Pomperdale New York Style Deli

Critic's Review

On June 10, 2010 a piece of Fort Lauderdale's culture was lost when Lawrence Vogel passed away. Pomperdale Deli was a special place; where you ate and then paid on your way out. No Checks here; they trusted you to pay what you owed.

You'd walk in from the deserted street on a sweltering summer day to find the place packed with people snarfing down cole slaw and biting into big pastrami sandwiches. The noise level in the place was unbearable, with older couples cackling at each other. One thing that was clear though; the people who worked here really wanted you to enjoy your food. I really enjoyed their chunky chicken salad, which came with 2 pickles on hearty rye for $6.95.

Pomperdales Orig Owners. Good Hearty Seeded Rye with Pickles

It's changed hands a couple off times since. I went in shortly after it changed hands the first time,and it was just an empty room.

I ordered a pastrami sandwich, and I got this.

Pomperdale Pastrami on Seedless Rye

A decent sandwich on pedestrian rye bread and no dill pickle. There were 2 italian guys behind the counter, one who yelled out "Hey, you all paid up ova there?". What a disappointment.

It seems that it's changed hands again, as now there is an older dude with a clipboard in charge of the place. There are point of sale items at the register, and the wall now has a New York City themed mural.

The Jewish couples aren't back, and the warm friendly ambiance has been replaced by corporate steel. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich; the woman asked what side I wanted, cole slaw I said. But then she charged me $1.50 for it. I assumed it was include by the way she asked. The dude with the clipboard came over and explained to her that they have a smaller size for $.70 that comes with sandwiches. They took off the $1.50, and i guess they didn't change the order because it included the slaw.

Pomperdale Chicken Salad and Cole Slaw

This was a pretty good sandwich; good rye bread, a good sized sandwich and nice chunky chicken salad. No dill pickle, just a half dill. I can't remember the last time I got a dill pickle at a deli [sigh]. The cole slaw was better than the overly creamy stuff they used to have, but it had something in it that I didn't like. Dill seeds or something like that. I peppered it up and it was better.

So the old couple who treated everyone like family is gone, and the friendly neighborhood place has been replaced by a pretty good, more corporate type of Deli. Not as special as it once was; but they serve a pretty good chicken salad sandwich.