For a Yankee seeking a good New York deli sandwich, most of the area south of the Mason-Dixon Line is a vast wasteland. We have, in the 23 years since we left the north, eaten in any number of places that called themselves some variant of a New York deli and most of them came nowhere near the mark. Thus it was with great anticipation and a healthy dose of skepticism that we approached Giacomo's.
They certainly appear to be doing the right things. The pastrami and corned beef are brought in from New York, and the rye bread and cheesecake come from the quintessential New York deli, the Carnegie Delicatessen. Their standard cold cuts are Boar's Head and the produce is fresh from local growers when possible. The sandwiches include corned beef, pastrami, and beef brisket, a variety of Reubens (corned beef, pastrami, turkey, and veggie), other meat combinations, and paninis. There are also deli salads and green salads. You can get H&H bagels from New York plain or topped with lox and cream cheese, and Dr. Brown's sodas are available (although, sadly, no Cel-Ray).
If I could have only one thing, the obvious (indeed the only) choice for me was pastrami on rye. The plates come with chips and a pickle, I also ordered some coleslaw. The sandwich was huge. In fact, when I inquired how much meat it contained I was told a half-pound. And the meat was wonderfulóit was warm, just slightly salty, more fat than is healthy but not overly so, thinly sliced, and moist. The bread was the best rye I've had since leaving New York, but it was slightly dry, probably owing to the fact that it travels all this way and we're not getting it freshly baked. The coleslaw was made from purple cabbage and, while not typical, was very good.
My companion ordered one of the so-called signature sandwiches, the Sweet Willy, smoked turkey, ham, roasted red pepper, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion on rye. It, too, was overstuffed. It was a terrific sandwich but he was sorry he hadn't chosen something that included the special meats. While he couldn't have gotten the bread elsewhere, he could have bought the cold cuts at Kroger and made a similar sandwich. He added some potato salad to his plate and he thought it was a bit bland; I tasted it and liked it.
We saw someone eating a Reuben and it looked fabulous. There's also a vegetable sandwich comprising chickpea pesto, cucumber, sprouts, shredded carrots, red pepper, and tomato that will be calling my name when I return, and we will return. I haven't tried the brisket or the spinach salad (spinach, prosciutto, figs, walnuts, and goat cheese, dressed with balsamic vinaigrette, yum!) or the eggplant panini or any of the great-looking dessertsóI have to go back.
It's not a frugal lunch, our meal cost $21 but we really enjoyed it and it's not food one eats every day. When I thought about how to rate this restaurant I had to decideóDo I rate it against all the great, authentic New York delis? Or do I consider how far we are from Mecca and rate it relative to other readily available delis? Compared to all those sandwiches I ate without a thought when I was young and they were so readily available, Giacomo's comes up a bit short. But, compared to what's normally offered up around in these parts in the name of deli, it was pretty darn good!