Being a vegetarian, I am usually not a huge fan of Delis (what with their focus on meat, a lot of meat) but Alissa finally convinced me that we needed to try "The Famous 4th St. Deli" in Philadelphia. We have heard only good things about it so we ventured down one Saturday afternoon for lunch.
The vegetarian options were incredibly limited (I had a bagel, cream cheese and lox) but I have never learned so much about meats, cheeses and cured seafood in one place than I did that afternoon. I never knew there was a difference between lox and nova nor did I ever really know the difference between pastrami and corned beef.
After making our selections our food arrived very quickly. As I laid my eyes on the most ridiculously large sandwich I had ever seen (or was possibly ever even made) the server miraculously produced two take-away containers from behind his back, "for your leftovers." And oh were there ever leftovers.
After we were finished eating, we both sat, well, content (read: overstuffed) waiting for the check. Neither of us could even fathom eating anytime even in the next month but 4th Street wasn't quite finished with us. The server brought two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to the table as he presented us with the check. And good thing he buttered us up with the cookies because each of our sandwiches was around $17 (but I must admit it definitely fed me for the next two days.)
All-in-all a good experience and I'm definitely glad we tried it, but I am not sure I will make it back anytime soon (although I am sure Alissa will find a way to get me there).
If you're in the Philadelphia area you can find 4th Street Deli on the corner of 4th street and Bainbridge.
