Genova Delicatessen

Pin It Now! In the East Bay, Genova Delicatessen is legendary.  Long lines are the norm here all day, every day.  After pulling a ticket at the counter expect to wait at least an hour.  Anything under 30 minutes, consider yourself lucky!

Fresh made raviolis with the option of meat or cheese (I chose meat) are lovely pillows of pasta and meat.  Make sure you use the garlic bread to sop up all the delicious meat sauce.

A side of salad comes with the combo, which I find an afterthought and rather save room in my tummy for the sandwich.

In an Italian deli, you can never go wrong with the Italian combo.  Lots of thinly sliced meats (sliced upon ordering) between two slices of dutch crunch bread.  Loved the flavorful sandwich, but the dutch crunch was missing its crunchy top.   

Address:                  Genova Delicatessen
                                 5095 Telegraph Ave.
                                 Oakland, CA
 

Type:                        deli

Popular chomps:       pastrami sandwich
                                  Italian combo
                                  ravioli  

Chomp worthy:         Italian combo
                                   ravioli   

Paradiso Delicatessen & Restaurant

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I feel like these days I'm leaning more to going back to the basic, simple foods, especially sandwiches.  Paradiso Deli reminds me a little of Molinari's (see post HERE) in the city.  An old school Italian deli that serves up home cooked lasagne, raviolis, and sandwiches. 

The one thing that drew me here was the meatball sandwich.  The sandwich is huge and its literally made up of one meatball.  Yes, just one giant meatball that squashed a little so its sandwich ready.  Topped with fried peppers, provolone cheese, and super soft bread, this reminds me of a kicked up version of Subway's meatball sandwich, which is not a bad thing because I love their meatball sandwiches.  Its bite after bite of sloppy, messy goodness.  Think sloppy joe of meatball sandwiches and grab a stack full of napkins. 

I'm a sucker for raviolis.  Its an embarrassing fact to say that I really love the canned beef ravioli from Chef Boyardee.  These raviolis are handmade and are plumped full of beef.  Love the soft texture of the raviolis.  Paradiso is perfect for someone like me who can never decide on one thing because you can actually get a combo of ravioli and lasagne.  I'm not quite sure, but the sauce from the meatball, ravioli, and lasagne may be the same or at least very similar.  You can never go wrong with Garfield's favorite food.  Here the layers of pasta are a little firmer so it doesn't fall apart and you are able to get a good bite in with lots of layers.  It has a nice crusty top going for it as well.  While the food here isn't mindblowing, it is good comfort food. 

    

Address:                   Paradiso Delicatessen & Restaurant
                                  791 Auzerais Ave
                                  San Jose, CA
 

Type:                         Italian/sandwich

Popular chomps:       lasagne
                                   ravioli
                                  meatball sandwich

Chomp worthy:         meatball sandwich     

Langer's Deli

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The corner that Langer's is on reminds me a lot of SF from the screaming bums to the guy who asked me if I need a fake ID.  Even in a questionable area, people still lined up for a seat at this historical eating institution.

Served up with a pickle, the hot pastrami (#19) at Langer's is their most famous sandwich.  Supposely, only Langer's and Katz are the only two delis in America to serve hand cut pastrami slices in their sandwiches.  Had I known that I could order half sandwiches, I would have ordered their corned beef sandwich, which many consider even better than their pastrami.

This sandwich has to be one of the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life.  I've had Katz's version and while I think its a good sandwich, I prefer Langer's.  Everything about this sandwich is pure perfection.  Succulent and savory meat that doesn't have the usual over saltiness that I find in most pastramis.  The crunchy coleslaw has the lightest touch of mayo and offers the perfect contrast to the soft bread.  Besides how awesome the pastrami is, the bread is just amazing.  The freshly baked bread is nutty and fluffy with just the right amount of thickness.  Usually crust is an afterthought for me, but, wow, the crust has a crisp, but soft texture that's indescribably delicious. 

Address:                   Langer's Deli
                                  704 S. Alvarado St.
                                  Los Angeles, CA
 

Type:                         deli

Popular chomps:      #19 - pastrami on rye
                                  matzo ball soup
                                  #88 - corned beef
                                 

Chomp worthy:         #19 - pastrami on rye    

Molinari Delicatessen

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It seems like every neighborhood in San Francisco has their own Italian deli, but the best, of course, is in North Beach.  Molinari Delicatessen churns out the best Italian sandwiches.  Simple, but satisfying its not a surprise that their take on classic Italian sandwiches is so popular.
Similar to Lucca (see post HERE) in the Marina, to order anything here, first take a number.  If you are getting sandwiches make sure you walk over to the sandwich bin on the left side of the store and pick out your bread of choice and hand it off when your number is called.

Not surprisingly, the line at Molinari can get atrociously long, but there are plenty of Italian treats like dried salumis, canned goods, and sauces to look at while you are waiting.

Each sandwich is made with freshly sliced meats.

Renzo special at Molinari Delicatessen-  2013 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

Usually my nose wrinkles a little when I see the words, "sun dried tomatoes", but the Renzo Special has to be one of the few items I've eaten where it works.  Paper thin slices of prosciutto, coppa, fresh mozzarella, and sun dried tomatoes between your choice of bread is so simple, but amazingly delicious.  Not too much meat, the perfect creamy mozzarella, and just a hint of chewy sun dried tomatoes is utter perfection.  Though, this sandwich does have a horrible habit of getting stuck in your teeth..

updated - Working my way through the 2013 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                   Molinari Delicatessen
                                  373 Columbus Ave
                                  San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                         Italian/deli

Popular chomps:       renzo special
                                   ravioli
                                   potato salad

Chomp worthy:         renzo special       

Lucca Delicatessen

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Lucca is in the heart of the Marina district.  Its a small Italian deli where you can pick up sandwiches or Italian goodies.

This place is always crowded.  Make sure you walk to the middle of the counter and pick up a number to place your order.  Plan to wait at least 15 minutes from walking in to sandwich in hand. 

The potato salad is served by the pound and one of the more popular side dishes here.  The potatoes in this salad are sliced versus the usual cubed or chunk potatoes.  It gives it a nice smooth, creamy texture, but still makes you feel like you are eating potatoes.  A very light tasting potato salad with a hint of tangy, vinegary taste. 

The homemade ravioli are filled with beef and spinach.  So good!

Super Sandwich #1 - #57 on 2011 7x7 SF 100 Things to Eat

You can customize your sandwich, but the #1 is the most popular sandwich here.  Its an Italian sub with lots of meat between two slices of bread.  Everything includes ham, salami, mortadella, provolone, tomato, lettuce, Italian peppers, mayo and mustard.  I had it on dutch crunch, but the dutch crunch was as crunchy on top as I'm used to.

Address:                        Lucca Delicatessen 
                                              2120 Chestnut St.
                                              San Francisco, CA  

Type:                               Italian/sandwiches/deli/casual

Popular chomps:  super sandwich #1
                                              potato salad
                                              homemade ravioli
                                              meatballs

Chomp worthy:      homemade ravioli

Miller's East Coast Deli

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Miller's East Coast Deli

New York has Katz's and a hundred other delis, San Francisco has Miller's.  The front of this deli serves take outs and orders of sliced meat.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle with Matzo Ball

Not just one but two matzo balls come with this homey comfort chicken noodle soup.  The matzo balls are not too heavy and soak up the flavors of the soup well.

Corned Beef sandwich with potato salad

 One noticeable thing about this corned beef sandwich are the slices are thinner than what you will find in New York.  Actually I kinda prefer it this way.  This sandwich keeps it simple with solid flavored corned beef between two slices of white bread.  Normally I find that corned beef is too salty, but Miller's does it just right.  Another yum for the potato salad and the housemade pickle.

Address:                       Miller's East Coast Deli
                                             1725 Polk Street
                                              San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                                Deli

Chomp worthy:        corned beef sandwich