we go we will probably get a BLT, but go for the baby spinach instead of lettuce, and try some of that wasabi mayo, and as long as we are designing our own, we might even try it with meatloaf, because we haven’t had a meatloaf sandwich in years.. NOAH’S SANDWICH FACTORY White collars from the nearby Glass House and used-car shills share a horseshoe-shaped counter with factory rats and other working stiffs. They dine on exquisite hash-house delicacies, such as pastrami and eggs and some of the best pancakes west of Woodward. ONION ROLL DELI Small, ’50s-style grill that hasn’t changed much except for the prices. There is a lot of character, and characters as well. The menu isn’t huge, but what they do—corned beef, pastrami, turkey and insane piles of French fries—they do well. Did you get the idea that portions are big? Would you like to help us with these onion rings? PRONTO! Pronto! virtually defines Royal Oak with its laid back yet lively, casual but upscale attitude and an exclamation point on its logo. In the summer, the sidewalk teems with a cross-section of society who nosh out front on a variety of handheld goods, salads and the legendary Pronto! desserts. They could almost be considered a bakery with all of the sweet treats behind the showcases. RUSSELL STREET DELI In terms of freshness, few delicatessens have the advantage of Russell Street, situated a stone fruit’s throw from the largest produce outlet in Detroit, Eastern Market. Known for straight-up deli classics and innovative takes on the same, this convivial meeting place takes full advantage of the locale, bringing in top-notch ingredients and a top-notch clientele who came to shop and stayed to nosh. Therapy for an omelet obsession is best taken Saturdays, when owner Bob Cerrito’s egg-zecutive chef comes up with new orchestrations weekly. STAGE DELI The metro area’s better deli. A Detroit institution that started in Oak Park way back in the ’60s, the West Bloomfield Stage is a far more glamorous cry than the original. It’s huge, but it is the food, not the glam, that keeps the crowd buzzing here. The sandwiches, named with a Broadway theme, barely fit into your mouth. The hot corned beef is the Tony winner, but they have everything else from chopped liver to matzo balls that demanding deli diners desire. They also offer finer dining specials every day (go for the veal ribs), and of course there is the customary carry-out counter, loaded with all the traditional Jewish starters, sides and sweet endings. STEVE’S DELI Named one of the country’s finest delis by the 2005 Zagat Restaurant Guide, Steve’s has been pleasing discriminating palates since 1994. The homemade chicken soup, served in glass jars, is delicious. The sandwiches are bursting with meats and cheeses, and the baked short ribs are renowned. Enjoy dining in the cozy restaurant under twinkling chandeliers seven days a week, or take advantage of their full carry-out and catering service. It’s about as close to New York as you’ll get without a plane ticket—right down to cheesecake imported from the Carnegie Deli. ZINGERMAN’S DELICATESSEN It’s been called the best deli on the planet. But what they do is so far removed it doesn’t seem like a deli as we know it, more like a gourmet specialty shop with a lot of sandwiches on the chalkboard. Super-fancy European meat with some high-style imported cheese you’ve never heard of is the ham and cheese of Zingerman’s. © 2008 Guide to Detroit, LLC |